Bootcamp/Parallels - Reactivation - Ram causing issue?

I just got a new MBP and created a BootCamp partition and installed XP Pro SP2. Works fine. I then rebooted into 10.5.2, installed Parallels, and am getting the reactivation messages for XP Pro. I've cloned my network card's MAC address into Parallels that Leopard has, and it still is asking me to re-activate it. My one guess is that perhaps the amount of RAM is an issue? I have 4 GB of ram on the MBP, but Windows, in Boot Camp, only recognizes 3 GB, and Parallels only seems to recognize 2 GB (and it won't go higher???). Could this be causing the reactivation issue? I haven't tried activating it yet, because I'm afraid if I switch back to BootCamp, I'd then have to reactivate it again. I really plan on, from time to time, switching back and forth, so I don't just want to reactivate it in OS X and then get "stuck" (until I call MSFT to re-activate).

Any suggestions on how to handle this? Thanks so much!

 

Hello Airbaal,

Are you sure that your BootCamp physical MAC address and your VM MAC address are the same? Just would like to precise this before asking a specialist on the issue...

Lack of RAM is not supposed to make Windows asking for reactivation.

Best regards,
Xenos

 

Ok - I'll triple check when I reboot (I just wrote it down from Bootcamp, will compare to Mac OS X, and will make sure Parallels has it).

As for reactivation - from reading here, it looks like I will have to re-activate it in Parallels the first time I start up. Is this correct? And if I switch back to Bootcamp, it will not then ask me to reactivate it. Is this correct also?

Thanks for the response Xenos - I appreciate it greatly !

 

Hello Airbaal,

Of course you are not supposed to reactivate each time you start Boot Camp.

Here is what you can try for better Boot Camp / Parallels interaction:

1. Open your "System Properties" either through the Control Panel or by right-clicking on "My Computer" and going to Properties.

2. Go to the "Hardware" tab and click on "Hardware Profiles".

3. Rename the current profile "Boot Camp", and then copy it. Rename the copy "Parallels".

4. Under "Hardware profiles selection", make sure "Wait until I select a hardware profile" is selected.

5. Check the properties of each profile and make sure the following options are selected:
"This is a portable computer"
"The docking state is unknown"
"Always include this profile as an option when Windows starts"

6. Click "OK" on everything.

This will allow you to choose the correct hardware profile when booting into Windows using Boot Camp or Parallels. Select the "Parallels" hardware profile when using Parallels and select the "Boot Camp" hardware profile when using Boot Camp.

Could you give some additional information on your issue? Please run this command in Terminal (Application -> Utilities):

ls -al /Library/Parallels/.bc_backup/

and send me a screenshot of the output.

Best regards,
Xenos

 

Xenos,

Thanks - I got it working. Setting the MAC address in Parallels (which I had already did) and creating the hardware profiles fixed it. I would strongly suggest you create a Knowledge Base article on this -- and if one already exists, searching the KB for "reactivate windows" and variations of that would probably be ideal -- as I'm sure you receive this question more often than you should. After all, if you:

1) get the MAC address from Mac OS X or Boot Camp
2) clone the MAC address in Parallels in your config setup,
3) make two hardware profiles (while in BootCamp) - one for Boot Camp, and one for Parallels using those options you suggest in your response
4) restart into Mac OS X
5) start Parallels
6) pick the Windows "Parallels" partition
7) and just re-activate Windows the first time starting into Parallels

Everything works like a champ, which is awesome.

One other question, that I need to do some more research on. I have two external hard drives - both NTFS formatted. One is firewire, the other is USB. Both work fine under Boot Camp, and recognize in OS X fine. However, Parallels doesn't pick them up. Any suggestions?

Thanks for all your help.

 

Hello Airbaal,

Thank you for the feedback and for the suggestion. I will make the corresponding KB article.

As for Firewire, it is not currently supported by Parallels, unfortunately.
If you can not get USB working neither of these ways, please use Shared Folders option. In Configuration Editor you can share the USB connected to Mac as a User-defined folder. This way you will get access to it from the Guest OS.

Best regards,
Xenos

 

How do I- (1) Confirm the physical MAC address(es) are the same? and (2) make the changes to get both BootCamp MAC address and VM Mac address the same? Thanks.

 

Hello Dcollins4131,

You should make two hardware profiles the way described in the post #4, then do the following:

1) Boot into Mac OS X and start Parallels, open VM Configuration Editor;

2) Choose "Network Adapter 1" section, "Advanced" tab and remember the MAC address;

3) Boot into Boot Camp natively and open Windows Control Panel -> Network Connections. Right click "Local Area Connections", choose "Properties";

4) On "General" tab click "Configure" button. In the Network Connection Properties window open "Advanced" tab and choose "Locally Administered address" from the list. In the "Value" field type the MAC address;

5) Restart into Mac OS X and launch Parallels, pick the Windows "Parallels" partition and re-activate Windows the first time starting into Parallels.

Best regards,
Xenos