Unable to start Parallels services after upgrading to 16.1.0.

Well upgrading to 16.1.2 (49151) put me in the same position again - "Unable to start Parallels services" grrrrrrrr
This solution worked for me, I didn't try deleting the KernelExtensionManagement folder, but that's something to look forward to trying next time I do a Parallels upgrade.
WHY IS THIS STILL AN ISSUE? Do Parallels management really not care about this? Seems inconceivable but apparently this is the case.

MichaelF27 said:
I have found a solution for this! It's based on this thread: https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements/issues/2373#issuecomment-676121212
There is a flag that's set incorrectly on a directory that Parallels tries to load its kernel extension into, so it fails. Condensing the explanation from above:
  • /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement should have permissions 0755 with the "restricted" flag set [visible via "ls -Ol"], and the com.apple.rootless attribute set to KernelExtensionManagement (you can check the value of the attribute with xattr -l)
  • /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement/Staging should be 0755 with the "restricted" flag set.
When compared to another Mac running 10.14.6, I found that the "restricted" flag was not set against KernelExtensionManagement, which appears to have affected how SIP treats the directory.

If that's the case for you, you should be able to repair it using chflags (e.g chflags restricted /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement) from the terminal in recovery mode.

Steps:

  1. Restart in Recovery Mode (hold down Cmd-R until you see the Apple Logo)
  2. If you have FileVault enabled on your hard drive, run Disk Utility, choose the main hard drive (which will be dimmed), choose "Mount", and enter your password to mount and unencrypt the hard drive. If not, just go to the next step.
  3. Quit Disk Utility, and run Terminal from the Tools menu
  4. run "chflags restricted /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement" (with "Macintosh\ HD" being replaced by the name of your hard drive. If it has spaces in in, putting quotes around the whole pathname should work:
    • chflags restricted "/Volumes/My Long Hard Drive Name/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement"
  5. Restart the Mac. All should be good.
Click to expand...
 
micdim said:
Here's the solution. Extremely Easy!
Turns out that just putting /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagementin in your trash fixes it, as it is recreated when needed!!!
P.S.
I'm really pissed that Parallels has been so incompetent, when such a simple solution exists. How could you not know this? Shameful! Yes we have a Covid situation, but if your going to send out updates make sure THEY WORK!
Thanks to thpryrchn who put up the solution!
https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements/issues/2373
Click to expand...

I fixed it with this method.
Easiest way, start mac from an extern drive and delete the /private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagementin.
Then restart from intern drive and all works fine!
 
I have the same problem. Trying to install Parallels Desktop 16 on Mac High Sierra, and get the "Unable to start services" message. Developer ID "4C6364ACXT" already appears in the list of allowed teams. I hope this can be solved without having to manually edit the system, as described in this thread.

Paolo
 
I've tried to at least explore the solution suggesting to delete the "/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagementin" folder. Looking into it with the "ls -a" command, I see there is only an empty "Staging" folder.

As of now, I would prefer not to touch it, to avoid doing damages to other apps (maybe there is some license file hidden there?).

Paolo
 
ChrisJ13 said:
I upgraded to 16.1.0 and now get the "unable to start service" message. This happened to me on a previous update. I am beyond furious, this is such an incredible waste of my time. I don't pay you a subscription so that you can bork my machine and screw up my work schedule every time you announce an upgrade. I have a well specified iMac, late 2014, running Mojave. I tried the chkflags workaround and it made no difference. Now I have to go through the whole rigmarole of uninstalling and reinstalling Parallels, then when that doesn't work reinstalling macOS - I mean who puts out upgrades that mean you have to reinstall your operating system??????? And all I had to do to get some work done today was ignore the update nag - never again
Click to expand...

OMFG - I just bit the bullet to upgrade to 16.5.0 (on Mojave) after ignoring the nags for a few months, and it worked without a hitch! Thanks to the engineering team if you have now fixed this incredibly time-wasting bug in the installer
 
I had to discover that after trying to install Parallels Desktop 16.5 in High Sierra, not only it couldn't complete installation. It also made other software (VirtualBox, Karabiner Elements) no longer works, since their kernel extensions are not loaded.

I forgot this had happened with the demo, and I had to reinstall High Sierra and the subsequent security updates to make them work again. The installer should have triggered some stupid security flag in the Mac, and as far as I could discover there is no other way to force the kernel extension load without reinstallling the OS.

Paolo
 
I've solved the issue with kexts not loading. I assembled my solution by following both this thread:

https://github.com/pqrs-org/Karabiner-Elements/issues/2373

and this one:

https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=84092&p=500586#p500586

In summary:

Either run these commands in the Terminal:

-------------------------------
# chflags restricted /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement
# chflags restricted /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement/Staging
-------------------------------

Or manually trash the full "/Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/private/var/db/KernelExtensionManagement" folder. The system immediately recreates it, this time with the right "restricted" flag.

To empty the Recycle bin you have then to reboot in Recovery mode (Cmd-R), go to the Terminal, type "csrutil disable" and "reboot". When the Finder reappears, empty the bin. Then restart again in Recovery mode, go to the Terminal, type "csrutil enable" and "reboot".

All done!

Paolo
 
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