I have Parallels 9 installed on an I7 IMac. Recently, I upgraded from Windows XP Pro to Windows 8.1 Pro using an upgrade DVD. The install went well and everything ran smoothly for about a month. I was away from home for a week so I shut my IMac down. On re-booting it, I found that Windows 8 would not load as the boot file was missing. Having tried a number of ways to rebuild the boot file, I gave in and carried out a complete re-install. Getting windows updates and SP3 into XP proved to be a real problem but eventually I got there. My question is this 'if I upgrade to Windows 8.1 next week from the Windows Store and if I need to carry out a re-install of Windows 8.1 in the future, how best should I got about this'? I will have at my disposal Parallels 9, a full (DVD) version of Windows XP Pro and an upgrade DVD for Windows 8 Pro. As an aside, does anyone know if the Windows 8.1 upgrade will allow me to move from Windows 8 (32bit) to Windows 8.1 (64bit)? Thanks.
Did you ever figure this out? I'm using Parallels 8. Tried to upgrade from XP using Windows 8 upgrade DVD. Parallels only installs Windows 8. Never gives me the option of Upgrading from XP. Hence, provided key does not activate the software because it's looking for a Full Version key. Crazy, but not surprising given that it's Microsoft.
Hi Hengus, Unfortunately, the upgrade for a Windows 8.1 (64bit) from a Windows 8 (32bit ) is not possible . You need to do a complete reformat and re install of both your Operating System and all of your software. Thanks, Manoj.
Hi 2stepbay, To run the upgrade DVD on Windows XP Virtual Machine, follow the steps below; Go to Configure of VM ( http://kb.parallels.com/117287 ) > Hardware >choose CD/DVD 1 >Click Real CD >choose Default CD/DVD Now run the installation disc. Thanks, Manoj.
