Uninstalled v6, Back to 5 - A fine mess!

I uninstall 6 and reinstall 5. In the process, I believe I also trashed the ".pvm" file. When I reinstalled 5, I could not open my previous Windows XP install and had to reinstall not only Windows XP. I assume I will have to reinstall all the software again as well.

A couple questions:

Is there a way to uninstall the first install of Windows to reclaim the disk space?

How do I locate the first Windows XP folder?

Is there a way to not have to reinstall all the windows programs that I see in the Programs Folder from the first install?

Looking for some real help here guys!

Thanks!!!!

 

Usually the virtual hard disk file (.hdd) is stored inside the virtual machine file (.pvm). Open the .pvm by right clicking it in the Finder and selecting "Show Package Contents". If you moved the .pvm to the Trash and emptied the trash, then your Windows installation and data are gone. If you haven't emptied the trash, then retrieve the .hdd file at least so you can use it for a newly created .pvm, or retrieve the .pvm and let Parallels Desktop 6 update it.

.pvm's are usually stored in the ~/Documents/Parallels folder.

 

Well, as I thought, the original .pvm is gone and my questions remain.'

I'm going to guess that my original install of windows is still on my hard disk somewhere sucking up space since I have reinstalled Parallels 5 and doing so forces you to reinstall Windows XP without having the former virtual machine file available to open.

Prior to ever installing any of this stuff, I had asked the question "Is Boot Camp Necessary for Parallels?". You stated "Boot Camp is not needed. If you don't know why you would want to use Boot Camp, then ignore it." I would highly recommend that this response not be given to others in the future because just because someone isn't aware of why doesn't mean they shouldn't. Had I been told the advantages/disadvantages of using Boot Camp, and that it would have made it easier to delete the Windows OS if on a partition if problems are encountered, I would have chosen that route.

Please don't get me wrong. I really appreciate you help and look forward to hearing from you in the future. It's just that now, if I want to reclaim that disk space from the original Windows install, I believe I will have to reformat the complete hard drive, including the Mac side, and reinstall everything. Please tell me if I'm wrong. This time, though, I will install the Boot Camp partition and install Windows XP there. Unless someone can give me a compelling reason not to.

 

If the virtual machine is gone then the .hdd is probably gone because it was probably in the .pvm and the original install on the .hdd is gone with it. Why would you think the install is still on your hard disk?

I think I explained what Boot Camp was for. It's just as easy or easier to delete a virtual hard disk and create a new one than it is to erase a partition.

How much space do you think was lost? If the .pvm and .hdd were deleted then there's nothing to reclaim. If they're in the Trash or ~/Documents/Parallels folder or somewhere else, then they're still usable.

 

Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphT
I'm going to guess that my original install of windows is still on my hard disk somewhere taking some space since I have reinstalled Parallels 5 and doing so forces you to reinstall Windows XP without having the former virtual machine file available to open.

If the virtual machine is gone then the .hdd is probably gone because it was probably in the .pvm and the original install on the .hdd is gone with it. Why would you think the install is still on your hard disk?

When you say "probably within the .pvm", how do I know or determine whether it is or it isn't?

I guess I don't understand how Parallels works. I thought that when you install Parallels, that's totally separate from and outside of the Windows OS install and that Parallels is simply pointed to it in its setup and operation. Are you saying that the Windows OS is installed WITHIN Parallels, so that when Parallels is uninstalled, the Windows OS is as well?


Quote:
Originally Posted by RalphT
It's just that now, if I want to reclaim that disk space from the original Windows install, I believe I will have to reformat the complete hard drive

How much space do you think was lost? If the .pvm and .hdd were deleted then there's nothing to reclaim. If they're in the Trash or ~/Documents/Parallels folder or somewhere else, then they're still usable.

Assuming the Windows OS install is within Parallels as I think you're saying, then I guess there is nothing to reclaim. If the Windows install is outside of parallels sitting on the hard disk after uninstalling Parallels 6 as I originally thought then, from what I can tell on my old Dell, the Windows folder alone is taking up 12 GB of space, not counting all the other files and folders that get installed along with it. I don't like any unnecessary stuff cluttering up my HD.

So, at this point, I have uninstalled v6 and reinstalled v5. The original .pvm was trashed. and a new one created, as well as having reinstalled Windows XP. I have not reinstalled any of my Windows apps, but the apps from my first install still appear in my Applications folder. There are TWO Windows apps folders appearing. What does this tell you, if anything? And, how do I get rid of the first Windows apps folder, just drag it to the trash? When I use "Add or Remove Programs" CP, the originally installed apps don't show up there.

Thanks again. I look forward to your, and everyone's, responses.

 

You create virtual machines with Parallels. A virtual machine is just a bunch of settings that describe the hardware of the virtual machine. These settings are stored in a .pvm file (Parallels Virtual Machine). The description of the hardware includes a list of virtual hard disks (usually 1 but maybe more). A virtual hard disk description includes how the hard disk is attached to the virtual machine (either SCSI, IDE, or SATA) and the source of the virtual hard disk data. The source can be a partition on a physical disk (Boot Camp partition), or it can be an .hdd file. By default, the .hdd file is stored in the .pvm but could be moved elsewhere.

An .hdd file describes the type of the virtual hard disk (expanding or fixed or Boot Camp), the size of the disk, snapshots, etc.

A .pvm file is actually a bundle or package. A bundle or package is a folder with a special flag set so that you can't normally see inside unless you right click the .pvm in the Finder and select "Show Package Contents". Inside the .pvm is the config.pvs file which is a text file in xml format that contains all the configuration settings. The .pvm may also contain some logs (also text files), memory files (for running virtual machines), snapshot info, and virtual hard disks .hdds.

A .hdd is also a bundle or package. Inside an .hdd is a DiskDescriptor.xml file that describes the disk and the snapshots on the disk. There's also .hds files that contains the disk data including snapshots of the disk data (the Windows installation or whatever you put on the disk while running the virtual machine or while mounting the disk with Parallels Mounter).

For Boot Camp type .hdd's, the .hds files only contain copies of the physical disk's MBR and GPT tables. The actual data is on the physical partitions selected for use by the .hdd.

You can right click a .pvm and select "Open with Parallels Mounter" to mount all virtual hard disks defined by the virtual machine. Or you can right click an individual .hdd and select "Open with Parallels Mounter" to look at just that .hdd.

You can trash the Windows apps folder. Parallels will recreate a Windows apps folder if it doesn't exist when you run a virtual machine that contains Windows.