By default, Parallels Desktop is configured to place a new virtual machine into home folder of the user who created it:
/<userName>/Documents/Parallels/, where <userName> stands for the user's home folder.
However, you can select other folder as a default folder for the virtual machines.
To specify another default destination for saving virtual machines do the following:
1 Choose Preferences from the Parallels Desktop menu.
2 On the General tab of the Preferences window, specify the destination volume and a folder for virtual machines in the Default folder for virtual machines field. It will be used as a default location.
Note. You can specify a folder for a virtual machine when creating it. An existing virtual machine can also be moved to a different folder after it is created.
Windows Express Installation
1 Start Parallels Desktop. Click the New button in the Select virtual machine dialog or select New from the File menu. The Welcome window of OS Installation Assistant appears.
2 Select the Windows Express option. Click Next.
Creating a Virtual Machine 59
3 Select Windows XP or Windows Vista. Unattended installation is available only for these two operating systems.
4 Enter the product key for your copy of Windows and personal information required for the operating system installation.
5 By default, the virtual machine gets its name by the name of the operating system that will be installed. If such a virtual machine already exists, you will be prompted to specify another name. The name should be no longer than 50 characters. Click More Options if you want to specify other than the default location for the virtual machine.
6 Choose the preferable way of allocating the computer resources: to the virtual machine or to Mac OS X.
Creating a Virtual Machine 61
7 Now, If you have an installation disc with the selected Windows OS, insert it into the CD/DVD-ROM drive of your Macintosh computer.
If you have an ISO image of the installation disc, click More Options to open the list of available options. Select the ISO image option and click the Choose button to specify the pathname for the image file.
8 Click Finish and leave Parallels Desktop for a while. It will create a new virtual machine for you and install the guest OS. Parallels Desktop installs the guest OS, and right after that it installs Parallels Tools.
9 During the unattended installation, Parallels Desktop creates an administrator account with a blank password. When the guest OS installation is complete, we recommend that you change the password in order to protect the safety of your data.
To change the administrator password in Windows XP (Professional):
- Click the Start menu, then select Control Panel -> Administrative Tools -> Computer Management.
- In the Computer Management window, open System Tools -> Local Users and Groups ->
Users. Right-click the Administrator account and select Set Password in the context menu.
To change the administrator password in Windows Vista:
- Click the Start menu, then select Control Panel -> User Accounts and Family Safety ->
Change your Windows password.
For changing password in other versions of Windows refer to the Microsoft Help: Start ->
Help and support.
Now, you have the opportunity to install Kaspersky Internet Security program in your Windows XP or Windows Vista guest operating systems. Choose Install Kaspersky Internet Security from the Actions menu.
Troubleshooting
There may be problems with localized versions of Windows XP and Windows Vista installed in a virtual machine with the help of Windows Express mode. If your Mac OS X is set to English as the default language, and you install a localized version of Windows in the virtual machine, there may be problems with displaying the Windows Start menu options or the All Programs list correctly.
To work around this problem set the Mac OS X regional settings to the same language that the Windows is localized to. When the installation of the guest OS is complete, you can return the language and regional settings back to the original values.
Typical Installation
1 Start Parallels Desktop. Choose New from the File menu. OS Installation Assistant starts.
2 Select the Typical option. Click the Next button to continue.
Creating a Virtual Machine 63
3 In the next dialog specify the type and the version of the guest operating system you want to install in a new virtual machine. When the guest operating system is specified, click Next.
4 After that, specify a descriptive name for the virtual machine. The name is needed for identification of the VM and is important if you plan to create several VMs running the same operating system. The name should be no longer than 50 characters. Both virtual machine configuration file and hard disk file will be placed to the same default folder. To set a new default destination folder choose Preferences from the Parallels Desktop menu and open the General tab. Please refer to the General Tab (page 206) topic in the Setting Parallels Desktop Preferences section.
Creating a Virtual Machine 65
5 Choose the preferable way of allocating the computer resources: to the virtual machine or to Mac OS X.
6 If you have the installation files of the selected operating system on a CD/DVD, insert the disc into the CD/DVD-ROM drive and click Finish.
If you have the OS installation files on the ISO image file/files, click More Options. Select the ISO image option and choose the image file. Click Finish to start the installation.
If you don't want to install the guest OS right now, clear the check box for the Start <guest OS> installation option. To learn how to start the installation later refer to the Installing Guest OS (page 74) section.
When the installation is complete, install Parallels Tools if they are available for the guest OS you just installed. Refer to the Installing Parallels Tools (page 84) section.
Creating a Virtual Machine 67
Custom Installation
1 Start Parallels Desktop. Choose New from the File menu. In the OS Installation dialog select the Custom option. Click Next.
2 In the Select guest OS dialog specify the type and the version of the guest operating system you want to install in a new virtual machine. Click Next.
3 In the next dialog set the amount of RAM for the new virtual machine. We strongly recommend that you allocate no more than a half of the physical RAM installed on your computer. You can choose any value from 4 to 1500 MB. Use multiples of 4 MB to specify the amount of memory. Click Next.
Creating a Virtual Machine 69
4 Decide whether you want to create a new virtual hard disk, use an existing one, use Boot Camp partition or even not to add any disk at all. If you have selected to use an existing hard disk image, go directly to step 8. If you have decided not to add any disk at all (to use a Live CD instead), proceed to step 9. For how to use Boot Camp partition refer to the Using Boot Camp Partition (page 250) chapter.
5 If you selected to create a new virtual disk on the previous step, specify its size and format.
Disk formats options are briefly explained in the dialog, but a more detailed description is available in the Format of The Virtual Disk (page 19) topic. Click Next. Proceed to the Step 7.
6 If, in Step 4, you decided to use an existing image file as a hard disk for the virtual machine, you have to specify where this disk image is stored. Use the Choose button to locate it or type the file name with its path directly into the field.
Creating a Virtual Machine 71
7 Specify a descriptive name for the virtual machine. Name is important if you plan to create several VMs running the same operating system. The name should be no longer than 50 characters. By default, all the files created for this virtual machine will be saved in a new folder in the default location. The default location is specified on the General Tab (page 206) in the Preferences. If you want to place the virtual machine files to a particular location, open More Options. In the input field the default path and name for the configuration file are shown. Click the Choose button or type the path directly into the field.
8 Choose the preferable way of allocating the computer resources: to the virtual machine or to Mac OS X.
9 In the next dialog specify the type of networking for the new virtual machine. Shared Networking is recommended: you can access the Internet without making your VM accessible from outside. (See Networking in Virtual Machine (page 152) for more detailed information about different types of networking.) If you do not have a physical network interface card or do not need a network access in this virtual machine, select the Networking is not required option.
Creating a Virtual Machine 73
Click Next. If you have selected Host-only Networking, Shared Networking, or Networking is not required proceed to the step 11 of the current instructions.
10 If you have selected the Bridged Ethernet networking option for the new VM, on this window specify what real adapter must be connected to the virtual one. Select one in the list and click Next.
11 Finally, the assistant prompts you to proceed to guest OS installation.
If you have your guest OS installation on the disc, insert it and click Finish.
If you have your guest OS installation on ISO image files, click More Options, and select the ISO image option. Use the Choose button to locate the file.
You may skip the guest OS installation if you selected to use an existing virtual disk or just want to perform the installation later. Clear the check box for the Start <guest OS>
installation option. To learn how to start the installation later, refer to the Installing Guest OS (page 74) section.
After the installation is complete, install Parallels Tools if they are available for your guest OS. Refer to the Installing Parallels Tools (page 84) section.