Parallels

Information

To upgrade Parallels Desktop 3 or 4 to version 5, you should purchase the Parallels Desktop upgrade from Parallels Online Store (http://www.parallels.com/en/buyonline). An upgrade activation key will be sent immediately to the e-mail address you provided.

For information about upgrade from Parallels Desktop version 2.x to version 5, please check our Knowledgebase article:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/6815

You can upgrade Parallels Desktop 3 or 4 to any localized version of Parallels Desktop 5. For example, if you have the English version of Parallels Desktop 4 and want to upgrade it to the German version of Parallels Desktop 5, you should purchase the German upgrade, install it on your Mac, and activate with the upgrade activation key.

Parallels Desktop 5 can be downloaded from our website:
http://www.parallels.com/download/desktop/

Before the upgrade, you should stop all your running virtual machines and close the previous version of Parallels Desktop. You do not have to remove the previous version of Parallels Desktop before the upgrade: the installer will remove it automatically before installing Parallels Desktop 5.Once Parallels Desktop 5 is downloaded or the installation disk is inserted, you should run the installer and follow the wizard. 

To activate your copy of Parallels Desktop 5, you should purchase an upgrade activation key. You may also need the key you used with the previous version.

• If you activated the previous version of Parallels Desktop with a permanent key, you will need to enter the upgrade key only.
• If you activated the previous version of Parallels Desktop with a trial activation key, you will be prompted to enter both keys: the key you used with the previous version and the upgrade key for the new version.
• If you purchased the previous version of Parallels Desktop but haven't installed it on your Mac, you will need two keys to activate Parallels Desktop 5: the upgrade activation key for Parallels Desktop 5 and a permanent or upgrade key for the previous version.

For more information on how to convert/upgrade your virtual machine to Parallels Desktop 5, please check the following Knowledgebase article:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/6852

If you experience any issues with activation and registration of Parallels Desktop 5, please check the following Knowledgebase article:
http://kb.parallels.com/en/6838