Parallels hasn't commented on the forum but I can confirm via my support request that they've reproduced the issue and it has been escalated.
By the time this issue is resolved, we are all going to get the email from
[email protected]:
"Upgrade NOW to Parallels 10!
* Actual support for 2.5-year-old graphics libraries!
* Improved Linux Parallels-Tools installer that doesn't give you option to "remove" Parallels tools - but does make you install some old-and-now-depreciated 32-bit graphics libraries!
* As a bonus - the installer makes Linux look like Windows 2000, and gives you that "Start" menu all you Linux aficionados have been gagging for!
* Also, actual support for Ubuntu 12.04 (even though 14.04 just came-out).
* You asked for it - we ignored you again - STILL no support for Arch Linux!
* more Windows support and features and stuff that you don't actually want!
Send your money NOW and upgrade to Software that works worse that the last three versions all put together!"
I am out. Farewell Parallels. I am taking my money... oh no, wait, I can get virtualization for free with Open-Source tools.
If you too want to abandon this sinking ship - this is what I did to get my 12.04-based machines working with VirtualBox.
1. Look inside the Parallels ".app" application bundle, and copy-paste the parallels tools iso out-to somewhere accessible.
2. If you have snapshots - now is the time to merge-them all back into the master HDD image (sorry!). Look this process up. It involves deleting the "mid-way" snapshots - this merges all the data back into the main HDD image. Be careful with this - you can very easily accidentally delete your most up-to date machine's state - I did on one of mine (it was late and I was not careful).
3. Start-up your VM, mount the parallels-tools iso, then run the Parallels-Tools installer from the command-line - old-school. From here you can select "remove" parallels tools in the good-old-"old-style" installer.
4. Doing this will completely break your desktop environment - Whoopie! For me it went to the Gnome-Fallback environment. This is cool - we can fix it.
5. Shutdown your VM, perform the same operations on your other VMs, and close Parallels for one final time!
6. Now you want to get the actual hard-drive image files from your Parallels VMs - these are just bundles -similar to "*.app" bundles - a folder with a file extension. After uninstalling Parallels, Finder MAY interpret them as normal folders - it may not... I cannot remember. So to be safe - get the goods out while Parallels is still installed. Inside the VM bundle is an *.HDD file - this is another bundle. Go in there, and you will find one very-large *.HDI file - if you deleted / merged your snapshots carefully - with a silly name. This is the hard-drive image. Copy / cut and paste this somewhere accessible. I renamed them to <something-appropriate>.HDD. This saves you a few clicks later-on.
7. Uninstall Parallels. This involves more than just deleting the Parallels Desktop.app file in your Applications folder. Parallels have a tutorial amongst their wonderful "knowledge-base" of useful articles on how to do this. However this method doesn't catch all the Parallels "flotsam-and-jetsam" scattered around your system. With patience and time you will get them. Once the *.kexts are gone - the rest is just a bad-hangover.
8. Download and install VirtualBox - they recently updated from the 3.* series to the 4.* series - VirtualBox is getting very-very good. Don't forget to download the VM extensions, and install them too.
9. Create a new VirtualBox VM - I wont go into that here - and use the old existing *.HDI file (that you may have renamed to <something-appropriate>.HDD). What I usually do here is get to the stage of selecting the image-file, then cut-and-paste the *.HDD file into the newly-created VirtualBox VM folder - and select it from there - just good house-keeping.
10. Tweak your settings - again, I wont go into that here, and start your VM.
11. Virtualbox will then want to install the "VirtualBox Guest Additions." Let this happen.
12. Now you want to fix the problems caused by the "Parallels-Tools" lobotomy. What I did was: a) first install "synaptics package manager" - this lets me see all the installed packages in a convenient GUI. Then in "synaptics package manager" I serached for "openGL". I then reordered the listed packages so the installed packages were at the top of the list, then selected tham all, and marked them for "reinstallation." I then accepted the changes and had these packages reinstall.
13. After a reboot, everything was back to normal - everything worked as it should, and I had a virtual machine with Gnome DE, WITHOUT any flashing-blue-fit-enducing bugs.
I am now happy. Thanks for some good (if not expensive) times, Parallels, but it is time for me to move-on. You came to me with your hand-out one-to-many times - with promises of performance and world-class support. After I coughed-up my money, time-and-time again, you happily took-it, and then repetitively kicked me in groin. I wont stand for that any more. The only regrets I have are the opportunities I gave you to improve, and all my money you are no-doubt rolling-in. So now I am saying goodbye.
I have a new love now. And you know what? When an update is released - I don't even have to pay for it! You know what's even better? I can submit bug-reports. And one final "tour-de-force?" I can then go and fix any bug I found myself - and contribute it back upstream. FOSS FTW!
I can now install and use Arch Linux too. Now I am happy - happier now than ever before, without you, Parallels.
