As I understand the use of the Windows Virtual Machine under Parallels for the Mac OS, it is necessary to launch Parallels and then start the virtual machine. I prefer to accomplish both of these tasks in one step, by simply double-clicking on the virtual machine. I also like to make the virtual machine readily accessible by placing a copy of its icon in my dock. Doing so creates a problem. If I leave Parallels and return to it via the dock (as users commonly do with their programs), I cannot do so by clicking on the icon of the virtual machine. Doing this launches another instance of Parallels. This degrades my system's performance and renders the system unstable. With a new Intel iMac and 3GB of RAM it is unlikely that the performance has to do with insufficient hardware. Regardless, the problem shouldn't be occurring at all. On the Macintosh platform, it is non-standard behavior for the launching of a document--particularly a document which is already open--of an application that is already open, to open another instance of that application. Of course, one answer is to click only on the application icon in the dock, and never click on the virtual machine icon (other than when launching the program). Unfortunately for me, clicking on a document's icon is deeply ingrained habit. This makes sense because I'm thinking about using Windows, not Parallels. I'm also naturally tending to look for the icon I used to launch the program, not the one that appeared in the dock only after I launched it. The bottom line is that using the VM icon in the dock has too often accidentally led to system destabilization, and so I have removed it. Should that be necessary? Does the convenience of single-point access to the virtual machine really have to carry risk?
