Parallels Desktop Archives

How to install Parallels Tools via the Command Line in CentOS

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I like setting up barebones CentOS and other flavoured VMs on my Mac via Parallels Desktop. Trouble is, for such things like time synchronisation to work properly, something called Parallels Tools needs to be installed on each VM. This is to make sure Parallels Desktop can speak to the VM and communicate with it properly. … Read more

Parallels Cloud Services changes into Odin

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Parallels have announced this week that they’ve changed their name to brand cloud services from Parallels to Odin. This blog post has more details: http://blog.odin.com/serviceprovider/2015/3/24/weve-changed-our-name-parallels-service-provider-business-is-now-odin#.VRVXAVz-_68= While I dislike change for the sake of change, I believe that it makes a lot of sense in this case. I have been working with Parallels products since 2008, … Read more

How to start CentOS in Recovery Mode from Parallels Desktop

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To start your Linux distribution into EFI Recovery Mode you need an installation disk. Even the smallest “minimal” image will do. Shutdown the VM if it’s running. Then mount the ISO image onto your VM (under Configuration – Hardware – CD/DVD1). Make sure the “Connected” box is ticked. Next you need to tell Parallels Desktop that … Read more

How to run Plesk on your local network and access virtual domains on your Mac

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Whether you’re running Plesk on a dedicated machine on your network or in a virtual environment, you’ll want to setup test domains and work with them as if they were live – just like it was running in a data centre. It’s not as easy as I thought, which is why I took some notes … Read more

How to SSH into a Virtual Machine in Parallels Desktop

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I was pulling my hair out the other day trying to connect to a VM in Parallels Desktop. It’s fairly straightforward, yet rather complex at the same time. Here’s how to do it step by step. In this example I’m running Parallels Desktop 8 under Mac OS X 10.9 Mavericks, and my Guest OS CentOS … Read more

Workaround: Parallels Desktop is not seeing my DVD Drive in Mountain Lion

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Today I wanted to install Windows 7 using Parallels Desktop 7 on my Mac, but sadly I always got an error message every time I tried. It was saying it could not connect to my DVD drive – which clearly my Mac could.

Doing some research it turns out that several people had this problem, however I didn’t understand the instructions given by Parallels very well. Getting frustrated I decided to write my own, and give you some pointers where else to look for help.

For this scenario I’m using a DVD copy of Windows 7 Home Premium and the latest version of Parallels Desktop 7.0.15107. Parallels Desktop 8 is already out but I’ve decided not to upgrade at this point.

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