Once you’ve downloaded and installed Parallels
on your host PC, you’re ready to create your first
virtual machine. Clicking “New VM” brings up three
options: Typical, Custom, or Blank. We like being
in control, so we’ll choose custom. On the next
screen are two pull-down menus asking about the
guest OS. We’re installing Windows XP, so select
Windows as the type and XP for the version.
Next you’ll configure the RAM and hard
drive. The more RAM you allocate for your virtual
machine, the more responsive it will be, but there’s
no need to overdo it— Parallels does a good job of
making do with modest resources. We recommend
512MB if you’re equipped with 2GB, or 256MB if
you have 1GB in your rig. For the hard drive, the
default 8GB partition should be plenty to get you
started, but if you know you’ll need more space,alter the size to fit your needs, or you can just add
more partitions later. Finally, choose a name and
location for your virtual machine.Step 1: Create Your Virtual Machine
Give your virtual machines descriptive names,
such as “MPC Beta Software Testbed,” that
represent what you’ll be doing with them.Anytime hardware emulation
takes place, you can expect to
take a performance hit com-
pared with running on native
hardware. Virtual machine
apps are coded to minimize
this effect, but there’s only so
much that can be done on a
software level. If a business
wants to upgrade its servers
yet still maintain support for
legacy applications through
virtualization, the perfor-
mance hit incurred could pre-
vent this from being a viable
option. Support for virtualiza-
tion needs to be integrated on
the hardware level, and that’s
exactly what Intel and AMD
have been doing. The virtu-
alization extensions in their
current processor lineups
have the potential to signifi-
cantly improve performance
when emulating an OS. The
benefits will be known for
sure as new versions of VM
software that support CPU
virtualization are released.
Today’s virtual machines
use a virtual machine manag-
er (VMM) to communicate with
the processor and keep the
emulated components sepa-
rate from the real hardware.
Visualize a work environ-
ment in which the boss (CPU)
speaks a different language
than one of the employees
(virtual machine), who brought
along a translator (VMM) to
help him communicate. It
works, but if the boss were to
learn some of the employee’s
language, the give and take
process of communication
would move along much more
quickly. In a way, this is what
AMD and Intel have done with
the virtualization tech in their
new processors.Advanced
CPU Support
january 2007 MAXIMUMPC
Set up a Parallels/Windows XP VM
Three steps to getting your virtual machine up and running
Just as with your real PC, you need to configure
your virtual system to boot from the optical drive in
order to install Windows. Click the Edit button on
your newly created VM, which brings up a screen
very similar to the Device Manager. We’re inter-
ested in the middle tab labeled Booting Options.
Change the boot sequence so the optical is first.
Now you’re ready to pop in your Windows XP CD,
click the power-on button located on the right-
hand side of the window, and install Windows as
you normally would. Don’t forget that you need to
have a separate license for each copy of Windows
you plan to install. Hey, we didn’t write the rules!Step 2: Change the Boot Order
Before firing up your virtual machine for the
first time, you’ll need to tell it to boot from
the optical drive in order to install Windows.You’re almost ready to rock ‘n’ roll. Parallels
will install with basic drivers, but for advanced
functionality, you’ll need to install Parallels Tools.
Installing the tools allows you to sync the clip-
board between your host and guest OS, custom-
ize the network adapter for improved perfor-
mance, tweak the video adapter to allow you to
move the mouse cursor seamlessly in and out of
the VM box, and a handful of other goodies. Hit
Ctrl+Alt to release the mouse cursor and navigate
to VM in the menu bar. Follow the prompts and
when finished, you’ll be ready to get down with
your virtual machine and boogie!Step 2: Install Drivers
To get the most out of your VM box, be
sure to install the optional tools package.