Can't open Windows 10 - stuck on spinning device

Microsoft pushed out huge update for both Windows and Office yesterday, this caused my system to crash and now I can't get back into Windows 10, the VM is checking the disks due to an improper shut down, then eventually freezes both the Mac and the VM.

I concur with Harry S5 that two shut downs are required to get back into Parallels.

 

Thanks much for this post. I have been experiencing this regularly now, with every update and each time have to spend 2+ hours waiting for the above instructions to execute. Does Parallels have a solution? I see a lot of posts around this topic. It is a shame that we have not seen a fix for this as yet from Parallels. I hope Parallels is listening.

 

Been experiencing the same issue. I have an iMac (i7, 32gb ram) running High Sierra (all updated). It's been an amazing machine until the last 6 months when I updated parallels...really wish I hadn't. It has not run the same since. My Windows 10 is also up-to-date. I've called the Helpdesk a few times. They get me started again but a day or two later the computer starts acting up again. I can sometimes get it to soft-boot but most of the time it locks up tight and I have to hard boot. Right now it's stuck on Windows 10 wheel with "Checking disks after improper shutdown."
After I hard-boot the Mac runs flawlessly with all Mac native software...but it hangs up every time I try to launch Parallels.
I even upgraded to Parallels Pro hoping beyond all hope that there maybe something in it that would help. It didn't.

 

Just wanted to post another update... Experienced the same high CPU, locking, and Mac OSX crash/reboot again when running my Windows 10 VM in Parallels 15.1.4. Scoured the forums again looking for answers. None thanks to the Parallels Team but found some additional user suggestions that I'm trying out. At least in the short term, getting a stable experience with these changes:

• Disable all folder sharing between Mac OSX and Windows 10 (Options > Sharing)
• Use Parallels hypervisor (Hardware > CPU & Memory > Advanced Settings > Hypervisor)
• Unchecked "Enable TRIM" setting (Hardware > Hard Disk > Advanced Settings)
• Paused Windows Updates (In Win 10 > Start > Settings > Update & Security > Advanced Options > Pause Updates > Choose furthest out date as possible)

Definitely believe there is a correlation with Windows Updates running. That last setting is not great for security but seems to help with the frequency of locking up.
@parallels - Where are you on this?? Many forum threads and posts about this with very little response!

 

Very Frustrating. I am having the exact same issues as the previous users have described. I am very disheartened to see that this has been going on for over 8 months without a solution. Please give me the latest recommendation on what I must do to get my system operating again. I am operating on Mohave and just updated to Parallels 15 hoping that this would solve the problem. I cannot stop my windows 10 from checking the disc and am now paralyzed !!!

 

Same issue here.. Can't do anything... When committing the command '
prl_disk_tool check --hdd /Users//Parallels/Windows\ 10\ x64\ \(1\).pvm/Virtual\ Disk-000001.hdd' in terminal as giving as solution nothing happens.. It reaches the 100% in a matter of a second.

to get into Windows recovery mode you have to change the hypervisor from parallels to Apple and visa versa after every reboot you committed otherwise you will be stuck on the spinning device... it's a shame parallels doesn't give any support on this this is the 3th time this happens..
after that I've tried to repair the disk in the GuestOS, it won't fix his disk, I'm getting the error code
chkdsk error code: 736463686b2e6378 6a4B...
I've tried to convert my vm into VMware same issue.. Lucky I've made a back-up on my server from the entire vm. Still got some loose data for my exam..

Can't open a ticket at Parallels as well please we all need our Windows Guest!

 

I too have been experiencing the "checking the discs". I tried all the solutions mentioned in this thread and I still get Windows checking discs after every major update. I called Microsoft support. They looked at it and said there is a problem between Windows and Parallels. There was nothing they can do on their side but they did say that it takes a couple hours or more for Windows to complete the "checking discs" depending on the size of data and the CPU you have. It takes my MacBook Pro two hours but it does finish and then everything works fine after a restart of Windows and then a restart of Catalina OS. I have Parallels 15 with the latest update 15.1.4 (47270). I really hope Parallels finds the ultimate solutions.

 

Since switching to Apple Hypervisor and ensuring blocking auto updates through windows is switched on (then running the updat3 manually every so often) seems to have worked for me. I'm running a 2013 iMac with Mojave. Interestingly I also run parallels 15 on A 2017 iMac on Catalina with no issues.

 

Maybe some of my settings are not set right? Can someone tell me where I should go and what setting I should have in order for the Windows updates NOT to go into "checking discs"? For example, where do I find the Hypervisor setting?

 

Hi, to get to the hypervisor setting you will need to shut down your VM first, then go to your parallels control panel and select Configure -> Hardware -> CPU & Memory -> Advanced Settings -> Hypervisor

Checking discs only occurs if you have improperly shut down windows after a crash, that can't be changed. I found any crashes tended to happen in the middle of a windows update, to avoid this in windows open settings and search for updates, there's an option to pause updates for 7 days, select this, then if you go into this setting before the 7 days are up you can manually update windows (I do this nightly).

 

Twelve pages of similar issues with virtually no input from the vendor. That's a piss-poor response for a product we all paid, or are paying, for. Seems the message is that once you have it working, never upgrade: Parallels or the guest OS. That means no subscription money Parallels people. If you want the dollars to keep rolling in you've got to offer better support.

 

Update! After I've restored my VM from an earlier backup the same major issue happened windows came with the diskrepair notification and after an reboot it keeps looping in trying to repair windows Parallels 14 MacBook Pro 2019 16inch 32GB 1TB. Please can some one show some support I can't open any support ticket..
Kind regards

 

Here's my update, in case support is listening. I already had all the suggested Parallels config settings in place, minus a shared folder. I got past the disk repair issue: Windows seems to have healed itself after *many* hours. The MacOS terminal command prl_disk_check did nothing (went to 100% in a split-second). Windows now loads and works, but the VM eats memory over time. If left running overnight it eats so much memory that both Windows and MacOS are rendered unusable. So, at the moment I start the Windows VM when needed and then immediately shut it down. Not ideal.

 

I had a similar problem (Windows 10 Pro update 2004, on Parallels 15.1.4) and with the help of Parallels Support it seems to have been resolved by following this procedure:

1. Click on the Mac menu bar > Apple logo > System Preferences > Security & Privacy > unlock > on the left side, scroll down to Accessibility menu and enable Parallels Desktop.
2. Again Scroll down to the Files and Folder menu and enable Parallels Desktop.
3. Again Scroll down to the Full-disk menu and enable Parallels Desktop.
4. Disable firewall and Antivirus on Mac.
5. Follow the steps from KB article: https://kb.parallels.com/120845
6. If necessary also follow the steps in Kb article https://kb.parallels.com/113241

After chkdsk in step 5, "scanning and repairing drive" was completed but stuck at 100% and would not proceed to reboot on its own. internet search indicates this is frequently experienced with Win10. Had to Stop (Parallels Desktop Menu bar > Actions > Stop) after which Windows VM started as usual. I think it would be a good idea to shut down and start (as opposed to Restart) two or three times to give WIndows a chance to clear things up.

My system seems to run smoothly for the time being and I hope this will continue to be the case. Otherwise my plan is to (1) do a fresh clean installation in a new VM, or (2) install in BootCamp and link it to Parallels (see https://kb.parallels.com/112941).

I hope this helps.

 

Apple Hypervisor worked for a while, but the performance degraded over time. Windows slowed to a crawl and office apps would not launch, switched back to Parallels hypervisor an bizarrely it's flying again. However I have no faith this will continue and will be installing Windows on boot camp over the weekend. I've raised the white flag on this one, costing too much in lost time.

 

Thank your comment. Your post is especially discouraging in that as a user with 200 copies of Parallels and the problem not fix after almost a year since the first report, what does that say to Parallels being capable of fixing the problem. The worst part is Parallels lack communicating what they are doing. I found in business it's always best to be upfront and honest with your clients when issues arise. Parallels conduct in this area is just making the problem worse and will cause their user base to shrink.

 

If you are running DisplayLink for external display, this will hang the VM. I just disconnected mine and used a regular USB-C to HDMI adapter for the external display and the VM started with no issue. Just thought I'd share.

 

Ran into a lot of these same problems...freezing, forever spinning, upgrading, downgrading, etc. etc....and then I upped the graphics memory in the config....and I'm finally back to normal. Try it out as a possible solution.

 

Jumping ship for VMWare Fusion today. I've been fighting with this exact issue for FAR too long and it's wasted DAYS worth of productivity. Parallels Support - you guys need to get this figured out. This issue is a YEAR OLD!

 

Appears to be directly related to automatic Windows updates which require a restart. I encountered a similar experience as above, VM froze during startup never to reach Windows login, was unable to stop or reset the VM, turned off wi-fi/ethernet, rebooted Mac, restarted PD and the VM started in "automatic repair" mode. I was the able to login to Windows and got message that windows updates were interrupted and would need to be retried. I had just installed PD16 and assumed it was a problem with that, but it looks like a Win v PD issue. Am running Win 10 ver 1909, and the ver 2004 prompt also just arrived - so the problem may also be related to that update as well. Bottom line, by disconnecting the internet the automatic update process aborted and I was able to update it once the VM was up and running. Don't turn on the internet until the VM is up and running.