Bootcamp gave "no bootable disk" after being updated in Parallels

M

Mike Boreham

Pro
I have just had a bit of a scare. All is OK now but wondering if I did something wrong.

I have only been running my Windows 10 Bootcamp via Parallels 12 in Sierra 10.12.2 for a week, and for the first time I ran Windows Update from Parallels.

There were a lot of updates including an OS build update. All took quite a while but seemed fine at the end.

Then I tried to boot directly into Bootcamp, and got the dreaded "No Bootable device message". Tried twice.

I rebooted to Parallels and reinstalled Parallels Tools because I couldn't think of anything else to do.

Then rebooted to Bootcamp but by holding the alt key while restarting, and selecting Windows from there, instead of using the usual Start up disk System Pref pane.

Bootcamp booted OK (phew!)

Then I tried to reboot to Mac using the Bootcamp Control panel, but it kept rebooting to Windows.

So I shut down and reset the NVRAM by booting holding alt+opt+P+R

Machine restarted in Mac. Now Bootcamp works properly and will restart to Mac from the Control Panel.

Question: Is it a mistake to do a major update of Bootcamp from Parallels?

I think I will avoid doing this in future unless I learn something new from this thread.
 
Hi Mike, it is not a mistake to do update the Windows Boot camp from Parallels Desktop . You can try importing the boot camp , so that you can take a snapshot of the imported pvm file before the Windows update and revert back to it if you are not happy with the update.
 
Thanks.

Just to make sure I understand your second sentence......you are saying that I could do a full import of the Bootcamp partition as a standalone VM to test the update on the VM before updating the Bootcamp partition (accessible from BC or Parallels).

I have never tried it, but the inference from what you suggest is that you can't save snapshots of a BC partition while accessing it from Parallels.
 
Hi Mike, once you import the boot camp and convert it to Parallels virtual machine (pvm) you can take a snapshot which is a back up before installing the updates, so that if are not happy with the windows update, you can always revert back to the snapshot . Please check http://kb.parallels.com/5691 to know more about snapshots.
 
Thanks. I use snapshots a lot on VMs which are not using Bootcamp and the link confirms my understanding about not being able to snapshot a BC volume.

It had not occurred to me to import a BC partition to test it and snapshot it as you are suggesting.

Are there any activation implications of importing a BC partition like this?
 
Mike Boreham said:
Thanks. I use snapshots a lot on VMs which are not using Bootcamp and the link confirms my understanding about not being able to snapshot a BC volume.

It had not occurred to me to import a BC partition to test it and snapshot it as you are suggesting.

Are there any activation implications of importing a BC partition like this?
Click to expand...
Hi Mike, Windows operating system detects the hardware change and presumes it to be installed on a different machine. Virtual hardware is different from the real hardware (where Boot Camp is installed) and can cause such confusion for software.

Activate Windows in Virtual Machine and restart Windows. Make sure Windows is activated in Virtual Machine.
Restart your Mac and boot to Boot Camp directly. Go to Settings -> Update & Security -> Activation -> click on Activate button.
If it cannot be activated online - call Microsoft and activate Windows by phone, please tell Microsoft Support you have changes the hardware and need to reactivate Windows installed on your drive. Microsoft should not require using a separate Windows license key for a virtual machine based on Boot Camp partition. Reboot Windows in Boot Camp and make sure Windows is activated.
 
Arun, I am still not sure I am at first base yet.

You said earlier:-

"Hi Mike, it is not a mistake to do update the Windows Boot camp from Parallels Desktop . You can try importing the boot camp , so that you can take a snapshot of the imported pvm file before the Windows update and revert back to it if you are not happy with the update."

I have looked for an option to create a new VM by importing the Bootcamp partition, but can only see an option to use the Bootcamp Partition, which is not the same and would not allow snapshots as per the link on snapshots.

How do I import a standalone VM from Bootcamp?

Thanks.

PS Just to be clear about my activation question...after importing a standalone VM from Bootcamp, there could be three Windows 10 installs on the same machine:
1. Actual Bootcamp
2. Parallels using Bootcamp
3. Parallels import of Bootcamp

I am familiar with the issues about activating 1 and 2, so was asking about 3.
 
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This thread seems to be still hanging in the air.....can we try and close it out one way or the other?

Recap: Arun of Parallels said in post 2:

"Hi Mike, it is not a mistake to do update the Windows Boot camp from Parallels Desktop . You can try importing the boot camp , so that you can take a snapshot of the imported pvm file before the Windows update and revert back to it if you are not happy with the update."

I have been unable to discover how to import Bootcamp. The only option I can find is the standard one of creating a new VM using the Bootcamp partition. It is not possible to make a snapshot from VM using the bootcamp partition (note 1 in http://kb.parallels.com/5691)

Can you please clarify. Thanks.
 
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