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The assistant offers several installation modes. You can choose the mode that better fits your needs or your experience with Parallels Desktop. Regardless of what method you select, you will be able to change the configuration of your virtual machine later using the Virtual Machine Configuration dialog.
Default Installation
This is a basic installation mode used by default for creating virtual machines. Using this mode, you do not have to specify what kind of operating system you wish to install - Parallels Desktop will try to automatically determine the type and version of the operating system. You only have to specify the source of the operating system installation files and where you wish to store the virtual machine files. New Virtual Machine Assistant creates a virtual machine and starts the installation of the guest operating system.
For more information on this installation mode, see Default Installation Mode.
Express Windows Installation
This installation mode is available only for the following guest operating systems: Windows 2003, Windows XP, and Windows Vista. New Virtual Machine Assistant not only creates a virtual machine configuration, but also automatically installs the corresponding guest OS in it. It is the easiest way to make a new virtual machine: you only need to insert a Windows 2003, Windows XP, or Windows Vista installation disc or specify the path to its image file, and New Virtual Machine Assistant will do the rest (including the installation of Parallels Tools). In this mode, virtual machines are created with typical configurations (see Typical Configurations for details) and placed to the default folder (see below).
For more information on this installation mode, see Express Windows Installation Mode.
Typical Installation
This installation mode is designed for new users and for fast virtual machine creation. You only have to specify the type and version of the guest operating system that you wish to install and where you wish to store the virtual machine files. New Virtual Machine Assistant creates a typical (for the selected guest OS) virtual machine configuration and starts the installation of the guest OS as interactive installation.
For more information on this installation mode, see Typical Installation Mode.
Custom Installation
This installation mode is intended for experienced users only. It allows the user to create configurations other than the typical ones. In this mode, the user is prompted to specify such options for the basic hardware as the amount of RAM, the size and format of a virtual hard disk, and networking parameters. Additional devices can be added later, using the Virtual Machine Configuration dialog. After New Virtual Machine Assistant creates a virtual machine configuration, it starts installing the guest OS if such an option was selected.
For more information on this installation mode, see Custom Installation Mode.
Default Folders for Virtual Machines
By default, Parallels Desktop is configured to create a new virtual machine folder in the home folder of the user who created it:
/Users/<User_Name>/Documents/Parallels/
where <User_Name> stands for the user's home folder.
However, you can select another folder that will be used as the default folder for your virtual machines.
To specify another default destination for saving virtual machines, do the following:
Note: You can also specify a folder for a virtual machine during its creation. An existing virtual machine can also be moved to a different folder after it is created.
