Help needed to restore Parallels following HDD failure and replace with new SSD?

Discussion in 'Installation and Configuration' started by MIKEP17, Aug 26, 2019.

  1. MIKEP17

    MIKEP17 Bit poster

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    9
    Hello,
    Apologies in advance for what may/will be a lengthy post. I am new to MAC based computers and have no user experience of Parallels, but I am an embedded software/electronics engineer and competent Windows user. Ok then, here is the history. Our MacBook Pro failed with a hard drive issue on its main 'Macintosh HD' disk. No use of disk utility in recovery mode could repair it. We bought DiskWarrior 5.2, and using the DW USB Flash drive, I was able to save a huge amount of user documents, photos etc., to a 500GB portable drive. Several iterations later, the MacBook is now running nicely with a new Crucial SSD and Yosemite 10.10.5. All docs and photos etc., restored to the new drive. A very important aspect for this MacBook is the Parallels application, which was resident before the HDD failure. I drilled through the user documents and found the last downloaded package and installed Parallels from that. A saved activation code was accepted. If my memory serves me right, it asked for a virtual disk to use and I located a .pvm file and an associated .hdd too. All going well until I tried to launch Parallels and I get errors - we will provide exact details upon reply to this post. My thinking is that the (new SSD) disk ID is at odds with the old ID and that I cannot re-use salvaged .pvm, .hdd and .xml (descriptor) files. I really do not want to start afresh and have to manually install Windows XP applications and settings. Unfortunately, Mike is not so hot on using time machine and backups and we had no way of creating a Mac disk image to restore back. So, in short, is there a way of editing some settings such that I can restore back what was working in the Parallels environment, before we had the HDD failure - bearing in mind we now have a new SSD?
    Sorry for being such a newbie...
    Chris & Mike.
     
  2. Maria@Parallels

    Maria@Parallels Problem solver

    Messages:
    8,122
    Hi Chris and Mike.
    Could you share with us what would you like to restore and change?
    Also could you share the error details with us please? If you provide us with more details of the issue, we will be able to fully understand it and found the root cause of the issue.
     
  3. MIKEP17

    MIKEP17 Bit poster

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    Hello Maria,
    This may take some time. As explained in our original post, we are trying to find an easy and quick route to putting this MacBook back to how it was working circa May 2019 i.e. before the main 'Macintosh HDD' went wrong. I salvaged as much as DiskWarrior could support and then copied back critical docs etc., to the new Crucial Solid-state drive. This included various packages, one of which being the Parallels suite. I re-installed using the correct paid-for download, entered the license key and all good. The problem is that I wish to re-configure Parallels and all of the XP applications back to as it was in May, but without having to start afresh with a new virtual machine/disk and then having to install all of the Windows XP apps from scratch. For now, I attach screenshots of my attempts this evening - they may not all get through. Pictures tell a thousand words! I feel sure that the answer lies in the edit of the disk configuration .xml file, but I am open to suggestions. Has anyone else manged to recover a fully working Parallels installation after a catastrophic host HDD failure? Once again, I apologies for my lack of Mac/Parallels experience.
    Regards,
    Chris (working with, and on behalf of Mike Parry).
     

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  4. MIKEP17

    MIKEP17 Bit poster

    Messages:
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    Hello Maria,
    Just one more thing. I think I have posted in the wrong area and this thread belongs in the Desktop for Mac "Installation and Configuration" instead. Would moderator please move it?
    Thanks.
    Chris
     
  5. MIKEP17

    MIKEP17 Bit poster

    Messages:
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    Hello,
    May I politely ask if anyone from Parallels is looking into this, as the thread has gone quiet for a few days? Apologies if this is already work in progress...
    Regards,
    Chris (working with, and on behalf of Mike Parry).
     

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