Internet Access Stopped After Tools Was Updated

Last month under Catalina, internet access worked fine. Two weeks ago, I upgraded the MAC OS to Big Sur, and still everything worked fine. Then one day last week Parallels updated to Version 16.1.1 (49141), but I don't think Parallels Tools was updated at that time, but I did not pay that much attention to it because I thought everything was working just fine. Then, the other day I saw a new version of Parallels Tools get installed and I believe that is when the problem started. The next morning when Quicken was attempting to log on it came back with the error saying that it could not get to the internet. Strange, I just downloaded my mail on the MAC side and everything was fine. I checked Safari on the MAC side and all was good. I switched over the Windows and Internet Explorer and it could not find the internet just like Quicken. I guess I really did have a problem. Now, after FAR TO MANY hours spent on this problem, I have at least temporarily resolved the internet connection side of the problem. By going to Parallels> Configure> Hardware> Network> I saw that my network Source was Shared Network (Recommended). I switched it to EACH OF THE Bridged Network choices (Default Adapter, Wi-Fi, and Ethernet) and they connected me to the internet; however, at slower speeds than when on my MAC side. So, while this appears to be a temporary solution that allows me to connect to the internet, I do not think that the computer can actually "see" all the files on that MAC, i.e., full sharing.

I sure hope this gets enough attention of the experts at Parallels this week, because not having internet access IS A BIG DEAL for many. Let's hope for a quick resolution.

 

Hello, Thank you for your detailed post.
Did you try to get back to the Shared network mode and check the issue.
Also did you try to reinstall Parallels Tools by yourself?

 

Hi Maria,

Thanks for your assistance here. I have spent another few hours trying to resolve this issue, but to no avail. As I mentioned in the initial post, I have been able to get to the Internet from the VM by selecting any of the three Bridged Network choices. I have it set on Default Adapter and it is (appears to be) working fine.

Regarding the reinstallation of Parallels Tools, I did that the other day along with a complete restart (MAC and Windows). That did not resolve the problem. Today, after reading your reply, I thought perhaps there was more to this "reinstall Parallels Tools" thing than I thought. So, I did it all over again just to be on the safe side. After doing that, I switched to Shared Network and I could swear when I checked it WORKED. I was dumbfounded to say the least. So, just to be on the safe side, I restarted the complete system and found myself right back where I started. Now I was left wondering if I really checked it properly a few minuets earlier. So again, out of pure madness, I reinstalled Tools for the third time and again confirmed that a fix was not in the works there.

Thus, my current state remains the same....if I select Default Adapter, I immediately get an Internet connection as verified with Settings > Network and Internet > Status. As soon as I select Shared Network, I immediately lose the connection. Switch back to Default Adapter and once again I am back in business.

I am not savy enough to know the ins and outs of this networking stuff, so I am left with one big question that I cannot find a plain language answer to: What is the functional difference between Shared Network and Default Adapter. My limited knowledge says it has a lot to do with internal address assignment within the network. My bigger question though is what does that translate to in real world terms. Have I lost some functionality that I am just not aware of at this point? Or, in other words should I just say to myself "you have and internet connection so quit worrying about it"..."who cares what Source you select in configuration"?

I have a feeling the answer is somewhere in between and it is not worth worrying about it until I discover some other downside of using the Default Adapter. I wonder what the engineers at Parallels would say .

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.....