Attempting to install Windows XP SP1 in a shared virtual HDD under Parallels 3.0, v5582 on a 17" Macbook Pro (2.4 Ghz Core 2 Duo) with 4GB Ram installed. Host OS is 10.5.2. VM boots off CD, formats guest partition on Virtual Drive, installs startup installer and reboots to startup installer. Installer then fails at some random point in the install (either freezes or gives some nonsensical error message and reboots.) Often freezes while installing devices. I have run hardware diagnostics, memory systems pass extended tests, Disk Utiliity reports no issues with directory structure of Host OS, have deleted and recreated virtual drive 3 times with no change in behavior. Tried both plain and expandable in 32GB and 64Gb sizes. used custom install and default install -- no difference. Reduced VM memory settings to 1024MB from 2048MB used in initial attempts to no avail. Open to suggestions at this point.
Hello Nuvector, Please try to make an ISO image of the installation CD-ROM: 1. In the Finder, browse to Macintosh HD -> Applications -> Utilities. Choose Disk Utility. 2. Insert the CD-ROM into the CD/DVD-ROM drive of your Mac. 3. Select the CD/DVD-ROM drive from the Disk Utility device list. 4. Click the New Image button on the top of the Disk Utility window. 5. Specify the name and location for the image or leave the default settings. 6. Set Image Format to read-only. 7. Click Save and wait till the image creation process is complete. Now you can connect this image to the virtual machine’s CD/DVD-ROM drive: - Launch Parallels Desktop. - Click the CD/DVD-ROM icon in the main Configuration window to open the CD/DVD-ROM drive’s settings. - Select the Use image file option and click Browse to locate the ISO image file. You can use the successfully created image file as a bootable media for the guest OS installation instead of a real CD. If during the image creation I/O errors occurred, this may indicate that there is either a problem with your disc, or your Mac CD/DVD-ROM drive doesn’t function properly. Best regards, Xenos
Thanks Creating an ISO image resolved the issue and allowed me to install XP SP1. Should I be concerned about running other installers from the CD drive? Or is this workaround peculiar to the Windows installer?
