If you start a guest operating system with the floppy drive enabled, you may connect/disconnect it and change its options while running the guest OS. Parallels Workstation allows to:
Note: If the guest OS is started with the floppy drive disabled, you should shut down the guest OS first, then enable the floppy in the Configuration Editor (select the Enabled check box in the Floppy Options tab) and restart the guest OS.
Guest operating system with a virtual floppy connected to a real floppy drive prevents the floppy from being accessed by the primary OS while guest OS is running.
How to Connect/Disconnect Floppy Drive
To connect or disconnect the floppy drive, do the following:
Note. You may also connect/disconnect a floppy drive using the context menu of the floppy drive on the status bar.
How to Change Media Floppy Drive Accesses
Data type accessed by the floppy drive can be switched from a real floppy to an image file and vice versa. To change the media accessed by the floppy drive:
Note: You may also switch change the media using commands in the context menu of the floppy drive on the status bar.