Problems!!

jmf421 · Feb 6, 2007

Parallels Problems

OK so I just got my first MAc about 2 weeks ago, I installed parallels just to run 1 program. Everything else I do with OS x and absolutely love it.

I am just having one problem. I installed paralles and it ran fine. Then I didnt use it for about a week, and I went to launch it and its saying that "Virtual machine Microsoft Windows XP cannot be opened since it is already used in another Parallels Desktop window." What is that about? I even restarted the computer and I get the same problems. it sounds like something is using the Windows XP file in the background somewhere and I dont know how to find that out. IF anyone has any suggestions that would help I would greatly appreciate it.

Jeremy

jmf421 · Feb 6, 2007

I am having an issue when I launch Parallels... it worked fine for a week , now its saying "Virtual machine Microsoft Windows XP cannot be opened since it is already used in another Parallels Desktop window."

I feel like something is running in the background that I cant see. Also there have been other programs that wont start when I click on them... but if I restart the computer they work fine... unfortunately I have not had this luck with parallels.

PLEASE HELP!

karudzo · Feb 7, 2007

A temp file wasn't purged when it was supposed to. Open Terminal and go to /tmp and see if you find anything that looks related to Parallels and delete it (you'll have to type sudo rm before the file name, enter your password when prompted).

D3v1L80Y · Feb 7, 2007

NOTE: Merged Cross Posts

cwa107 · Feb 7, 2007

jmf421 said:
I am having an issue when I launch Parallels... it worked fine for a week , now its saying "Virtual machine Microsoft Windows XP cannot be opened since it is already used in another Parallels Desktop window."

I feel like something is running in the background that I cant see. Also there have been other programs that wont start when I click on them... but if I restart the computer they work fine... unfortunately I have not had this luck with parallels.

PLEASE HELP!

Open a Terminal window. Type the following:

Code:

cd library/parallels/winxp

<press return>

(winxp may have a different name depending on how you named your VM)

Code:

ls -la

<press return>

Look for a file called .winxp.pvs.lock (again, winxp may be something different if you didn't use the default VM name). If it's present, delete it:

Code:

rm .winxp.pvs.lock

That should do it. I sure do wish Spotlight would search for hidden files - that would make this process a whole lot easier and you wouldn't have to use the Terminal to do it.

cwa107 · Feb 7, 2007

karudzo said:
A temp file wasn't purged when it was supposed to. Open Terminal and go to /tmp and see if you find anything that looks related to Parallels and delete it (you'll have to type sudo rm before the file name, enter your password when prompted).

I thought the /tmp directory was purged each time the machine is rebooted. I guess this is more of an assumption since Darwin is not identical to other UNIX variants.

jmf421 · Feb 7, 2007

I appreciate everyones help so far but neither worked... took me a little while to do the Terminal commands but I found a website to help me out and I got the hang of it

when I typed the ls - la command nothing similar to what you guys listed was there.

jmf421 · Feb 7, 2007

is there maybe a way to see all the running processes?

cwa107 · Feb 7, 2007

jmf421 said:
I appreciate everyones help so far but neither worked... took me a little while to do the Terminal commands but I found a website to help me out and I got the hang of it

when I typed the ls - la command nothing similar to what you guys listed was there.

There is no space between - and la.

That might be your issue. If you don't feel comfortable in the Terminal, try downloading EasyFind. Set EasyFind to search for Invisible files and folders (one of the check boxes at the top of the window), then search for .pvs.lock

If you find that file, right-click on it and click 'Move to trash'. Then try Parallels again.

The presence of the lock file is very likely the cause of your problem. I have searched for other causes, but haven't found anything. If you've rebooted your machine since the problem started and you don't have Parallels set to auto start, then it's very unlikely that there's an active process that is keeping the file from being accessed.

jmf421 · Feb 7, 2007

ok I downloaded easy find and there was no such file. So what I did was realized I was looking beyond the problem.... The original error message said something like "Cannot open virtual terminal file Windows XP because it is in use in another window." SO what I did was realized that another file by the same name is being used somewhere and it thinks its being opened twice. So I changed the file name to Windows XP1 ... by adding that 1 in there it started right up with no problems at all

Weird how things work.

Thanks so much for all of your help though!!

karudzo · Feb 8, 2007

I think you're right about /tmp being purged after reboot- that escaped my notice in this post.

jmf421 · Feb 14, 2007

OK well now I have a new problem that I am curious to see if anyone knows....

occasionally I have a problem that I guess doesnt close correctly, The most recent was my Divx player. I hit ctrl Q to close it then I went to relaunch in about 30 minutes later and it will not launch. This happens every once and a while and usually restarting the computer helps.

Any reason as to why or is there another way to fix through terminal or something?

Any help is greatly appreciated!

PowerBookG4 · Feb 14, 2007

I don't know the answer, but adding a completely un-related post at the end of a already old and extinct thread is probably not going to get the attention the question deserves. It would be best for you to start a new thread so you will be able to get the attention to your new question.