Parallels/Win XP stuck

Hello,

I've just installed Parallels and am in the process of installing Windows XP on my MacBook Pro. The install seems to be hung at 37 minutes for about a half hour now and I'm not hearing the CD spinning - how can I get it to move along? And if I can't, what's the best way to abort?

So how about just the second half of the question - what's the best way to shut this puppy down so I can re-try the XP install? I let it sleep overnight, and here we still are, stuck at 37 minutes to go...

DreamingFox said:

So how about just the second half of the question - what's the best way to shut this puppy down so I can re-try the XP install? I let it sleep overnight, and here we still are, stuck at 37 minutes to go...

Click to expand...

Obviously something has gone wrong with the install. Try shutting down Parallels first if possible. If you can't, you may have to press the power off button and restart in order to eject the CD.

What kind of version of XP are you trying to install? Parallels like Boot Camp needs a full install "real" version of XP. IOW, not a recovery CD. OEM version is OK and does not have to be SP2 to work.

Regards.

Thank you for your quick response. Being new to Mac, I prefer to ask rather than blunder, when I can't find an answer on my own. So, if I get this, even though I was installing an OS, because it will run inside Parallels, it's "like" installing a program, and the install files were just in a cache, which a reboot should clear out.

Parallels shut down just fine, and the disk ejected with no problem. I'll reboot, and try my luck a 2nd time.

I haven't run Boot Camp, and the disk is an original, unused XP Pro SP1a (HP OEM(, so I wouldn't expect it to give me any problems.

The problem now is, I'm still stuck at 37 minutes... I'm half installed after a reboot. How do I get out of this?

Part of the answer is, I think, here: http://kb.parallels.com/en/5138 - but the VM configuration option is greyed out and I can't access it.

Your best bet for trying this the 3rd time is to make an ISO image of your XP CD and select the ISO image instead of CD/DVD option when you are setting up the VM.

I got control of the VM configuration, applied the settings listed in the link, and setup resumed. Now it's telling me my product key is invalid, so I guess a call to Microsoft is in order.

Thanks.

I use VMWare Fusion and never had issues like this when installing mine. You might want to take a look at that. There is a trial version available so you can check it out.

OK, I'm trying VMWare Fusion, too. So far, so good, and it seems quite user friendly so far. Got 2 weeks to decide on Parallels and 30 days to decide on VMWare. Thanks for the suggestion.

Part of the problem might be the SP1 version and HP version of the disks. I think parallels is more finicky about having a generic OEM (not all mfgr OEM disks work) and SP2, rather than SP1. I think VMWare will create a VM from just about anything. However, for my install I used a generic OEM XP SP2 disk and it went off without a hitch.

Good luck

SammySlim said:

Part of the problem might be the SP1 version and HP version of the disks. I think parallels is more finicky about having a generic OEM (not all mfgr OEM disks work) and SP2, rather than SP1. I think VMWare will create a VM from just about anything. However, for my install I used a generic OEM XP SP2 disk and it went off without a hitch.

Good luck

Click to expand...

Actually, manufacturer-supplied OEM discs (known as branded OEM discs) are specifically licensed to that particular piece of hardware. Legally, you may not install them anywhere else and frequently, they are customized to a particular type of hardware.

I would recommend purchasing a legitimate retail copy of Windows XP for these purposes.

...and since violating the EULA would constitute discussion of illegal activity (as prohibited in the forum rules), I think we're going to close this thread...