Link Windows Bootcamp Partition to Parallels 5

[M-B-P]

Hey, I need install windows 7 on my mac (for some windows only programs). I would like to create a partition via bootcamp to run Windows 7 on my mac. I would also like to use that same partition on Parallels 5. I am looking for a way to LINK the bootcamp partition to Parallels 5 so I can use Windows 7 on parallels when I am need of "light" programs and just boot to Windows 7 when I need more intensive programs. I have NOT installed windows 7 via Bootcamp or Parallels yet.

I am not very tech savvy, so please help me by guiding me on how to attain this set-up or providing me with a helpful link.

Also, I have been reading that there are driver issues when installing windows 7 via boot camp. Will I still have those driver issues if I link up the windows partition to Parallels 5? -- I have been using XP on Parallels 5 and it has been working great up to this point [not experienced any driver issues], So I am just concerned about driver issues if I install windows via bootcamp and then link that up to Parallels 5. Will parallels have the same drivers issues that people talk about by installing windows 7 via bootcamp?

Another thing, if I allocate a given amount of memory to windows 7 via bootcamp say 30 gigs, will I have to set aside any other amount of memory for my set-up if I link the windows 7 bootcamp to parallels or will it just use the 30 gigs that I set aside via bootcamp?

I have tried looking on MRGoogle an was not able to find anything so please help me. Thanks in advance.

 

[jiminy]

Ive had Windows 7 in a bootcamp partition on my mac for over a year now. Then I recently bought a copy of parallels 5. All I did was install Parallels 5 and selected the bootcamp partition as the Virtual Machine.

Everything went fine. I am also not too tech savy.

But you do have register the key code for windows 7 twice.
I registered the key code for the bootcamp partition way back when I first got it (registered online). Then I did some searching about an issue I came across after installing Parallels with the bootcamp partition. It wanted me to register my key code once again (for some reason, parallels makes the Windows 7 OS think that it has installed itself on different hardware). So what I did was I registered Windows 7 again while in Parallels with the same key code, but on the phone this time (doesn't take too long, just tell the answering machine lady that you are only installing Windows 7 in "ONE" computer)

I didn't have any driver issues when installing either. Just pop the Snow Leopard CD (or the cd that you got when you purchased your mac) into your while in bootcamp windows 7 and that should install some of apples drivers.

And yes, the amount of hard drive space you allocate to the bootcamp partition is the amount of space you will have while in parallels, so you don't have to allocate memory twice.

 

[M-B-P]

Thanks for the info Jiminy, it was very helpful .

Now that I have established that linking the bootcamp to parallels is possible, how exactly do I go about doing that? When I installed windows XP on parallels I just poped in the XP CD, but how do I go about leading Parallels to the bootcamp partition? Is there any guide for that on the Parallels website or on MacRumors? Please help me with that, I have no clue where to start. I made an attempt to find one but had no luck

Another thing that came up on my mind was file sharing. If I import the windows 7 from bootcamp to parallels 5, will files automatically synchronize? For instance, if I save a word document in "My Document/Template" in Parallels, will that document automatically save in the bootcamp partition's "My Document/Template" location? (That would be the point of linking them together for me)