Cannot instal Windows 8.1 on Mac Lion 10.7.5

I am running Mac v 10.7.5 with Windows XP successfully installed. I thought I would upgrade to Windows 8.1 and have the disk and Product Key. The installation gets to the Parallels Wizard, but then a small window appears, with even smaller type than I have ever seen on a computer. With a magnifying glass I can read: "Windows cannot read the <Product Key> setting from the unattend answer file." and then the installation wheel just keeps spinning. Clicking on "OK" causes the installation process to start again, with the same result.
I don't know what the "unattend answer file" is or how to get around this problem.

 

It is a .xml set up file for your windows installation, are you trying to use an upgrade copy of window 8.1? Because if you are win 8.1 will not upgrade from xp you need a full version of the os. This is a Knowledgebase article (last review Jan 2013) about unattend answer files that might help you: :http://kb.parallels.com/en/6955

 

I am on here looking for a solution to some video card issues, but saw this. yours is a microsoft problem that took me two days to sort out myself. there are two flavors of windows 8 that are completely different, the 32bit upgrade from xp is not really windows 8, they don't say it outright. that little download link from a 32 bit system downloads a completely different windows that looks the same but is completely different. you must download the windows installer from a separate 64 bit OS computer and RUN IT ON THAT COMPUTER which then downloads the proper installer you need (but instead of installing it on that computer, you choose "create install media" ISOs) then you copy that iso to a portable hard drive and use it as your source in parallels. the upgrade path from xp is only to 8. so you must go from xp to 8, not 8.1. 8.1 just adds a start button and allows the option to start from the desktop that parallels already does by saying "look like windows 7" during install. I did have an issue with activation as I had already activated and then deleted the 32 bit (deleted to partition to stay legal with only having one install), had to call on the phone the automatic tool wouldn't work. there was also some registry tweak I did for activation that simply allowed me to not have to install xp first which would have been a total waste of time, as going from 32 bit to 64 bit doesn't save any of your stuff anyways, and I had already deleted the dang partition.