Parallels is giving me problems

[GibsonMarshall]

Well, where do I begin?

I just purchased Parallels via the download. Well, I got the installer going and all that jive. I got to the point to where I inserted the XP disk and all was fine. It was installing it and all of the sudden I get this blue screen in the virtual environment and it kicks out.

Now, I've tried to uninstall Parallels 3 times and reinstall it. The only problem is that XP keeps showing up after I do this and I can't do anything with it. It just sits there and does nothing. I don't even get to the boot screen of XP.

I have no idea what to do.

 

[GibsonMarshall]

It keeps telling me there is something missing when I take the long route. I have no idea what it is.

 

[GibsonMarshall]

Another Update:

Tried to install XP through Boot Camp... Big MISTAKE!!!! Now, I'm really screwed and am extremely lucky to be back on this thing.

I give up. I have a $101 program that doesn't work and I have 32 gigs of my HD partitioned off and I have no freaking clue as to how to go about getting everything back to normal before I started this crap.

 

[GibsonMarshall]

Ok... I was able to get XP installed after about 5 attempts. It was running nice and smooth in Parallels. I downloaded a few programs for XP and everything was fine. The only problem was after I decided to restart, my MBP couldn't recognize my hard drive. Needless to say, I took Parallels and everything associated with it off of my computer a few minutes ago. I had to use the Start Up disk to boot OS X.

The one thing I've noticed is that Parallels isn't asking me to partition my hard drive.

I might try something else later. The new version of Ubuntu looks nice.

 

[DaveF]

You're not giving enough information to debug it: but it's clear that things have gone terribly wrong for you. Neither BootCamp nor Parallels should cause that much trouble.

(and note: Parallels doesn't use a hard drive partition, unless you're telling it to use a BootCamp installation)

BootCamp is generally a smooth process. Follow the instructions, install WinXP, and register it. I had some minor glitches with XP's performance, but nothing killer. And they eventually worked themselves out.

Parallels for me was a bit confusing, as the installation screens weren't as clear as I'd like on how to use a BootCamp partition. But once I got the right settings, it too went swimmingly.

If you're having this much trouble with both of these processes, there's something wrong with your system, your WinXP install disk, or you're misunderstanding some part of the process.

I suggest taking a deep breath, gathering your materials, reading all the instructions carefully, and giving it another try.

 

[GibsonMarshall]

You're not giving enough information to debug it: but it's clear that things have gone terribly wrong for you. Neither BootCamp nor Parallels should cause that much trouble.

(and note: Parallels doesn't use a hard drive partition, unless you're telling it to use a BootCamp installation)

BootCamp is generally a smooth process. Follow the instructions, install WinXP, and register it. I had some minor glitches with XP's performance, but nothing killer. And they eventually worked themselves out.

Parallels for me was a bit confusing, as the installation screens weren't as clear as I'd like on how to use a BootCamp partition. But once I got the right settings, it too went swimmingly.

If you're having this much trouble with both of these processes, there's something wrong with your system, your WinXP install disk, or you're misunderstanding some part of the process.

I suggest taking a deep breath, gathering your materials, reading all the instructions carefully, and giving it another try.

Thanks Dave!

I don't know what the deal could be. It was how everything happened and what not. It worked the last time I installed XP, but my MBP wouldn't boot up again without the Start Up Disk.

I picked up an external HD today and backed everything up. I know I should have done that in the beginning. I'm going to give it another shot here before too much longer.

Parallels was nice when I did get XP up and running. XP was running a lot faster than it did on my desktop.

Again, thanks for the reassurance. I know I'm probably not doing something right or it could be something wrong with the XP software I have. Trial and error is the key. I look at it like this: At least I know how to get my machine back up and running again.