Triple Boot OSX, Windows 7 And XP WITH XP working in Parallels as Bootcamp

[makeluv247]

Hi

I have previously used OSX, Windows 7 x64 and XP x86 (in that order on disk) on my macbook. I use rEFIt as a bootloader. However, I couldn't use the XP installation with parallels. I installed OSX, then XP, then 7 to make it all work.

I've now deleted and resized the windows partitions to do a fresh install (needed more space) and before I do, I'd like to set it up so I can run XP from boot for games and in parallels to access my car repair software through mac.

I can't have a separate xp for parallels as I need the car software in bootable XP as well for actual repairs with the interface, and it takes up about 20GB.

Thanks!

 

[balamw]

I don't know about Parallels, but VMWare specifically warns against shared Boot Camp/VM installs in non-standard partition schemes.

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/mi...nguage=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1014618

Note: VMware Fusion does not support partitions created by any program other than Boot Camp Assistant. VMware Fusion only supports partitions created by exactly following the instructions in Apple's Boot Camp Installation Guide.

So, I'm not sure what you want is possible.

B

 

[makeluv247]

I'm sure it's possible, as I used Windows 7 partition with parallels in the setup described above. I think it worked because win 7 was installed after xp, so when I installed bootcamp on it, parallels picked it up. Or maybe because of the partition order. Problem is, I can't change the installation order or partition order (as far as I know), so I don't how I can get parallels and XP to work

 

[balamw]

I don't how I can get parallels and XP to work

I know there are guides for manually creating VMs from physical partitions/raw disks for Virtualbox and VMWare. Not a Parallels user so I don't know what the issues there may be and if they offer the same kind of low level control.

Two things to be aware of:

Mac OS X uses a hybrid GPT/MBR partition scheme so this may complicate how the partitions are seen my each OS. Once booted to OS X to run Parallels you may not be able to access the XP partition in a way that lets it boot properly.

Your boot process may be quite complicated. To boot XP you may actually be going through rEFIt and the W7 boot loader. XP may be currently unable to boot "by itself".

As always, proceed with caution and make sure you have a valid backup for all data.

B