Upgrading to Windows 7 64 Bit from Windows XP

I am running Windows XP professional using Parallels 5 Build 9220 on a Mac Pro with 16 GB of RAM. I want to upgrade my Guest OS to Windows 7, 64 Bit. I can't do it directly from the Windows 7 upgrade disk because it requires that I run the upgrade from an already installed version of Windows. I did this by changing the Guest OS from Windows XP to Windows 7 in Parallels and installing from the Windows 7 update DVD, but a number of problems appeared, e.g., my devices are not recognized (multiple monitors, printers, shared disk/folders, camera, etc.). My questions are: (1) Did I follow the correct installation process? and (2) Why are none of my Parallels configuration settings working?

 

I see there are no replies yet to your question. Were you able to figure it out yourself? Also I wasn't clear how you managed the update. How did you change the Guest OS from Windows XP to Windows 7? Doesn't the Windows XP OS that is going to be upgraded need to be running for the installation to take place? Thanks for any information you can provide. I was going to try to upgrade, but now I'm wondering whether it's worth the trouble.

 

I see there are no replies yet to your question. Were you able to figure it out yourself? Also I wasn't clear how you managed the update. How did you change the Guest OS from Windows XP to Windows 7? Doesn't the Windows XP OS that is going to be upgraded need to be running for the installation to take place? Thanks for any information you can provide. I was going to try to upgrade, but now I'm wondering whether it's worth the trouble.

 

I was able to figure it out for myself. I had to first install Windows xp, then run the Windows 7 upgrade from xp.

 

Is Windows 7 running smoothly in your upgraded Guest OS? Any problems or issues?

 

how did you upgrade from within XP

hi,
I keep ending up with a new VM that won't work since I didn't upgrade. I can't figure out how to upgrade from inside my XP VM?

 

Running smooth. Only issue is that in crystal mode all of the windows in the guest os turn black every few minutes. I "solved" this by not using crystal mode. Coherence is good enough for me.

 

I went ahead and upgraded my Guest OS from Windows XP to Windows 7. I ended up having to do a clean (custom) install by booting into the Guest OS from the installation DVD. Once I reinstalled Parallels Tools everything seemed to work fine. I had not sound at first but I was finally able to get output sound working. I still can't get input sound to work. It shows the device driver installed with no apparent problems, but, when I run an audio and video check in Windows Live Messenger, the internal microphone in my MacBook Pro doesn't seem to be picking up any sound. It's fine when I am on the Mac side. Haven't had a chance to see whether using an actual microphone would make any difference but it isn't required when I'm in the Mac OS nor did I used to have a problem when I was running Windows XP in the Guest OS.

 

Upgrade procedure

Would appreciate a step by step procedure for upgrading from xp pro to windows 7. Is backup of all files and devices necessary?

 

XP says installation disk not compatible

So how do I get XP to let me install 64 bit windows 7. When I try to install it, I immediately get a notice that the installation disk is not compatible with my version of Windows. It says I need the correct installation disk. Any ideas? I installed a clean version, but I can't activate it because I have an upgrade activation key. Thanks in Advance to Anyone willing to post a solution. -Andrew

 

32 bit xp upgrade to 64 bit windows 7

Hi, I was successful in upgrading from xp 32 bit to windows 7 64 bit with a upgrade key. You first have to have parallels 5. Then you need a working activated XP installed. Then when not in xp, you go to the parallels virtual machine menu down to "configure" and select it. Then you choose Hardware tab and boot order. Move cd/dvd on top in the order. Install your windows 7 install dvd in the drive. Then you start parallels windows XP. You will then get a message in dos prompt to hit a key to start from bootable dvd. Hit a key. If it does not work and it goes into xp, just go start, shutdown, restart computer and try again. Then when it works, follow instructions of the install. Everything should work out find. Mine does. I have an Imac 24" with snow leopard. I upgraded my ram to 4gigs and my hardrive to 1TB. Thanks

 

Hi, I was successful in upgrading from xp 32 bit to windows 7 64 bit with a upgrade key. You first have to have parallels 5. Then you need a working activated XP installed. Then when not in xp, you go to the parallels virtual machine menu down to "configure" and select it. Then you choose Hardware tab and boot order. Move cd/dvd on top in the order. Install your windows 7 install dvd in the drive. Then you start parallels windows XP. You will then get a message in dos prompt to hit a key to start from bootable dvd. Hit a key. If it does not work and it goes into xp, just go start, shutdown, restart computer and try again. Then when it works, follow instructions of the install. Everything should work out find. Mine does. I have an Imac 24" with snow leopard. I upgraded my ram to 4gigs and my hardrive to 1TB. Thanks

 

How did you do this clean install?

I have the same problem with Parallels 5 (most recent build) and a Windows 7 64-bit upgrade disc.
I tried re-ordering the boot order and nothing changes, it goes to windows XP every time I restart the VM. I even tried "select a device to boot from on startup" and a list appears...
1) Floppy Drive.
2) Primary Master IDE Drive
3) CD-ROM Drive.
4) Networking

I chose 3 and I get this message: "Trying to boot from CD-ROM drive...failed"
and the list appears again, option 3 fails every time.
All the other options work, but they open XP every time.

I even tried to open the disc when already in XP by opening auto-run, but I always get an error message: setup.exe is not a valid Win32 application"

How can I upgrade the Windows XP VM to a Windows 7 VM.

-Tim

 

It took me about 4-6 tries of hitting a key before XP would go into the install phase. I tried so many different keys, I have no idea if it was a particular key or just luck. FYI, I suspect part of my problem might have been that I have a wireless bluetooth keyboard (which is ultimately a USB device) and my usb devices were sporatically working. I've since fixed that problem. Parallels tech support gave me a .pst file that I installed.

 

guys how do you do this if you have windows xp already installed.. i managed to install windows 7 but no are running 2 diff windows progams, i simply wanted to have all the info from xp copied to windows 7 when i upgraded
thanks

 

XP to Windows 7 Upgrade Details

I do not believe it is possible to "upgrade" from Windows XP to Windows 7. According to this Microsoft site and my own experience, you'll have to do a clean install of Windows 7:
http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help/upgrading-from-windows-xp-to-windows-7

This doesn't mean that your data files will disappear (I'd back them up just to be safe). What it does mean is that you'll likely have to reinstall all of your applications (MS Office, Adobe Products, etc.).

That Microsoft site is very helpful - be sure to read through it thoroughly before starting down this path.

By the way, I purchased a copy of Vista (32-bit) thinking that I could easily upgrade from XP to Vista and then go seamlessly to Windows 7 (64-bit). That didn't work, and I'll tell you why: You cannot upgrade from 32-bit Vista to 64-bit Windows 7. As far as I can tell, it just isn't possible. I had to do a clean install to go from one to the other.

I hope this helps!

 

Hi,
I'm having the same problem with the internal microphone on windows. It does work on my mac like in your case.
Did u figure out how to solve this? I'll be thankful if u share how
thanks,
Monica

 

Hey guys,

No offence. I am just curious about your intention to use Windows 7 in Mac machines. What's the point? I can understand that you are simply trying to get the best out of it, which means you have the optimised operating systems on hands. However, what program are you really going to run on Windows 7 apart from Windows XP? Do they really work better in Windows 7 than in Windows XP?

I am a new MBP user myself. I was thinking about installing Windows 7 initially; however, after reading this thread, I feel it is so painful and the procedures simply put me off. I use the Windows part mainly because some office documents my colleagues share to me are from the Windows side. Inevitably I would need to use Windows. But, I really cannot think about a reason why we need to race to the top of the operating systems while there is a easier option.

Can you let me know what are the softwares you will possibly use in Windows operating system that have to be run on Windows 7?

Thanks for your attention.

 

I know this is an older thread. Hopefully most of you have resolved your issues. It took me a couple of hours. This DID work for me:when not in xp, you go to the parallels virtual machine menu down to "configure" and select it. Then you choose Hardware tab and boot order. Move cd/dvd on top in the order. Install your windows 7 install dvd in the drive. Then you start parallels windows XP. You will then get a message in dos prompt to hit a key to start from bootable dvd. Hit a key. However, you ALSO have to change your BIOS settings WITHIN XP and tell it to boot from your dvd drive. Setting it up through Parallels only will not work.

 

The field I am in is virtually an all Windows environment, however I enjoy and feel that I work better on a Mac, so I go for the hybrid machine. Rather than bother with setting up a Hackintosh on a Windows box I use Parallels to literally do what its name states, run Windows apps in parallel with the Mac OS (more or less). However, it wasn't until the quad-core iMac came down to earth (if you can call the price of any Mac "down to earth") that I decided to take the plunge. On a quad-core with upgraded RAM (at 16GB), I can run each OS side by side with 2 dedicated cores and 8GB of RAM each, making it damn near seamless. As far as software goes it's really the Office suite for me with a need for Business Contact Manager on Outlook (something not available in the Mac version of Office) as well as other Windows only software that's specific to my business.