OS X Mountain Lion and Parallels Desktop For Mac

Note: Due to constant upgrades and new versions, this information may be outdated.

If you install OS X Mountain Lion in your IMac, most likely you may have some issues with older versions of Parallels. You may also have issues with Parallels Desktop 7 for Mac, especially, if you have not updated your software. When I first installed OS X Mountain in my IMac (21.5 inch), my Parallel's icon disappeared from the screen and the virtual machines looked like wiped out. I searched the internet and did not find satisfactory answers. I reinstalled the Parallels and also installed an upgrade downloaded from their site. But the Parallel icon still evaded me.

I tried to reach Parallel's support team and I was informed by their phone system that I was not eligible for their telephone support, but only email support. I purchased parallels a few months ago. So not sure why this company which collects top price for its software cannot provide telephone support for at least a year, if not more. (So much for the service nowadays!). That left me with no choice but search for a solution on my own. Finally I managed to put the Parallel's icon back on the screen. This is what I did.

I opened finders and clicked on Applications. In the applications, I located Parallel's Desktop icon. A window opens which gives you two three options, to import an existing virtual machine from the Mac or to import from the Net work or an external device. If you choose import an existing virtual machine, you will be able to locate the pvm file in the list and if you click on it, parallel's will be automatically activated and the icon will appear in the panel.

Some times, the icon may disappear if the virtual machine is either disabled or stopped manually or by the system itself. When the virtual machine stops, the Parallel icon disappears from the Mac screen. On such occasions also this is the best solution. Go to finders and look for Parallel's application icon under the applications menu. Click on it and proceed with activating the virtual machines. If you try to create a new virtual machine, the system will ask you for a new license key for the windows operating system. Therefore, unless you want to install multiple virtual machines and window copies it may not be a good idea to start a new virtual machine while an old one is still available or already installed.