APPLIES TO:

Symptoms

• You were unable to install Windows or any other Virtual Machine by following steps from this article: 4729 How to install Windows virtual machine on Mac using Parallels Desktop?
• Virtual Machine cannot be installed because of an error message
• Virtual Machine installation is stuck of just freezes, or you get a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD) during installation.
   

Cause

• Corrupted installation media (CD/DVD, .iso image file)
• Not supported or customized Operating System image or distributive
• Parallels Desktop or Virtual Machine misconfiguration

Resolution

Before checking solutions to the most frequent Virtual Machine installation issues, please make sure the Operating System installation media is suitable for Virtual Machine installation:

1. If you use CD/DVD to install a Virtual Machine, make sure it is bootable and is in working condition. Working condition means that you can install this Operating System using this disk on any other physical PC

2. Try another  installation CD/DVD or use .iso image to install a Virtual machine. To learn more about .iso disk images check this article: 4917 How to create .iso image of Windows installation CD?

2. If you install a Windows Virtual Machine, make sure you owe a valid license to activate the Virtual Machine.  A Windows Virtual Machine is considered as Windows installation and  requires valid license key as a physical Windows PC

If the steps above did not help you to solve the issue, click on one of these symptoms for more solutions:
 

1. I am unable to install a Windows virtual machine
2. I am unable to install a Mac OS X or Linux virtual machine
3. I am unable to install Windows or another OS downloaded using Parallels Desktop

• If you are unable to install Windows 7 from Boot Camp because of the error  The disk partitions in Windows Boot Camp are not the same as in Mac OS, please check this article: 

11244 Unable to create a Boot Camp virtual machine.

• You purchased  Windows 7 from Parallels online store or from Parallels Convenience Store, but you were unable to download it or download was interrupted:

• After Windows  2000 installation you get BSOD 0x0000001E STOP error message at the first start:

I am unable to install a Mac OS X or Linux virtual machine

• I cannot install neither Leopard nor Snow Leopard to my virtual machine:  An invalid Mac OS version is installed.  Mac OS X virtual machines can have only the Mac OS X Server Leopard or Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard operating system installed. Other versions of Mac OS are not supported. Check this article:

 

112323 An invalid Mac OS version is installed.  Mac OS X virtual machines can have only the Mac OS X Server Leopard or Mac OS X Server Snow Leopard operating system installed
 

• You are unable to install Mac OS X Lion Virtual Machine or you do not know how to do this: 

112121 How to create Lion Virtual Machine using Parallels Desktop

113614 Parallels Desktop doesn't detect Ubuntu 12.04 installer automatically

I am unable to install OS downloaded from Parallels Desktop

• If you get an error message about failed connection, click Retry to continue downloading
• Abort current download and start it from scratch
• Make sure you have enough disk space on Mac HD for download.
• Try to download desired OS from Parallels Desktop a bit later