

On the next screen (headed as ‘Virtual Hard Disk’), click the ‘Existing’ button.ġ5. Now click ‘Next’, accept the defaults on the next screen and click ‘Next’ again.ġ4. ‘Windows XP’ and choose the relevant settings on the two drop downs below. Click ‘New’, then ‘Next’, then name your OS e.g. I called mine ‘WINXP’ and saved it on the desktop but you can put it anywhere you like.ġ2. vmdk) and paste them into a new folder someplace else. In the window that now opens, copy all those files (most end. From the next Finder window, right click on the same file again but now choose ‘Show Package Contents’.ĩ. Now right-click the file and select ‘Open Enclosing Folder’ from the menu.Ĩ. Using the Finder locate the new VMWare Fusion version of the Windows XP virtual machine (the file will be wherever you saved it in Step 5 and will end with a. Trouble is, we don’t want it to work in VMWare Fusion, we want it to work in VirtualBox. Eventually you will get a confirmation message. Whatever you do, it will probably take a good 30 mins.Ħ. Watch something on TV, go walk the dog, contemplate life. Choose a name & location for the new machine and click ‘Save’ĥ. Windows XP) and then choose the relevant file ending in. Browse to the Parallels folder (if it doesn’t default there) and choose the appropriate directory (e.g. Once installed, start VMWare Fusion, and choose File > Import from the menuģ. Download the trial version of VMWare Fusion (I used version 2.0.2.)Ģ.

If anyone else is in the same situation, I hope it helps:Ĭonverting a Parallels virtual machine to VirtualBox:ġ. The only pickle with switching virtual machine software was I didn’t want the hassle of re-loading Windows XP as I’d spent some time building it up/adding programs etc under Parallels.Īfter much googling I came across a number of solutions, however, none as easy as the one I am suggesting here. Then I came across Sun’s free offering VirtualBox (in this walkthrough I’m running VirtualBox version 2.1.4) – it does everything I need, and it’s free! Previously I was using Parallels to run my virtual machines but since my trial version expired I wasn’t able to access my virtual OS any more. I use Windows on my Mac in two ways: Vista Premium through bootcamp and Windows 7 and Windows XP as virtual machines through the OSX desktop. If this post helps you out, I’m collecting money for Christies Cancer Hospital and it would be good if you could contribute a small donation. This post is a step by step explaining how to convert a Parallels Virtual Machine to a VirtualBox Virtual Machine.
