Parallels Workstation (#2): Selecting the optical drive; Using function keys; Problems mounting disk image

Yesterday we noted the release of new virtualization software from Parallels that allows the simultaneous running of Windows XP and Mac OS X. Today we focus on some troubleshooting issues presented by the release.

Selecting the optical drive In order to get the Parallels software to recognize your Mac's optical drive and subsequently install Windows XP, you must locate the optical drive in the Properties section. Click on the Properties tab (the icon of a finger pointing downward), then double-click on the DVD/CD-ROM drive section, and then select "Use real CD/DVD-ROM." In the blank field where you enter the drives name, you will enter the UNIX-interpreted drive location. On our MacBook Pro, the location is:

• /dev/rdisk2s0

This information can be found using Disk Utility (located in Applications/Utilities). Click on the optical drive (with a disc inserted), then press the "Info" button at the top. Look next to the "Disk Identifier:" section, then replace the number 2 above with whatever number is listed.

Using function keys In order to use function keys while in virtualization, you will have to hold down the "fn" function key while pressing the key, e.g. fn-F8.

Problems mounting disk image We previously noted that in-house, the downloadable beta disk image containing Parallels workstation failed to mount properly for the first few attempts. Continually re-downloading the disk image resulted in an eventual successful mount.

MacFixIt reader Luca Bassini reports that using the curl command in the Terminal to download the file resulted in a proper disk image mount after several failures.

Luca writes:

"After having tried to download the .dmg file for 4-5 hours using Safari (without any success), I finally succeeded launching the Terminal and typing: curl -O http://download.parallels.com/beta/Parallels-2.1.1658.24-Mac.dmg

Benchmarks MacFIxIt reader Greg Keene has performed some rudimentary benchmarking using Windows XP under Parallels Workstation.

He writes:

"I was pleasantly surprised by the performance of the Parallels workstation. I tried Cinema 4D for Windows (specifically the network rendering client). I think there are still some issues, I had some problems getting the VT-x to work every time, and the Cinebench utility gave some odd results, but the speed seemed solid.

"In real world CPU (not graphic) tests, my Mac Mini running beat out a decent (although couple year old) Pentium 3.2 GHz with 2GB of RAM.

"See details here: http://www.c4dcafe.com/ipb/index.php?showtopic=11449."

Feedback? Late-breakers@macfixit.com.

Previous coverage

• Parallels Virtualization software debuts: Allows simultaneous running of Windows XP and Mac OS X

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