Choosing Installation Mode

Parallels Management Console offers several modes of creating virtual machine configurations and installing guest operating systems. So before starting to create your first virtual machine, make sure you know what each of the installation modes means.

Express Installation

In the Express installation mode, Parallels Management Console automatically creates a virtual machine configuration and installs the guest operating system (OS) you choose. This is the easiest way to create a new virtual machine. All you need to do is to provide guest OS installation files and specify the OS product key, if necessary, and Parallels Management Console will do the rest. For more information on this installation mode, see Creating Virtual Machines in Express Mode .

Typical Installation

In the Typical installation mode, Parallels Management Console asks you to specify the type and version of the guest OS you want to run in your virtual machine and where you want to store the virtual machine files. Once you provide this information, Parallels Management Console creates a typical virtual machine configuration and starts the OS installation. You then follow standard instructions to install the operating system the same way you do this on a standalone computer. For more information on this installation mode, see Creating Virtual Machines in Typical Mode .

Custom Installation

In the Custom installation mode, you manually specify all options and control the whole process of creating the virtual machine. In particular, you specify the amount of RAM for the virtual machine, the size and format of the virtual hard disk, network parameters, and so on. The Custom installation mode is intended for experienced users. For more information on this mode, see Creating Virtual Machines in Custom Mode .