Cannot download EXE or setup files

A

Andrew Barrett

Bit poster
I just installed Parallels 5 and Windows XP SP3. All Windows updates have been downloaded and applied.

I cannot download EXE or setup files using either the XP VM or Mac OSX. It will start the download and will stop after a few kilobytes. Of course, the files are much larger and will not run. For example, the install for firefox will not download. It works for any mac DMG package but every windows one fails.

I have tried IE8 on XP and Firefox and Safari on Mac.

It seems kind of stupid that I need another machine to download these files and then I can use a USB drive. That works. This is probably a deal killer for parallels if I cannot figure it out. I do way too much software installs for this nonsense.

I really appreciate any help. BTW, the VM concept is very cool and quite mind bending when used in Coherence mode.
 
Hmmm... if you can't download .exe files even from Mac OS X it sounds as if something on your Mac is preventing that download. Are you using any anti virus or similar software? Is the machine maybe connected to a proxy which doesn't like you downloading .exe files?
 
I have the exactly same problem. Is that related to the recent update Parallels desktop (PD)? I have reinstalled PD after completely uninstall PD manually. The same problems occur.
 
Solved, but there is a bug

I got the XP VM to download EXEs by changing the network connection to "Airport (bridged)" instead of "Shared Networking".

On the Mac side, Parallels hijacks the downloads and will not let them progress. It is definitely a Parallels bug.

I am not sure what the different network modes do or why to chose one over another.
 
Same problem

I have the exactly same problem. But I found I can download exe files on safari on a the safe mode booting.
 
The VM Setting "Airport (bridged)" means that the VM shows it's own identity directly to the outside world; "Shared Networking" more or less "hides" the VM from the outside world behind the Mac. I'm no network expert so this description is probably giving some expert serious goose bumps.

I have found that with some wireless routers I need to use "Shared Networking" (and turn on Parallels' DHCP server which as far as I understand in turn enables netword address translations). With others, Bridged works fine, but Shared Networking doesn't. To my knowledge one method is as good as the other - I just pick the one that works.

I don't understand "On the Mac side, Parallels hijacks the downloads and will not let them progress"? I'm just trying to picture it. I can download stuff on the Mac as well as on the VM side when using Shared and also when using Bridged networking - no downloads are stopping on either side when I start downloading something on the other.

When you write you can't download .exe files, can you download other files such as .jpg or .mp3 files?
 
This may fix the problem...

I'm not using XP or XP mode, but rather Windows 7 Home Premium under Parallels Desktop 5 for Mac. I was unable to install many Windows apps that needed to be downloaded, especially those with "two-stage" downloads. That is, a small setup file is downloaded first. When it is launched, it downloads the actual, larger application setup file. I received the error message, (paraphrasing) "[Filename].exe is not a valid Win32 application."

If that is the problem you are having, this may fix it; it worked for me. I called tech support and paid for a support incident. So here's the $20 answer directly from the Parallels Support Team:

1. Launch Parallels Desktop. Set your view to any mode that allows the Parallels Desktop menu to remain visible (i.e., not Full Screen).

2. From the Parallels Desktop menu, select Devices | Network Adapter 1 | Bridged Networking | Default Adapter.

I then tested this fix by installing two programs I was unable to install before: Java and Microsoft Live Meeting. Both installed without a hitch.

Hope this helps.

Steve
 
I has nothing to do with the router or Mac OS or Windows XP. I have plenty of these running perfectly in the same network. This is the first time I am using Parallels and it has a bug in the handling of downloaded windows executables and install scripts (e.g. .exe, .msi). I tried to download these same files on a mac without Parallels and it works perfectly. Other types of downloads seem to work fine.

Parallels recognizes that the download is a windows executable and hijacks the download. It has to be doing this. It places its || logo on the icon. So, I know Parallels is at work. My guess is that it wants to make sure that Parallels is used to execute the download. In the process it is corrupting the download. There is a bug in this code.

Using bridged networking has allowed to me to work around partially. The XP VM can download .exe files. However, it is not perfect as firefox for example will show a download working and will still fail sometimes. Using IE sometimes works in these cases. However, Mac OS always fails on these downloads after about 4KB. A clean Mac OS without Parallels always works perfectly.

I tried Steve's suggestion of the Bridged (default). That did not do anything different that Bridged (airport). But, Bridged is the setting that at least lets it quasi-work. BTW, I hope they refunded your $20 for their bug.

So, does Parallels support read these and realize they have a bug or do we have to do something?
 
Are we talking about two (or more) different problems?

Since my (Steve) issue was solved, I'm wondering if the problem Andrew was describing could be a separate issue. Thanks for the tip of getting my money back. It could indeed be a bug, but changing the network settings did fix my problem.

One note: My error messages ("[filename].exe is not a recognized Win32 application") popped up in what looked like a native Windows warning dialog box (red circle with a white "X"). There was no Parallels logo. That might mean we are indeed talking about two separate, but similar, issues.
 
Hi Andrew,
we cannot reproduce situation with Windows VM unable to dowload .exe files when in Shared mode - downloading .exe and .msi files is fine in both Shared and Bridged modes. Guess, there is something with your particular firewall/antivirus settings. It is definitely not a bug.
 
I-che said:
Hi Andrew,
we cannot reproduce situation with Windows VM unable to dowload .exe files when in Shared mode - downloading .exe and .msi files is fine in both Shared and Bridged modes. Guess, there is something with your particular firewall/antivirus settings. It is definitely not a bug.
Click to expand...

Did you try to execute the download? It does not refuse to download, it just downloads a very small corrupt file.

The XP VM quasi-works in bridged mode. The Mac OS does not work at all for downloading EXE files. Even with Parallels not executing, Mac OS fails to download using either Firefox or Safari. This worked fine until I installed Parallels.

On the Mac, I am using Norton AV 11.1.1(2) which I believe is the latest. On the XP VM, I am using ESET Smart Security 4 latest build and Webroot SpySweeper latest build. I am not using a firewall. I am using the Apple Airport Extreme Router. But, like I said, these same setups work perfectly on other machines. So the only difference is the use of Parallels.

I am a software developer by trade, and I can assure you that it is a bug. You might not be able to reproduce it, but it is definitely not working.
 
Same problem here!

I agree to Steve, because I have the same problem.
Firefox shows that it is downloading and finishes the download perfectly, but the file is corrupt.
I will try the work-around with the network settings now.
 
I tried all the network configurations that Parallels offers, and I tried it with and without AVIRA Antivirus.
In all cases it did not work! Firefox says the download is finished, but when I start the downladed file, it is corrupt.
 
Is there a way to completely remove parallels?

I would like to try to use the same laptop to "prove" that parallels introduces the bug where "binary" (exe, msi) files will not download properly in MacOS. I tried uninstalling Parallels, but it still left lots of parallels file associations behind. For example it complained that EXE would not work because parallels was not found.

Is there a way to do this? Or, do I have to use time machine to go back to a backup from before I installed parallels?
 
Thank you for your hint. But it did not work
I uninstalled Avira Free Antivirus, restarted Mac and Parallels, and I still cannot download any EXE.
 
Why don't you try completely isolating the VM from the Mac; there's a setting in the VM configuration for that. You won't have shared folders or applications - but this may help you with the download issue... Could you try that?
 
Wow, when I isolate the virtual machine, it works. That should be the proof that it's not a antivirus problem.
But it is not very comfortable not to have the shared folders ...
So can we hope the bug will be fixed?
 
Actually I'm thinking more that this is an issue with shared apps. You could try turning folder sharing back on, but leave application sharing (windows -> mac and mac -> windows) off.
 
Hi,
most likely the problem is related to antivirus. Removing AV software using special removal tools and restarting VM might help.
 
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