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Installing a Guest Operating System

When it comes to installing the guest OS, you will have a few options. You can install directly from a CD/DVD or floppy disk, or install the OS from an image of any of these disks. All kind of disk images can be made using the Parallels Image Tool included in the Parallels Workstation distribution. See the Using the Parallels Image Tool chapter in Parallels Workstation 2.2 User Guide, which is accessible through the Help->Contents menu in the menu bar.

Note: To install a guest OS from any physical disk when running Linux primary OS, you should have system privileges to access the corresponding device of your host computer. Otherwise you will not be able to connect CD/DVD-ROM or floppy drive of your virtual machine to proper physical device.

Here are the General Steps:

  1. Start Parallels Workstation.
  2. Either open a virtual machine you previously created or choose to create a new one.

    To open the virtual machine you've just created, click File menu and select the name of the configuration file in the end of the list.

To install from a physical CD/DVD or CD/DVD .iso image:

  1. In the Parallels Workstation window, click on the CD/DVD-ROM Icon CD/DVD-ROM 1 in the Resources list. This opens the Configuration Editor window with CD/DVD-ROM Options.

    Important: Make sure that the Enabled and the Connect at startup options are selected.

  2. Connect the CD/DVD-ROM drive to the guest OS distribution. For this, do the following.

    If you want to install from a real CD/DVD:

    In the CD/DVD-ROM Options screen, click the Use real CD/DVD-ROM option and specify which real drive to connect to the virtual device in the CD/DVD-ROM Drives list.

    Now simply insert the CD/DVD disk with the operating system distribution into the appropriate drive of your computer.

    If you're installing from an .iso image file:

    In the CD/DVD-ROM Options screen, click the Use image file option and specify the path to the .iso distribution file in the Image File field.

  3. In the Connect to list select IDE 0:1. This enables not just reading but installing guest OS from the selected CD/DVD-ROM drive.
  4. Now that we've made all of these changes, it is essential that you save the virtual machine configuration. In order to do this:

    Click OK on the Configuration Editor screen, then click the Save VM Button button in the Parallels Workstation window or select Save in the File menu.

  5. Now, start the virtual machine by clicking Power On Power On Button on the toolbar. Capture the input devices in the guest OS screen as we discuss in the chapter Capturing and Releasing Keyboard and Mouse in a Virtual Machine. All you have to do now is follow the installation instructions for the specific operating system.

    If you receive a PAE warning on virtual machine startup, see the Troubleshooting subtopic below for instructions on correcting the problem.

To install from a physical floppy disk or a floppy image:

  1. In the Parallels Workstation window, click on the Floppy Drive Icon Floppy in the Resources list. This opens the Configuration Editor window with Floppy Options.

    Important: Make sure that the Enabled and the Connect at startup options are selected.

  2. Connect the floppy drive to the guest OS distribution. For this, do the following.

    If you want to install from a real floppy disk:

    In the Floppy Options screen, select the Use real floppy option and specify which real drive to connect to the virtual device in the Floppy Drives list.

    Insert the floppy disk with the operating system distribution into the appropriate drive of your computer.

    If you're installing from an .fdd image file:

    In the Floppy Options screen, check the Use image file option and specify the path to the .fdd distribution file in the Image File field.

  3. Now that we've made all of these changes, it is essential that you save the virtual machine configuration. In order to do this:

    Click OK on the Configuration Editor screen, then click the Save VM Button button in the Parallels Workstation window or select Save in the File menu.

  4. Now, start the virtual machine by clicking Power On Power On Button on the toolbar. Capture the input devices in the guest OS screen as we discuss in the chapter Capturing and Releasing Keyboard and Mouse in a Virtual Machine). All you have to do now is follow the installation instructions for the specific operating system.

    If you receive PAE warning on virtual machine startup, see troubleshooting sections below for instructions on correcting the problem.

Troubleshooting

In Windows Primary OS

If when starting a virtual machine in Windows primary OS you receive the warning "Parallels Workstation has detected that your primary operating system is running in PAE mode...", this means that your host computer configuration does not conform to Parallels Workstation requirements. Current version of the Parallels Workstation supports up to 4 GB PAE. To bypass this problem:

In the future boot into the Windows configuration with 4 GB PAE to work with Parallels Workstation.

In Linux Primary OS

If when starting a virtual machine in Linux primary OS you receive the warning "Parallels Workstation can not be started due to VM memory mapping fail..." or when running a guest OS you receive the warning "Parallels Workstation experience problem when trying to allocate physical memory in PAE mode...", it could mean that the currently running kernel supports PAE greater than 4 GB physical memory while the current version of Parallels Workstation supports up to 4 GB PAE only. To fix the problem you have to change the auto detected PAE value to 4096 MB. Do the following: