Parallels Image Tool User Manual

Parallels Software International, Inc.
Parallels Image Tool
User Guide
(c) 2007
Copyright © 2007 by Parallels Software International, Inc. All rights reserved.
arallels Software International, Inc.
This product is based on a technology t
Distribution of this work or derivative of this work in any form is prohibited unless prior written permission is
btained from the copyright holder.
o
Microsoft, Windows, Windows Server Microsoft Corporation. Linux is a registered trademark of Linus Torvalds. Apple, Bonjour, Mac, MacBook, iMac, Macintosh, a and Safari are trademarks of Apple Inc. Solaris is a trademark of Sun Microsystems, Inc. eComStation is a trademark of Serenity Systems Int FreeBSD is a registered trademark of the FreeBSD Foundation. Intel and Intel Core are trademarks or registered trademarks of Int OS/2 Warp is a registered trademark of International Business Machines Corporatio VMware is a registered trademark of VMware, Inc. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective owne
hat is the subject matter of a number of pending patent applications.
, Windows NT, Windows Vista, and MS-DOS are registered trademarks of
nd Mac OS are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. Finder
ernational.
el Corporation.
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Contents
Introduction 4
About Parallels Image Tool..........................................................................................................................4
About This Guide .........................................................................................................................................4
Getting Help .................................................................................................................................................5
System Requirements 6
Hardware Requirements ...............................................................................................................................6
Software Requirements.................................................................................................................................6
Getting Started 7
Installing Parallels Image Tool.....................................................................................................................7
Uninstalling Parallels Image Tool ................................................................................................................7
Working with Parallels Image Tool 8
Starting Parallels Image Tool .......................................................................................................................8
Increasing Virtual Hard Disk Capacity.........................................................................................................8
Changing Virtual Hard Disk Properties......................................................................................................12
Changing Virtual Hard Disk Format...........................................................................................................15
Merging Snapshots .....................................................................................................................................18
Using Added Space 22
Creating New Partition in Windows...........................................................................................................22
Creating New Partition in Linux.................................................................................................................23
Virtual Hard Disks Types 25
Index 27
C HAPTER 1

Introduction

Virtual machines use virtual hard disks that actually are hard disk image files. After using your virtual machine for some time, you may find that your virtual machine hard disk does not fit your needs anymore, and you want to increase its capacity or change its type and properties. Parallels has developed a special utility for increasing the virtual hard disk capacity and managing its properties - Parallels Image Tool.
In This Chapter
About Parallels Image Tool .................................................................................................. 4
About This Guide .................................................................................................................. 4
Getting Help..........................................................................................................................5

About Parallels Image Tool

Parallels Image Tool is a special utility that enables you to increase the capacity, change the type and format of your virtual hard disks, or merge snapshots of virtual machines that use these virtual hard disks. This utility is a part of Parallels Desktop package, and is automatically installed during Parallels Desktop installation.

About This Guide

The present guide is aimed at a wide range of users who want to increase the capacity , change the type, or merge snapshots of hard disks used by their virtual machines with the help of Parallels Image Tool.
Notation Conventions
The table below presents the conventions used in this Guide.
Fonts
This font
This font
Used for buttons, options, menus and menu commands, windows, and dialog boxes.
Used for keys, paths, and folder names.
This font Used for glossary items.
Note.
Warning.
Used to emphasize the message. Type Styles
Used to warn you about possible data loss.
0BIntroduction 5

Getting Help

Parallels Image Tool offers several options for accessing necessary information: Parallels Image Tool User Guide. This document contains extensive information about the
product, its usage and troubleshooting. The Guide is located in the Parallels Desktop folder. Default location is Applications/Parallels/
Help buttons. Click the
Help button at the bottom of the Image Tool window to open a
corresponding help page.
Parallels web site (http://www.parallels.com). Explore the Support web page that includes
product help files and FAQ section.
C HAPTER 2

System Requirements

Parallels Image Tool is a part of Parallels Desktop package, and the system requirements for installing and using it are the same as for Parallels Desktop.
In This Chapter
Hardware Requirements........................................................................................................ 6
Software Requirements......................................................................................................... 6

Hardware Requirements

The hardware requirements for Parallels Image Tool are based on those for Parallels Desktop:
Computer Intel-powered Core™ Duo or Core™ Solo Mac® Mini, iMac®,
MacBook™, MacBook Pro or Mac Pro.
System Memory 768 MB of RAM minimum.
1 GB recommended.
Free Hard Disk Space 40.5 MB required for Parallels Desktop.
Enough space for storing enlarged virtual disks. Optical Drive CD-ROM and/or DVD-ROM drive. Network Device Ethernet adapter.

Software Requirements

Parallels Desktop with Parallels Image Tool supports Mac OS X 10.4.6 or later. To check your Mac OS X version number, choose Apple -> About This Mac from the menu bar.
C HAPTER 3

Getting Started

This chapter provides information on how to install and uninstall Parallels Image Tool.
In This Chapter
Installing Parallels Image Tool .............................................................................................7
Uninstalling Parallels Image Tool......................................................................................... 7

Installing Parallels Image Tool

Parallels Image Tool is installed automatically during Parallels Desktop installation. For detailed installation instructions, see Parallels Desktop for Mac User Guide.
By default, Parallels Image Tool is installed in the following folder: /Applications/Parallels.

Uninstalling Parallels Image Tool

Parallels Image Tool is uninstalled automatically as you uninstall Parallels Desktop. For detailed instructions, see Parallels Desktop for Mac User Guide.
C HAPTER 4

Working with Parallels Image Tool

Using Parallels Image Tool you can increase the capacity, change properties or format of an existing virtual hard disk image that is not currently used by any running virtual machine. To learn more about virtual hard disks types and formats, refer to the Virtual Hard Disks Types topic (page 25).
In This Chapter
Starting Parallels Image Tool................................................................................................ 8
Increasing Virtual Hard Disk Capacity................................................................................. 8
Changing Virtual Hard Disk Properties................................................................................ 12
Changing Virtual Hard Disk Format.....................................................................................15
Merging Snapshots................................................................................................................ 18

Starting Parallels Image Tool

To start the Parallels Image Tool utility, do the following:
1 In the Finder, go to Applications -> Parallels. 2 In the Parallels folder double-click the Parallels Image Tool icon.

Increasing Virtual Hard Disk Capacity

If you find that the capacity of your virtual machine hard disk doesn't fit your needs anymore, you can increase it using Parallels Image Tool.
Warning. Before modifying the image of a virtual hard disk, always back it up and make sure you have enough space on the hard disk of your Macintosh computer to allocate a temporary file of this virtual hard disk image.
To increase the capacity of virtual hard disk 1 Start Parallels Image Tool.
3BWorking with Parallels Image Tool 9
2 In the Introduction window, click Continue.
3 In the Source Virtual Disk Image File window, specify the hard disk image file to be increased
and click Continue. You may type the path and file name or use the Choose button to locate the file.
Warning. If you choose a hard disk used by virtual machine that has snapshots, all the snapshots, except the last one, will be deleted.
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