Constant Crashes with Mac Pro and any Beat with Coherence

3150 Results no different

Same type of crashes or freezes with 3150. Machine locks up with no panic, mouse moves but I am unable to click on anything. Force Quit and other keyboard shortcuts do nothing. Hard reboot is the only option.

At this point I am going to try and get this Mac Pro switched out by Apple and see if that helps.

Bluloo, When I said safe mod eI meant start the VM in safe mode. To do this simply tap the "F8" key when starting up the VM. You should get a prompt to start normally or in several other modes. Choose safe mode and uninstall Parallels once you boot up. You will notice that the VM only loads a minimal set of "safe" drivers so that the machine is stable.

Hope that helps,
Alex
 
Mac Pro 2.66 with 3gb of RAM and ATI vidocard here ...
Latest RC2 Parallels build is stable as far as a I can see. Very happy with it.
I haven't used coherence that much but my limited testing of this has not turned up any crashes or KPs.
 
alexjasper said:
Same type of crashes or freezes with 3150. Machine locks up with no panic, mouse moves but I am unable to click on anything. Force Quit and other keyboard shortcuts do nothing. Hard reboot is the only option.

At this point I am going to try and get this Mac Pro switched out by Apple and see if that helps.

Bluloo, When I said safe mod eI meant start the VM in safe mode. To do this simply tap the "F8" key when starting up the VM. You should get a prompt to start normally or in several other modes. Choose safe mode and uninstall Parallels once you boot up. You will notice that the VM only loads a minimal set of "safe" drivers so that the machine is stable.

Hope that helps,
Alex
Click to expand...

Thanks Alex.

In my haste, I booted OS X (instead of Windows) into safe mode and proceeded from there! :o

If the machine is stable without Parallels, what leads you to believe it's a HW issue (just asking)?

Is your machine bone stock (kbd, mouse, memory, PCIe cards etc)?

What build of OS X are you running? I thought there were a few different builds.

Have you tried moving memory modules to the other riser? (I have 1GB pairs on the top riser and a set of 512s on the bottom, for example. I was told it can make a difference in how the machine performs though I have no idea if it may be relevant here).

Is your firmware up to date?

I'm running 8L2127 on my MacPro. The MacBook Pro is running 8L2127 as well.

Perhaps including our basic machine configs when posting issues might help track down HW related issues (assuming there are HW related issues).

It seems like something low level is causing many of these issues.

Perhaps we need a separate, sticky thread for all to post similar info. The resulting data might yield a pattern (whether working well or not, as well as the specific issue)?

My config:

Parallels build history

3150, runs well
3106 ok
3120 KP

NVIDIA 7300GT + dual monitors
4 Internal drives, no RAID
2USB PCIe cards
2 External FW drives
MacAlly Kbd
MX 1000 Wireless Mouse
iSight

Machine Name: Mac Pro
Machine Model: MacPro1,1
Processor Name: Dual-Core Intel Xeon
Processor Speed: 2.66 GHz
Number Of Processors: 2
Total Number Of Cores: 4
L2 Cache (per processor): 4 MB
Memory: 3 GB
Bus Speed: 1.33 GHz
Boot ROM Version: MP11.005C.B04
SMC Version: 1.7f8

Darwin Kernel 8.8.1 (I noticed that some users have KPs with 8.8.2 as well)
 
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Possible cause of slowdown/freeze: Rosetta?

I've been using Parallels for two weeks now and feel very lucky that it's working well, except for the occasional freeze up.

I'm not sure if others' experiences are like mine, but these aren't the normal beachball freeze of an application in MacOS X that allow you to do other work... These are more like the old days of MacOS 9, where EVERYTHING is frozen: Can't switch apps, open menus, etc.

The system is entirely held hostage until Parallels "recovers"... and then plays back all my mouse clicks, keystrokes, etc.... which of course makes for some interesting visuals as windows, menus, etc. start flying...

Well, through some trial and error and being aware of what's occurring right before or after the freeze, I think the culprit is a nasty interaction between Parellels and something in Rosetta, the software that handles PowerPC apps on Intel processors. (And this is very plausible since both are utilizing the virtualization technology on the chip...)

Each time I try and run a PowerPC app on my MacBook Core 2 Duo with 2GB of RAM, I'm quickly taken to the freezer where I wait for the system to thaw. This happens, for example, when starting any Office 2004 (for Mac) app while my Windows XP virtual machine is running.

Does this scenario seem familiar to you? Has anyone any suggestions on what to do? At a certain point, it almost makes it worth while to just use Office 2007 in WinXP than to try and run them side by side (in Parallel... as the name suggests). (okay, I couldn't resist the pun.)
 
thorprichard, I experience the "everything is frozen" scenario as well. I'm running RC2 on a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM (and eventually 3GB). Same freezer/thaw scenario you have.

Also, in my case, if I leave it alone (in coherence mode BTW) for a good hour or two, when I come back I'll find Parallels has quit unexpectedly. No kernel panics, thankfully, but still.

This has happened twice so far, and only recently. Probably because I've never left it running unattended for so long before, so the condition may have always been present. I just never gave it a chance to manifest itself.

If it happens again - or if I can get it to happen again - I'll try to grab some info for review. Other suggestions welcome!
 
Alex, no problems here...

with my MacPro (2GHz/2GB) and build 1970. I've got XP Pro and Vista running well with Parallels tools installed in both. I don't know if it helps, but you did ask if anyone is using it successfully.

Steve
 
More insight about freezing ... and ways to avoid it

jdandrea said:
thorprichard, I experience the "everything is frozen" scenario as well. I'm running RC2 on a MacBook Pro Core 2 Duo with 2GB RAM (and eventually 3GB). Same freezer/thaw scenario you have.
Click to expand...

Thanks for validating that I'm not insane, inept, or alone. :)

Today, I tried something slightly different after poking around Google. Somewhere I read (Macintouch, I think) the suggestion of launching Rosetta apps FIRST, before launching Parallels (or any VM). And that somehow, this helps Parallels and Rosetta "play nice" with each other.

I also employed some other advice I found about Parallels, which suggested turning off all the fancy UI tricks (dock icon, Windows apps in the dock, and especially Coherence) and to run it in window'd mode instead (not full screen).

The good news is, I had NO frozen moments today at all! Not even a hint of a slow down switching between Rosetta apps (Word 2004, Excel 2004), native apps (Firefox), and Parallels.

The (relative) bad news is, since I didn't try one fix at a time, I have no idea which one (or that it's both) that fixes the problem. I can live with that. ;)
 
I have 3150 running on my Mac Pro similarly configed to yours. I had a few kernel panics right after I installed 3150 over 3120. But after I restored permissions and booted into safe mode to uninstall and reinstall Parallels Tools, everything has worked fine for a week or so. This is so for both my Vista guest and my Windows XP guest. I leave my machine on all the time.

Have no other good ideas.

Good luck.

Dick
 
Parallels RC2 Crashing Kept At Bay?

thorprichard said:
Thanks for validating that I'm not insane, inept, or alone. :)
Click to expand...
No problem at all! We probably just have similar circumstances, 'tis all. Could be a few different things coming together to produce this particular gotcha.

Interesting idea with launching Rosetta apps first! I'm pretty sure I had some running AFTER I launched Parallels last time. (Don't know about the time before that.)

I really really really like Coherence mode, so I'll skip the Rosetta apps first if I have to. If I still get unexpected quits, I'll a) note the details for the Parallels team, and b) try OS Window mode.

Windows apps in the dock I already turned off, yep. (That didn't matter in my case.)

thorprichard said:
The good news is, I had NO frozen moments today at all! Not even a hint of a slow down switching between Rosetta apps (Word 2004, Excel 2004), native apps (Firefox), and Parallels.
Click to expand...
Congrats! Excellent news.

I'm partly hoping to reproduce this again. I'd like to get some debug info to the Parallels developers if it would help with root cause analysis.
 
I can confirm serious problems with Parallels on a similar Mac Pro and dual-ATI video card setup. In fact, I went so far as to have my Mac Pro motherboard, ram, and both video cards replaced. This is NOT faulty hardware - it is Parallels!

Interestingly, while waiting for the replacement video cards to arrive, I ran for a week with just one of the ATI cards installed, and guess what?

Parallels did not crash at all. I had it running the entire week, and it was just what I had hoped it would be.

As soon as the tech installed both video cards the problems resumed as ferociously as before. This really puts me in a bad spot. Do I remove the second video card and leave a monitor to gather dust, or do I give up on Parallels? I really wish they would just fix this problem.

Now that at least two of us have hard crashing problems on this Mac Pro, dual video card configuration I feel reassured that it is not a problem with my specific hardware. SOmething is wrong with how Parallels works in the dual video card scenario.

Rick
 
alexjasper said:
Same type of crashes or freezes with 3150. Machine locks up with no panic, mouse moves but I am unable to click on anything. Force Quit and other keyboard shortcuts do nothing. Hard reboot is the only option.

At this point I am going to try and get this Mac Pro switched out by Apple and see if that helps.

Bluloo, When I said safe mod eI meant start the VM in safe mode. To do this simply tap the "F8" key when starting up the VM. You should get a prompt to start normally or in several other modes. Choose safe mode and uninstall Parallels once you boot up. You will notice that the VM only loads a minimal set of "safe" drivers so that the machine is stable.

Hope that helps,
Alex
Click to expand...
Alex, I had motherboard, ram and video cards replaced to chase down a problem that sounds exactly like the one you are having. Replacing the hardware did not help. My setup is nearly identical to yours, and I am still getting symptoms that also sound nearly identical. Feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to confer.

Rick
 
MacPro Quad 3 ghz
4 x 500 GB SATA drives
6 MB RAM
Standard video card

I have a legacy VM which I transported from my old PC hardware, filled with peculiar utilities and apps from days gone by. My VM is 170 MB fixed (I am leery of expanding drives).

I have not had a single problem with kernel panics under any version of Parallels, including 3170. I have 1 GB RAM allocated, shared networking, and everything else in default mode.

My machine runs 24 x7.

I do not like global file sharing, and I do not like green eggs and ham, and I do not enable the one nor consume the other.
 
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Multi ATI video card setup

rickross said:
I can confirm serious problems with Parallels on a similar Mac Pro and dual-ATI video card setup. In fact, I went so far as to have my Mac Pro motherboard, ram, and both video cards replaced. This is NOT faulty hardware - it is Parallels!

Interestingly, while waiting for the replacement video cards to arrive, I ran for a week with just one of the ATI cards installed, and guess what?

Parallels did not crash at all. I had it running the entire week, and it was just what I had hoped it would be.

As soon as the tech installed both video cards the problems resumed as ferociously as before. This really puts me in a bad spot. Do I remove the second video card and leave a monitor to gather dust, or do I give up on Parallels? I really wish they would just fix this problem.

Now that at least two of us have hard crashing problems on this Mac Pro, dual video card configuration I feel reassured that it is not a problem with my specific hardware. SOmething is wrong with how Parallels works in the dual video card scenario.

Rick
Click to expand...

Rick I sent you an email as well. I will pull the extra video card out and see how it goes. I have since upgraded to 3170 but have had the same issues.

Thanks,
Alex
 
Hi Alex,

I'm glad to have learned I am not alone in the chronic problems I have had with Mac Pro and dual-ATI cards. It will be very interesting to see if you get the same positive results I did when only running one video card instead of two?

Positive? Well, not exactly. Who would not want to run both of their video cards? Anyway, I hope Parallels runs as stable for you with a single video card as it did for me. If so, then we may have isolated the critical factor.

Rick
 
rickross said:
Hi Alex,

I'm glad to have learned I am not alone in the chronic problems I have had with Mac Pro and dual-ATI cards. It will be very interesting to see if you get the same positive results I did when only running one video card instead of two?

Positive? Well, not exactly. Who would not want to run both of their video cards? Anyway, I hope Parallels runs as stable for you with a single video card as it did for me. If so, then we may have isolated the critical factor.

Rick
Click to expand...

Rick I have moved our topic to a new thread. Please POST in the when you have a chance.

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?p=45949#post45949

Thanks,
Alex
 
An update: Now on the latest official release of Parallels Desktop for Mac and ... so far, no crashing with Coherence! Nothing, nada, zip, zilch.

Hopefully a good sign!
 
alexjasper, try reducing your screen size and/or disabling one or more of your monitors on your Mac Pro. Since you've got the Xcode Developer Tools installed, do me a favour and check out this thread:

http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=10467

If you can run Activity Monitor and Quartz Debug to verify that Parallels is indeed making your WindowServer memory usage go through the roof, perhaps that's the cause of the problem. (This is with the latest public release -- build 3188).
 
Mac PRo Still has Issues -- Please HELP!!!!

I just purchased a MacPRo 3 ghz 4 core with 4 Gig of Ram. 2 750 gig drives in bays 1 and 2 striped RAID 0 (Mirroring) via SW (OSX Diskutility).

I am trying to run Parallels 3188 (1024 mg) 32 Gig hard drive and the Win XP install hangs during installation of windows. I have used Paralles on both an iMAc and Macbook and it runs fine - very solid.

Very confused about the stability issues I see on this board with the MAC PRo. Can I run parallels on a my new machine?!!

Please Help!
 
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