Startup Options dialog is sometimes displayed upon Parallels Workstation startup in order to assist in easily opening a virtual machine or proceeding to creation of a new one. The first time you launch Parallels Workstation this dialog is opened automatically.
Opening Recently Used Virtual Machines
To open one of the recently used virtual machines:
The list of the recently used virtual machines is empty if you launch Parallels Workstation for the first time.
Browsing Hard Disk for a Configuration
To open an existing virtual machine that is not in the recently used list:
Creating a New Virtual Machine
To create new virtual machine:
Also, you may close this dialog by clicking the Cancel button; a blank virtual machine will be opened and you may start creating a new virtual machine manually.
What to Open on Parallels Workstation Startup
The Load recently used VM at startup and Show startup dialog options control what happens when Parallels Workstation is started. The same options are in the Common tab of Preferences window and are described in the respective topic. Whenever you check/uncheck these options in one of these screens, they are automatically changed in the second one.