Strange Win7 login/setup issue after creating new VM from cloned Bootcamp

Discussion in 'Installation and Configuration of Parallels Desktop' started by SLCRubes, Aug 21, 2014.

  1. SLCRubes

    SLCRubes Bit poster

    Messages:
    1
    I've searched a while for this one but so far have come up empty, so...

    Here's the setup:
    - Mac Pro running 10.9.4
    - Newest version of Parallels 9 (just downloaded)
    - Bootcamp partition running Windows 7 (runs fine from Parallels or booting directly into Bootcamp)

    So I wanted to migrate my Bootcamp partition to a new SSD hard drive in the same computer. Here's what I did:
    - Used Bootcamp Assistant to create new Bootcamp partition on the SSD (same size as old partition)
    - Ran CHKDSK on the old Bootcamp partition, then used Winclone to create an image
    - Restored the image to the new SSD Bootcamp partition

    I booted up into the new SSD Bootcamp partition, and everything seems to be working fine. So then I went into Parallels to set it up to run there.

    The problem:
    I followed the usual process of setting up Parallels to use the new SSD Bootcamp installation, and it starts out fine. I get the Win 7 "Welcome" screen. But then, I noticed a new "Preparing the desktop" message, after which Windows drops me into a blank desktop. No icons, no Start menu, nothing except a completely blank desktop and the mouse cursor, with a little message in the bottom right corner that this copy of Windows is not genuine. Right-clicking does nothing. The only thing that does work is to hit CTRL-ALT-DELETE, which brings me to the usual screen where you can Lock the computer, Log off, Switch to another user, or Start the Task Manager.

    It appears as though I am logged in using my usual Windows username and password, but the login process is not completing. If I go to the Task Manager and run "explorer.exe", I then get a minimal desktop and Start Menu, but Windows tells me I'm logged in using a temporary account (even though I'm actually logged in with my usual account) and nothing on the Start Menu works. If I CTRL-ALT-DEL and log out and back in with my usual credentials, it still drops me into the blank desktop.

    Note that I can still reboot directly into the new SSD Bootcamp installation and everything works fine the way it should. This only happens when trying to run the new SSD Bootcamp installation using Parallels.

    It appears as though Parallels Tools are not installed, but there is no way to install them. Choosing to install Parallels Tools from the menu gives me the usual message but nothing proceeds to happen, as I think I need a functional desktop to initiate that process.

    Any ideas?
     

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