Installing Windows XP in a Virtual Machine


After you've created a virtual machine, install Windows XP on it by performing the following steps:

1.

If the virtual machine is already open, proceed to the next step. If not, launch Parallels, select the virtual machine you want to install the operating system on, and open it.

Note

These steps assume that you are installing Windows XP from an installation CD. If you are installing an OS from some other source, such as a disk image, the steps to connect the installation file to the virtual machine are slightly different. See the Parallels Desktop for Mac guides for this information.

2.

Click the CD/DVD-ROM 1 link. You'll see the Configuration Editor screen (see Figure 6.6).

Figure 6.6. This screen enables you to change various aspects of a virtual machine; the CD/DVD-ROM 1 option is selected in the left pane so its options appear in the right pane.


3.

Click the Use CD/DVD-ROM radio button (it should be selected by default).

4.

On the CD/DVD-ROM Drive pop-up menu, choose the drive you want to use to install the operating system (if your Mac has only one drive available, this choice will be easy).

5.

On the Connect to pop-up menu, choose IDE 0:1 to enable the application to install an OS from the selected drive.

6.

Click OK to close the Configuration Editor screen.

7.

Click the Save button to save the changes you made to the virtual machine.

8.

Insert the Windows XP Installation CD into your Mac's drive.

9.

Turn the virtual machine on by clicking the Power On Virtual Machine button, which is the green arrow in the toolbar on the right side of the Parallels Desktop screen. The installation process will start. After it has installed the initial files, you'll see the Windows Setup screen (see Figure 6.7).

Figure 6.7. As soon as you start up the virtual machine with the Windows Install CD installed in your Mac, the Windows XP Installer will launch.


10.

Move your mouse over the Parallels Desktop window and click the mouse button; this captures the cursor so that Parallels knows that the subsequent keyboard commands are for the virtual machine. At the bottom of the window, you'll see the Press Ctrl+Alt to Release Keyboard and Mouse Button message. This tells you that the commands you enter with the keyboard will affect the virtual machine instead of Mac OS X.

Note

Windows computers have an Enter key instead of the Mac's Return key. When the Windows Installer refers to the Enter key, press Return on the Mac's keyboard.

11.

Press Return to start the installation process. You'll see the License Agreement screen.

12.

Press F8 to agree to the license. You'll see the disk partition creation screen. Because you are installing Windows in a virtual machine, you'll want to leave the selected disk at the default value.

13.

Press Return to select the default disk. You'll see the partition format screen.

14.

Leave the default NTFS option selected and press Return. The partition will be formatted in NTFS. The progress will be displayed in the virtual machine window. This process will likely take a few minutes to finish. After this process is complete, the virtual machine will restart and you'll see the Windows XP Installer window (see Figure 6.8). The Installer will start and you can monitor its progress in the window.

Figure 6.8. The Windows partition in the virtual machine has been created and the Windows Installer is running.


Note

While the mouse and keyboard are captured by the virtual machine, you can't work in Mac OS until you release them be pressing the Ctrl+Alt keys. While the installer is running, you can release the mouse and keyboard and then work in the Mac OS while the installation process continues to run. When you are ready to work in the virtual machine again, click inside its window to capture the mouse and keyboard.

You'll eventually see the Regional and Language Options dialog box.

15.

On the Regional and Language Options screen, look for the default Standards and Formats setting, such as English (United States), and the default text input and language and method, such as US keyboard layout.

16.

If the default options are correct, click Next and skip to step 26. If you want to change these settings, move to step 17. (You can always change them later while you are running Windows if you need to.)

17.

Click Customize. You'll see the Regional and Language Options control panel.

18.

On the Formats drop-down list at the top of the panel, choose the format option you want to use. Samples of the format will be shown below the drop-down list.

19.

On the Location drop-down list, choose your location.

20.

Click the Languages tab.

21.

Click Details. You'll see the Default Input Language drop-down list.

22.

Choose your default input language on the drop-down list.

23.

Click OK.

24.

Click OK again to save your changes and close the Regional and Language Options control panel.

25.

Click Next.

26.

Enter your name and company (if applicable) in the appropriate boxes and click Next. You'll see the Your Product Key screen.

27.

Enter the product key provided with your Windows installation disc and click Next. You'll see the What's Your Computer Name? screen.

28.

Create the name by which you'll recognize your Mac when it is running Windows by typing a name in the name box. Your Windows name must be 15 or fewer characters and can't contain special characters or spaces. You'll see this name when you are working with the virtual OS, so choose a name you'll recognize.

29.

Click Next. You'll see the Date and Time Settings screen.

30.

Set the current time and date using the time and date controls; then choose your time zone and indicate whether or not you use Daylight Saving Time. These settings should be taken from your Mac, so you probably won't need to make any changes.

31.

Click Next. The installation process will resume with network installation. The installation progress information will appear again and you'll see the Networking Settings screen.

32.

For the time being, leave the Typical Settings radio button selected and click Next. You'll learn how to configure the virtual Windows environment to access your network in a later chapter.

The installation process will continue and you can monitor it with the progress information displayed. You won't need to make any other inputs during the process. An estimate of the time to complete the installation will be provided in the window.

Again, you can release the keyboard and mouse and let the installer run in the background while you do something else in Mac OS X if you want to. If you do this, you'll need to capture the keyboard and mouse again by clicking in the virtual machine window when you want to rejoin the Windows Installer.

Depending on how your Mac's screen resolution was set, you might see the Display Settings prompt. If you do, click OK to clear the prompt and then click OK in the resulting dialog. This enables Windows to choose the resolution it thinks is best (you can always change it later).

You'll see the Welcome to Microsoft Windows screen (see Figure 6.9). You'll do some additional configuration in the next couple of screens.

Figure 6.9. Windows has been installed in the virtual machine; some basic configuration is required to complete the installation process.


33.

Click Next. You'll see the Help Protect your PC screen. Here, you choose whether or not you want Windows updates installed automatically. In most cases, you should enable automatic updates of your Windows environment.

34.

Click the Help Protect My PC by Turning On Automatic Updates Now radio button and click Next. You'll see the network configuration screen.

35.

Assuming that your Mac connects to the Internet through a network, leave the default Yes radio button checked and click Next. You'll see the Windows Activation screen. For the time being, leave your copy of Windows inactive. You'll learn about activation later.

36.

Click the No radio button and then click Next. You'll see the Who Will Use This Computer? screen.

37.

Enter the name you want to use for your Windows user account in the Your Name box.

38.

If you want to create additional user accounts, enter a name in each user box until you've added a name for each user account.

39.

Click Next. You'll see the Thank you! screen.

40.

Click Finish. The installation process will be complete and your Mac will be running Windows in the virtual machine. You'll see the Windows XP startup screen on which you can choose the user account under which you want to log in (see Figure 6.10). (If you have only one Windows user account, you'll move directly to the Windows desktop.)This means the virtual machine is set up and is ready to run Windows.

Figure 6.10. Windows is running inside a Finder window; cool isn't it!


Note

Because most Mac users will want to run Windows, that is the focus of this chapter. However, you can install many other operating systems just as easily, with each running in its own virtual machine. For example, you can create a virtual machine and install Linux in it if you want to be able to run Linux applications on your Mac.





Sleeping with the Enemy(c) Running Windows(r) on a Mac(r)
Sleeping with the Enemy(c) Running Windows(r) on a Mac(r)
ISBN: N/A
EAN: N/A
Year: 2007
Pages: 58

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