Enter BIOS on intel iMac

[Prattcmp]

I need to enable something in BIOS, but I do not know how to get to it on the new Mac. I have a quad core iMac with an intel core i5 processor and 8gb of ram. I have the newest Mac Os, Lion, installed as well.

 

[Hellhammer]

Mac don't have BIOS, Macs use EFI. Apple has made the EFI not accessible by users so changing something won't be easy. What exactly are you trying to change?

 

[Prattcmp]

I am trying to run Windows on Parallels and I keep getting this error.

The virtual machine performance may be degraded because the hardware virtualization support is disabled in the host computer. It is recommended to enable theirs in BIOS settings.

But now I am confused since you say macs don't have bios.

 

[Harmush]

You can't use virtualization (Windows XP in Windows 7) inside virtualization (Parallels Desktop in Mac OS X). Maybe VMWare Fusion or VirtualBox might support it (I haven't checked) but there would be problems.

If you're not trying to use Windows XP in Windows 7 in Parallels Desktop, then the problem is with your Mac. What kind of Mac are you trying to install on? What version is the firmware? Is there a later version of the firmware?
http://support.apple.com/kb/HT1237

 

[Prattcmp]

I am not trying to run windows xp in windows 7 in parallels. The link you gave me with the firmware updates does not have my Model Identifier: iMac11,3

 

[And1ss]

But now I am confused since you say macs don't have bios.

BIOS isn't synonymous with computers: Windows based computers have BIOS; mac have EFI.

 

[Texran]

Is this your first install of parallels, and what version, what partition did you install in.
You might try posting on the following link, you may get more help.

https://forums.macrumors.com/forums/86/

 

[Rodus]

Parallels is looking for VT x which is Intels hardware virtualisation code they use in some of their high end CPU's to improve performance, the consumer Macs ( Mini, iMac, MBP) dont have it or its disabled, the Mac Pro Xeons do AFAIK. You can't do anything about it, just use Parallels as usual.

 

[Prattcmp]

You can't do anything about it, just use Parallels as usual.

Well, see there is a problem. Whenever I try to running it without fixing that problem I run into this error:

Unable to load the Parallels driver.

Restart your Mac and try again.

 

[munkery]

Intel VT-x is not disabled in any Mac.

http://support.apple.com/kb/TS2744

Intel VT-x technology is enabled on Intel-based Macs. Make sure your Intel-based Mac has all available EFI updates installed; also update any third-party virtualization software.

Only Parallels 6 is fully compatible with Lion, AFAIK.

 

[Prattcmp]

Only Parallels 6 is fully compatible with Lion, AFAIK.

I am trying to use Parallels 6 and I have an iMac, not any of the things listed. I have done system update and everything is up to date.

 

[cinematicme]

Mac don't have BIOS, Macs use EFI. Apple has made the EFI not accessible by users so changing something won't be easy. What exactly are you trying to change?

I'm pretty sure you can get in to the EFI shell through a Loader like rEFIt

 

[munkery]

Have you tried re-installing parallels?

Install VirtualBox to test and see if you get the same issue.

https://www.macupdate.com/app/mac/24801/virtualbox

This will help eliminate which part of the puzzle is the cause.

 

[Prattcmp]

This will help eliminate which part of the puzzle is the cause.

Okey dokey lokey, I installed it and I got this error:
FATAL" No bootable medium found! System halted.


And yes, I have tried reinstalling.

 

[munkery]

Are you using a Developer Preview of Lion?

Those issues are only known in the DPs.

 

[Prattcmp]

Are you using a Developer Preview of Lion?

Those issues are only known in the DPs.

Nope, I bought it for $30 on the Mac App Store.

 

[munkery]

Upgrade or clean install?

The method in the following link fixed this issue in previous releases of Parallels 6:

http://www.nightlion.net/reviews/osx/2011/getting-parallels-6-to-work-in-osx-lion/

It is no longer needed in the most recent release.

 

[Prattcmp]

Upgrade or clean install?

What do you mean?

 

[munkery]

Did you upgrade from SL or install Lion from scratch?

I posted a link to a fix via an edit in my previous post.

 

[cinematicme]

What do you mean?

when you installed your OS (Lion, SL) did you upgrade from another version? ie SL -> Lion or did you wipe your hard drive and fresh install your operating system

issues sometimes arise from an upgrade, but a clean install is really the way to go so there are no conflicts/dependencies that are broken.

 

[Prattcmp]

Thank you thank you thank you!!! IT wORKED!

P.S. I upgraded from Snow Leopard.

 

[munkery]

There must have been some sort of error during the upgrade if both Lion and Parallels are up to date.

You can repair your installation with the recovery partition to try to avoid having to use that hack to fix the issue.

 

[Prattcmp]

I have run into another problem that maybe someone can fix. I might have to switch forum topics though. I am trying to connect to the internet on Windows and I think this error has something to do with it:

Nevermind!