Installing 3120 using Bootcamp (winxp) breaks bootcamp.. details here.

Hi Guys,

I'm working on a MacBook Pro 17". I had parallels 3120 installed and working. I then installed Bootcamp and it worked fine. I then wanted Parallels to utilise my Bootcamp partition so I uninstalled Parallels and re-installed using Bootcamp as the vm partition... Setup seemed to go ok...

Then when it tried to boot into Parallels vm I would get a message saying it's using an unsupported OS and I shouldn't continue... If I continued the winxp loading screen would flash for a second and then it would just hang on a black screen.

Then trying to reboot into Bootcamp i would get a message saying <system root>windows32\hal.dll is missing or corrupted.

I had to erase my bootcamp partition and reinstall bootcamp to get anything working.

Anyone got any ideas on this?

Thanks,,

Mike

 

can not boot directly into bootcamp

Having same missing hal.dll message when trying to boot directly into bootcamp. However, my bootcamp does work in parallels with both beta 3 and rc 3120 release.

 

should mention that i have xp on an NTFS partition and have since read this could be the problem?

 

I've had a similar problem, but was able to work around it.

I've got three partitions, so in bootcamp, my WinXP boots from partition(3). Parallels, when it loads the bootcamp partition, puts a parition(1) entry into the boot.ini file, so it looks like the only drive to Parallels. (I think in the future they should fake the other partitions so that both bootcamp and parallels use the same "partition" from windows perspective.)

I have installed WinXP probably 30 times on my MBP in the past month. The secret is to do everything setup wise in bootcamp (rebooting into windows for the install and setup) so that bootcamp knows where everything is (hal.dll, ntoskern, etc.). Once bootcamp is all set up and happy (and upgraded, et al) then use it in Parallels.

That's the combo that made it work for me in both instances.

Also - Parallels guys - any way you can fake the partition map that exists on the drive when exposing the VM to the bootcamp partition? I've installed windows a few times from within Parallels onto the bootcamp partition, and it goes SO much faster. Of course, when all is said and done, that partition is no longer bootable from Bootcamp. Any way you can make it such that Windows thinks the drives are identical for setups like this?

-Craig

 

miked44 wrote: "I'm working on a MacBook Pro 17". I had parallels 3120 installed and working. I then installed Bootcamp and it worked fine. I then wanted Parallels to utilise my Bootcamp partition so I uninstalled Parallels and re-installed using Bootcamp as the vm partition... Setup seemed to go ok..."
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OK, I'm with you so far. But why did you uninstall Parallels only to re-install it? Do you realize you can have many virtual machines, and delete them within Parallels if you no longer need them?



miked44 wrote: "Then when it tried to boot into Parallels vm I would get a message saying it's using an unsupported OS and I shouldn't continue..."
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I've never seen this message, and I'm using the Bootcamp partition as a VM in Parallels on a Macbooko Pro 17" Core duo, too. I don't think simply uninstalling Parallels and then installing it again is part of the problem, here. So, let's look elsewhere.



Miked44 wrote: "I had to erase my bootcamp partition and reinstall bootcamp to get anything working. Anyone got any ideas on this?"

So, what is working, and what isn't, now? My own experience with Parallels and Bootcamp has led me to believe that if you want Bootcamp to operate with all the functions available in Parallels, you should have Tools installed, and the VM created immediately after the XP setup program has finished installing Windows. Any external devices should be plugged into the VM first, AFTER TOOLS IS INSTALLED, and not in native Bootcamp, so Tools can take care of them properly, so they do not conflict with the VM functionality.

When the VM loads Bootcamp, it uses a different Hardware Profile, which is selected at Boot up. It sounds as if you had something here that was corrupted. Although, since you re-installed Bootcamp, it doesn't sound like the problem exists anymore.

So did you resolve your problems by re-installing Bootcamp, or do you still have them?

 

Hi Atomic Fusion,

Thanks for the help. I've now only got bootcamp setup with no Parallels. Perhaps that unsupported OS message you hadn't heard of was due to it being an NTFS partition?

Not sure how I can work around this issue of installing again and Parallels hanging on the black screen and Bootcamp having the missing or corrupt hal.dll

Mike

 

Hi Craig,

What would the appropriate entry into the boot.ini file be?

 

miked44 wrote: "Perhaps that unsupported OS message you hadn't heard of was due to it being an NTFS partition?"
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I would say no to that. I have NTFS and no problems there. What kind of XP setup do you have? Is it just a basic setup with a few typical apps, or are you using Bootcamp for heavy application uses, like me? I have an entire library of applications installed and everything is working just fine for what I need. And the other day I learned about some things that must be done to get certain hardware working with Coherence, but that is I think a different issue from your's.

How many times have you installed Parallels and the Bootcamp VM? I suggest you try again, and keep track of everything that happens along the way so that you can share with us the process, just in case it happens again. It's hard to know what's going on without being right there. Like I said, everything should be a simple, easy process without the complications you're having.

If you do try again, unplug any usb stuff from your system, and I suggest you remove from the Hardware Manager in Windows, anything that has been installed that isn't part of the base unit of your Macbook Pro. Once Parallels is up and you've got Tools installed, then plug you external stuff in (while you're in the VM, not native bootcamp).

 

ok ill give it another try...

is tools a separate install to parallels?

 

miked44 wrote: "is tools a separate install to parallels?"
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Well it used to be, but I noticed when I tried to install Parallels on a fresh Bootcamp that had just finished getting installed (I didn't even let the native Bootcamp drivers install before making the Parallels VM) that it (Tools) installed immediately after the Tool is "initializing" message (which appears during VM boot up) turned off. It then installed the Parallels drivers and asked me to restart.

I restarted and everything worked flawlessly, even in Coherence. Even the two-fingere tap on the trackpad works as a right-click in Windows now.

Now, my own Bootcamp does not do this because I did not install Tools prior to installing the detected hardware when Windows first starts. (Remember, I had cancelled all that stuff and exited native Bootcamp so I could install the VM and Tools first -- this was on an experimental partition that has been deleted.) For the time being I just have too much installed and working fine on my Bootcamp to make me want to re-install it all just yet, just so it works pretty in Parallels. Most of the time I'm using native Bootcamp still.

 

Ok i have a fresh install of bootcamp with macintosh drivers installed. Should i just head back into OSX and install Parallels now? should i try this thing with the boot.ini file?

mike.

 

I would uninstall all drivers and then go into Parallels and create a VM. If you have those bootcamp drivers installed already, and then install your VM, you might have mouse/keyboard issues with changing resolutions and coherence in Parallels VM. Unplug all USB devices, uninstall as many devices as you can to put it back to a bare system, and then run Parallels, and let the Tools drivers install before installing the Bootcamp drivers.