1) I want to back up my quicken data files now stored in a folder in "Drive C" in the Parallels folder (Quicken XP I guess). But when I click on "Quicken -> File -> Backup" it doesn't "see" my external drive. How do I back up this phantom folder? 2) I think my only use of the Internet in Parallels witll be my once a month update of my Quicken accounts. Do I need a firewall, anti-virus, anti-spyware, etc? Am I protected inside the Mac? Thanks in advance. Barry
USB issue I'm assuming your talking about an external USB drive and Parallels. It's tricky and doesn't work with all drives. I've had this problem myself and just copied the files to my Mac. Your Parallels will suffer the same as any other Windows computer. I don't surf the net with my XP so I don't worry about it. But you can run the programs if you want to feel safe.
Can you see your external drive in Windows? Have you mapped your external drive to "C"? C is generally the harddrive of your computer. Are you wanting to backup to your harddrive ("C") or your external drive? When you run Windows in Parallels you are running Windows just like on any other machine. It is open to viruses and all other Windows issues. If you are not websurfing via windows, downloading email, or any other "risky" behaviour (i.e. downloading other software) you should be ok. If you do any of these activities though on the Windows side then anti-virus is strongly recommended. Presumably you are already running your Mac through a router which is an automatic firewall. AVC is pretty good free anti-virus software. NOD32 is also a lightweight, low-cost anti-virus package. There have been reports of problems for some with anti-virus programs such as McAfee/Norton. These programs are heavyweight and have the potential to slow your system. The advantage of Windows in Parallels is that if you get a virus you can simply dump the VM and restore from a backup copy. So, if you have everything up and running now, back up your VM and do not touch that copy unless you need to return to a clean version.
Thanks for the replies, guys. Let's see... 1) Yes, I am trying to backup to an external drive connected via USB connection. Parallels doesn't see it, but Parallels also doesn't "see" any of my Mac folders, the real desktop, and so on. I have noticed that I am able to change a setting (I didn't even know was there until a window popped up asking me if i wanted to connect the parallels folders with the rest of the Mac) allowing the copying and pasting to any folder (or drive) in the Mac. It's not as convenient as doing it thru the Backup choice within Quicken (that I can do as I remain in Quicken and don't have to see the warning when I exit Quicken that I didn't back up. Guess I can use a CD to back up to (Parallels sees that at least) but that means always having to blank a RW CD each time first. I am also curious about the "mapping" you mentioned. When I was using Linux (before the Mac) I used software very similar to Parallels designed to provide Windows applications to run inside Linux: there were two - Win4Lin and Crossover. Neither was perfect: Win4Lin would not run the printer, and Crossover would not recognize the external drive (it did recognize the other Linux folders) - Crossover could not be mapped, but Win4Lin could: a utility program was provided that allowed me to specifically identify a drive (in Linux all drives are "folders") so Win4Lin would "see it." Is there such a mapping utility in Parallels I don't know about? 2) I guessed as much with the Internet invasion thru a Windows program - no I don't "surf" or do anything inside Windows other than access my brokerage accounts once a month, and I am running my DSL connnection thru a Westell Model 327W combination modem/router which I assume has some protection. Everything else is run outside of Windows in the Mac. Thanks again. Barry
Personally, I have set up a shared folder on my iMac called Quicken Backups. I use Quicken Version 6 to backup to this shared folder. (Look up shared folders in the Parallels Manual). Now I have a copy of the Quicken file on both the XP virtual hard disk and the Mac (real) hard disk. Then, once a day (at 3AM) I backup my whole iMac (including both the virtual machine and the shared folders) to a firewire external drive using a product called SuperDuper! (which runs automatically).
Thanks Purplish. I am still very confused about the location of my Quicken data files. I cannot seem to find the qdf file using the "find" option - if I search on the name of the whole file (qdata.qdf) it comes up blank, if I look for qdata it only finds the backup file on my external drive. I am not sure I am really looking at "Drive C" when I open my hard drive. I clicked on the "User -> [my name] -> documents -> Parallels" and I see a Windows XP folder, and inside that is a Windows Applications folder, but no sign of anything with the qdf file (I see only the Quicken application as a file, not a folder). It must be stored somewhere. Is it in a library? Oh, one mre thing: why Quicken 6? I used to use 2004 but that is apparently no longer supported by Intuit and so I am on 2007 - I liked 2004 better, maybe I was used to it, I have some difficulty creating Quicken reports in 2007, the reporting format has changed somewhat. Quicken 6: isn't that quite a few years back (I actually started with Quicken for DOS, I think the Civil War had just ended)? Barry
OK, I went back to look for the shared folders and found it, and it contained one file or drive or folder, not sure what I was looking at, looked like a little gold globe and labeled "iMac" - I also note that I am unable to add my external drive to that folder. What exactly does it do? Barry
Hope we are talking about the same folder: it's in "Drive C" in Windows, inside "Program Files\Parallels\Parallel Tools?" Yes? Barry
On my computer, I have to find the Parallels shared folders by going to my computer and clicking on network neighborhood. There are shared folders in Windows which enable you to share files among Windows users. Then there are Parallels shared folders, which enable you to share files between the iMac and the XP VM.
OK, thanks. Still cannot actually locate "Drive C" (inside Parallels) from the Mac directly. I am guessing it's encoded somehow and invisible except inside the XP window? BTW, and FWIW, when I was using Linux, and had both Crossover and Win4Lin installed (both similar to Parallels but not as good), each resided inside a folder that was accessible from Linux itself without opening Windows. That's what I am trying to find, guess I can't. Barry
