Windows 11 VM Completely Disappearing

Discussion in 'Parallels Desktop on a Mac with Apple silicon' started by ChrisA29, Jun 1, 2026 at 12:49 PM.

  1. ChrisA29

    ChrisA29 Bit poster

    Messages:
    5
    I'm constantly having my Windows 11 VM "disappear" (The whole VM just stops/goes away).
    There's no error messages popping up. It doesn't feel like it's a Windows error as nothing occurs there - it's running and then the whole VM is gone.
    How do I try and diagnose what is happening here? Are their logs somewhere? Anyone else had this problem and found a fix?
    I'm running the latest Parallels and pretty close to the most recent Window 11 version.
     
    ChrisA29, Jun 1, 2026 at 12:49 PM
    #1
  2. Trishna Oobeyram

    Trishna Oobeyram Staff Member

    Messages:
    524
    Hello,
    Kindly proceed with the steps below:
    1. Reproduce the issue.
    2. Collect a technical report. To generate the report, right-click on the Parallels icon in the Dock > Help > Send technical data > check "Attach screenshots..." > press Send Report, and provide us with the report's 9-digit ID in reply to this email.
    Regards,
     
    Trishna Oobeyram, Jun 1, 2026 at 8:07 PM
    #2
  3. ChrisA29

    ChrisA29 Bit poster

    Messages:
    5
    The crashes seem to be related to memory related. Mac OS is sending "[BALLOON] Memory pressure level changed: 0=>1" messages and then kills the VM.
    My system has 64GB total RAM - I've set my memory usage to 24GB in the VM, but when I look at Activity Monitor it's showing as 62.75GB - In Windows it thinks the system has 32GB in System Properties, but in the Task Manager it shows as 24GB.
     
    ChrisA29, Jun 2, 2026 at 1:00 PM
    #3
  4. JustoM

    JustoM

    Messages:
    1
    This appears to be a Parallels/macOS memory management issue rather than a Windows 11 crash. The log entry:

    [BALLOON] Memory pressure level changed: 0=>1

    indicates that macOS is experiencing memory pressure and may be terminating the VM process. Since Activity Monitor shows Parallels using nearly all available RAM, try reducing the VM's allocated memory (e.g., from 24 GB to 16 GB), reinstalling Parallels Tools, and reviewing Parallels logs for memory-related warnings. Also, check whether Automatic Memory Management is enabled and test with it disabled.
     
    JustoM, Jun 3, 2026 at 12:00 AM
    #4
  5. TinoB

    TinoB Junior Member

    Messages:
    12
    My windows VM has been crashing several times a day for a few days. The VM is then in standby and I have to start the Vm from standby.
     
    TinoB, Jun 3, 2026 at 8:09 AM
    #5
  6. Nemensi

    Nemensi Member

    Messages:
    76
    Nemensi, Jun 4, 2026 at 12:20 AM
    #6

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