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Parallels Tools

Although Parallels Workstation lets your guest OS access your computer's video card, network cards, and other hardware, it also simulates its own set of PC hardware (Key Terms and Technologies topic).

If you've installed Windows (except 3.1), Solaris, OS/2, or eComStation, Parallels provides special add-ons called Parallels Tools that improve some hardware components and add helpful extra features. For example, they let you:

Note: In a Solaris guest OS, a network driver is required to support networking in a virtual machine.

Parallels Tools can be easily installed manually after completing the guest OS installation.

Installing Parallels Tools in a Windows guest OS is described below. For other guest OSes, please refer to the Creating Virtual Machine->Installing Parallels Tools section of the Parallels Workstation 2.2 User Guide, which is available through the Help->Contents menu in the menu bar.

Installing Parallels Tools in Windows

To install Parallels Tools in a Windows guest OS, do the following:

  1. First, boot your guest OS and log in. In order to install tools properly, do not begin the installation until the OS completes its startup and you are logged in.
  2. Select Install Parallels Tools in the Parallels Workstation VM menu.
  3. You are warned about the necessity of having your guest OS fully started and logging in: "You can install the Parallels Tools only if the guest operating system is running and you are logged in. If you are not logged in now, select Cancel and run Parallels Tools installation later." If you are logged in, click OK to start installing.
  4. The Parallels Tools Setup wizard starts and greets you. Click Next to move to the Choose Destination Location screen. If you do not like the default directory, select another one using the Change button. Then click Next.
  5. On the Setup Type screen you should choose between the complete setup and a custom one. The complete setup installs all of the tools available for your guest OS. If you select custom setup, the Select Components screen asks you to select the desired tools from the tools available for your guest OS.
  6. Choose the program folder on the Select Program Folder screen, then the Check Setup Information screen displays the options selected. If they are correct, click Next to begin the installation.
  7. By default a Windows operating system is configured to warn you every time an unsigned driver is installed. Parallels Tools installation wizard supposes to temporarily disable these warnings.

    When you receive the following message: "Parallels Tools installation contains a number of unsigned drivers. These drivers are required for proper functioning of Parallels Tools. Currently your system is configured to warn you every time an unsigned driver is installed. Do you want to receive these warnings during Parallels Tools installation?" click OK to disable the unsigned driver warnings during Parallels Tools installation. They will re-enabled later when the installation will be complete.

  8. After the wizard copies the tools, the Installation Completed screen asks if you want to restart the computer now. In all Windows guest OSes, except 98 and NT, you must restart the virtual machine after this setup procedure. Click Finish, and your virtual machine will be restarted and ready for work with the tools installed.

Note: In Windows 98 and Windows NT some drivers require additional steps to perform after this setup. Please refer to the Creating Virtual Machine->Installing Parallels Tools section of the Parallels Workstation 2.2 User Guide, which is available through Help->Contents in the menu bar.

Troubleshooting When Installing Tools

Parallels Tools installation is invoked by the Windows AUTORUN feature for the CD/DVD-ROM drive. It is enabled by default, however if you have disabled it manually, nothing happens after you select the Install Parallels Tools command. (In either case, the vmtools.iso CD image will be connected to the virtual machine CD-ROM drive, however it is not visible to the user.) To solve this problem do one of the following: