Performing Basic Windows Configuration

Just like Mac OS X, Windows XP enables you to configure many different aspects of the operating system to suit your preferences. However, because you are running Windows in a virtual machine, a number of the configuration options simply don't apply because they are controlled by the Mac OS. That's because Windows is really running as just another application under the control of Mac OS X.

Prime examples of this are the energy-saving options available under Windows. Because you are running Windows as a Mac application, the energy-saving settings of Mac OS apply because they control the Mac hardware.

Still, there are a number of configuration options you'll want to set in the virtual Windows environment. Windows uses the Control Panel to perform system configuration. To open and configure the Control Panel, do the following:

1.	Choose Start menu, Control Panel. The Control Panel will open in the default Category view.
2.	Click the Switch to Classic View link in the Control Panel pane located in the upper-left corner of the window. You'll see the control panels shown individually instead of grouped into categories (see Figure 8.1). Many Windows users (myself included) prefer this view because it makes getting to individual control panels faster and easier. Figure 8.1. The Windows Control Panel (shown here in Classic view) provides access to tools you can use to configure your virtual Windows XP environment.
3.	To open a control panel, double-click its icon. The panel will open and you'll be able to use its controls (see Figure 8.2). Figure 8.2. Here is the Display Properties control panel that enables you to configure the Windows XP display.

In the following sections, you'll learn about some of the more important control panels that you are likely to need to use.

Adding and Removing Software

Despite its name, the Add or Remove Programs control panel is typically used more frequently to remove applications installed under Windows than it is to install them. That's because most Windows applications come with an installer application that installs the application for you so you don't need to use the control panel to do so (you'll see an example of this a little later in this chapter). However, you should always use this control panel to remove applications from Windows. When most Windows applications are installed, multiple files are installed in various locations and the core OS is often changed. Using the remove function of this control panel will give you the best chance to uninstall an application, removing its associated files, and undoing system changes that were made when the application was installed.

When you open the Add or Remove Programs control panel, it will generate a list of all the applications installed under Windows and present them in the right part of the panel (see Figure 8.3).

Figure 8.3. There aren't many Windows applications installed in this virtual environment yet.

Along the left side of the panel are buttons that change the mode in which the panel is operating. These are as follows:

• Change or Remove Programs This option is the default and enables you to remove or change installed applications.
  
  
• Add New Programs You aren't likely to use this option very much, but if you select it, you can choose to install applications from a disc. You can also use new Windows features, drivers, and such by clicking the Windows Update button.
  
  
• Add/Remove Windows Components This button will open the Windows Components Wizard. This wizard enables you configure various Windows components, such as default applications (for example, Outlook Express, which is the default email application for Windows), system components, and so on.
  
  
• Set Program Access and Defaults This function enables you to configure the default applications for a specific task, such as browsing the Internet or working with email. When you select this option, you'll see three radio buttons. If you choose Microsoft, standard Microsoft applications will be used as the defaults. If you choose Non-Microsoft, applications from other than Microsoft can be used. If you choose the Custom option, you can set specific default applications, whether or not they came from Microsoft.
  
  

To remove an application from Windows, select the Change or Remove Programs option. Then select the application you want to remove. Information about your usage of the application will appear on the right side of the window along with the date on which you installed it (see Figure 8.4). To remove the application, click Remove. The appropriate uninstaller application will launch and, hopefully, will remove the application and all of its components.

Figure 8.4. I use the Mac to watch DVDs, so there's no need to keep the PCFriendly application; clicking the Change/Remove button will get rid of it.

As you explore Windows, you'll probably add quite a few applications to it. Remember to periodically visit this control panel and remove any applications that you don't use to keep the size of the Windows disk image file down.

Configuring Automatic Updates

Windows is subject to constant attacks of various kinds. Microsoft regularly releases updates to Windows, most of which are to correct a security problem. Use the Automatic Updates control panel to configure how you want these updates to be handled. When you open the Automatic Updates control panel, you'll see the following choices:

• Automatic With this option, Windows will automatically check for updates and then download and install any that it finds. You can choose the timing of these checks using the two drop-down lists. You should use this option so you don't have to worry about updates; Windows will handle them for you automatically.
  
  
• Download Updates for Me, but Let Me Choose When to Install Them The difference between this option and Automatic is that Windows will download updates automatically, but will prompt you for permission to install them.
  
  
• Notify Me but Don't Automatically Download or Install Them I don't recommend this option because all it does is tell you when updates are available. You'll have to choose to download and install them manually.
  
  
• Turn Off Automatic Updates I definitely don't recommend this option. This disables any automatic update functions so you'll have to manually check for, download, and install updates. Because you aren't likely to do this regularly, you'd probably be leaving your Windows system more vulnerable than necessary.
  
  

For any of the automatic options to work, your Windows system must be running and be able to connect to the Internet. Because you are running Windows as a Mac application, you'll probably not have it running all the time. So, if you run Windows infrequently, you'll also want to check for updates manually. You can do this by clicking the Windows Update website link on the Automatic Updates control panel.

Setting the Windows Date and Time

If you've installed Parallels Tools and enabled the Time Synchronization function, you don't need to worry about the date and time settings because the Windows environment will take these settings from the Mac OS. If you haven't done this, you definitely should (refer to the two previous chapters for information about the Parallels Tools software).

Configuring the Windows Display

The Windows Display Properties control panel enables you to configure various display settings, including resolution, desktop picture, and so on (see Figure 8.5).

Figure 8.5. The Settings tab of the Display Properties control panel enables you configure the display's resolution.

The Display Properties control panel has the following tabs:

• Themes Use this tab to choose the theme Windows is using; themes include a desktop picture, title bar and other colors, icons, sounds, and other customizable elements of the Windows interface.
  
  
• Desktop The Desktop tab enables you to choose and configure a desktop picture. You can use one of the Windows default images or you can choose your own. You can also position the image and choose a color for the border around it when the image doesn't fill the entire desktop.
  
  
• Screen Saver You don't need to use this tab because the Mac OS screen saver will be used (remember that from Mac OS X's perspective, Windows is just an application).
  
  
• Appearance With the Appearance tab, you can change the colors and style of windows and buttons, choose a color scheme, and default font size.
  
  
• Settings This tab configures the displays Windows uses. This area is a bit different than it would be running Windows on a Windows PC. Because of this, it's covered in more detail in the following text.
  
  

Windows running in a VM uses the Mac's display settings and when you open the Settings tab of the Display Properties control panel, you'll see that the selected display is called "Default Monitor on Parallels Video Driver" (refer to Figure 8.5). The display Windows is using is a virtual display (the hardware display is whatever your Mac is using).

How the screen resolution setting affects your Windows view depends on the mode in which you are operating: Windowed or Fullscreen. When you are operating in Windowed mode, the Screen Resolution setting controls the size of the VM's window. If you increase the resolution beyond what can be displayed on your Mac's desktop, you'll lose access to the toolbar and other window controls (see Figure 8.6). If this happens, just open the Settings tab and move the slider to the left to reduce the size of the Parallels Desktop for Mac window until it fits on the desktop again.

Figure 8.6. If this Mac is using a 1024x768 resolution or less, the full parallels desktop for Mac wouldn't be visible.

Note

Many Windows control panels have OK and Apply buttons. OK saves your changes and closes the control panel. Apply saves your changes, but leaves the control panel open.

When you are in Fullscreen mode, the Screen Resolution slider controls the resolution of the Windows desktop as it would were you running Windows on a Windows PC.

Be aware that the screen resolution you set will be in effect in both modes. So, if you set the resolution to be fairly small, when you move to Fullscreen mode, the Windows environment might not even fill the desktop. You can use the Desktop Properties control panel to increase its resolution until it does.

You're likely to use Windows in one mode or the other more frequently. Set the resolution for that mode and you'll be able to work around it or change the display resolution as needed.

There are also two Parallels Desktop for Mac preferences that affect how the two resolutions (Mac OS X and Windows) influence each other when you work with the Fullscreen mode (see "Setting Parallels Desktop for Mac Preferences" in Chapter 7, "Controlling and Configuring a Windows Virtual Machine," for the details).

Tip

Most Intel Macs support dual monitor display. If you have two displays connected to your Mac, you can display the Windows environment in Fullscreen mode on one display and Mac OS X on the other. This is an ideal situation because you basically are running each OS on its own display. Move the Parallels Desktop for Mac to one of your displays and then enter the Fullscreen mode. You'll have Windows on one display and Mac OS X on the other. This makes it really easy to use both operating systems at the same time.

Configuring the Keyboard for a Windows VM

The Keyboard Properties control panel enables you to set basic properties of the keyboard you are using, such as repeat delay, repeat rate, and the cursor blink rate. Use the respective sliders to configure these properties of the keyboard you are using.

Configuring the Mouse/Trackpad for a Windows VM

The Mouse Properties control panel also has a number of tabs, which are as follows:

• Buttons This tab configures the buttons on a mouse. You can set the primary (left by default) and secondary (right by default) buttons, configure the double-click speed, and enable ClickLock (you can drag things without holding a mouse button down).
  
  
• Pointers This tab enables you to change all sorts of things about the pointer, including the type of pointer that Windows uses. You can choose from among many schemes Windows includes and you can customize schemes if you want to.
  
  
• Pointer Options These settings are more practical than those on the Pointers tab and include pointer speed, snapping, and visibility settings. (If you want to be mesmerized, turn the pointer trails option on and move your mouse around.)
  
  
• Wheel Use this tab to set the speed at which the scroll wheel on a mouse moves, either based on number of lines or by one screen per roll.
  
  
• Hardware You probably won't need to use this tab, which enables you to view the properties of the mice connected to your Mac and to open the Windows troubleshooter should you ever have trouble with a mouse.
  
  

Configuring Sounds Under a Windows VM

The Sounds and Audio Devices Properties control panel enables you to configure various audio settings (see Figure 8.7).

Figure 8.7. The Volume tab of the Sounds and Audio Devices Properties control panel enables you to set the current volume level and to choose a speaker configuration.

The tabs of this control panel are as follows:

• Volume Use the slider on this tab to set your system's volume level using the slider. You can mute the sound output with the Mute check box. Click the Advanced button in the Device volume section to set the relative volume levels for CDs, general system sounds, and so on. Use the Speaker Volume button to set the balance between left and right channel volume. Use the Advanced button in the Speaker Settings section to choose a sound profile for the speaker system you are using.
  
  
• Sounds This tab enables you to set the sounds that are associated with specific events. You can use the Sound Scheme drop-down list to choose an overall scheme. In the lower part of the window, you can then select specific events and choose the sound associated with them to customize the current scheme.
  
  
• Audio, Voice, and Hardware These tabs are used to configure specific audio devices. Because you are using a Mac to run Windows, it's likely that you'll just want to leave these settings at their defaults.
  
  

Tip

You can mute the sound from the Windows environment by clicking the Speaker icon located in the Status bar in the bottom-right corner of the Parallels Desktop for Mac window and choosing Mute.

Configuring the Taskbar and Start Menu

The Windows taskbar is a very important element of the OS because it provides information to you and enables you to control the system by choosing files or applications to open, managing open applications, and so on. The Start menu is also important because you can use it to quickly navigate to just about anything on the Windows partition of the computer. You can configure various properties of these elements with the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties control panel (see Figure 8.8).

Figure 8.8. Use the Taskbar tab of the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties control panel to determine how your Windows taskbar looks and works.

On the Taskbar tab, you'll find the following options:

• Lock the Taskbar With this enabled, the taskbar will be locked in its current location and at its current size. If this check box is unchecked, you can move the taskbar and resize it with the mouse.
  
  
• Auto-Hide the Taskbar When you enable this, the taskbar will disappear when you aren't pointing to it.
  
  
• Keep the Taskbar on Top of Other Windows With this active, the taskbar always stays on top of any windows open on the desktop so that you can use it regardless of the windows you have open.
  
  
• Group Similar Taskbar Buttons When you open applications and windows within applications, each will be shown as a button on the taskbar. When this option is selected, similar windows are grouped together. For example, if you have multiple Internet Explorer windows open, each of their buttons will be next to each other on the taskbar.
  
  
• Show Quick Launch The Quick Launch section appears just to the right of the Start menu. You can drag icons to this area so that you can launch items by clicking their icons. If this check box is checked, you'll see the Quick Launch area and you can add icons to it.
  
  
• Show the Clock With this checked, the time is displayed on one end the taskbar (the right end with the taskbar at the bottom of the desktop).
  
  
• Hide Inactive Icons By default, the Windows System Tray appears on the right side of the taskbar. The System Tray presents application and other icons that you can click to open specific controls or to perform actions. If you check the Hide Inactive Icons check box, icons that aren't actively in use (perhaps the related application is not running) aren't shown in the System Tray. You can click the Customize button to configure specific icons in the System Tray. For example, you might want most inactive icons to be hidden, but want a specific icon to be available whether or not the associated application is running.
  
  

Use the Start menu tab to customize your Start menu. There are two basic options. Click the Start Menu radio button to use the standard XP Start menu. Click the Classic Start Menu radio button to use the Start menu from older versions of Windows. After you've selected a Start menu configuration, use the Customize button to configure it. For example, you can choose specific applications (such as your web browser) and folders to include on the menu.

Configuring Windows User Accounts

Like Mac OS X, Windows XP supports multiple user accounts. When you installed Windows, you created at least one user account, and might have created more than one. Access the User Accounts Properties control panel to set up more user accounts and to configure the user accounts that have been created (see Figure 8.9). For example, you can click the Create a New Account link to create new user accounts. Or, you can click the Change an Account link to reconfigure an existing account. Most user account tasks are accomplished by clicking the link for the action you want to complete and then filling in any required information.

Figure 8.9. If you'll be sharing a virtual Windows on your Mac, you can create multiple user accounts for others to use.