Parallels virtual machine for macOS is completely isolated from host machine

Question

I need to set up a virtual machine using Parallels on my Mac to have MacOS as a guest machine. I want to have it be able to share the host file system and clipboard. I would also prefer to be able to restore a configuration from Time Machine or the host Mac.

None of the above procedures work. The VM is completely isolated from the host.

Some things I have tried:

1. Install Parallels Tools. That does not work. The procedure asks for the Parallels Tools CD. There is not anything I can find like that. I found some advice saying that the file is located at /Applications/Parallels Desktop.app/Contents/Resources/Tools/prl-tools-mac.iso. But there is no such Parallels Desktop.app.

2. I did find that prl-tools-mac.iso is apparently mounted on the VM CD device. But cannot find any way to access it.

3. Using Migration Assistant to load a configuration from the host fails, because Migration Assistant cannot run on both the host and VM at the same time. Migration Assistant on the host requires that all applications including Parallels be shut down.

4. Using Migration Assistant to load a configuration from a Time Machine Backup:

• It cannot find Time Machine backups on an external drive attached to the host. It cannot even see the external drive.
• I ejected the drive from the host and reconnected it--the setting in the VM is that it should ask me which to attach to, the host or the VM. It just attaches to the host.
• Trying to access the host file system from the VM fails because it will not accept the username and password.

It seems there is some missing piece which prevents sharing of anything between the VM and the host.

The VM Configure > Options > Sharing are set to All Disks and Map Mac volumes to the virtual machine. And in More Options, Share the Mac clipboard is checked.

So it appears that all the settings are in place, yet the VM is 100% isolated.

What am I missing?

EDIT:

I again had a requirement to set up a macOS VM. In the previous attempt from over two years ago I was never able to connect to Time Machine. Could not overcome the stated issues.

In this new attempt I was not needing to set up Time Machine, but as it turned out the same issues did not occur so I thought it could be helpful to update the question with some additional information.

This current effort has the guest OS as Monterey, and that may be what has made the difference, or more current versions of Parallels might have made the difference. In any case, using the Parallels Devices > CD/DVD shows that there is now a "macOS image file.iso" available. That can be connected, and within it Parallels Tools is available. So it is now possible to install.

After running Parallels Tools there is a Parallels Shared folders icon on the Desktop. In that you can see all the external drives. I suspect that Time Machine could be set up at this point, although I have not tried it.

Answer 1

A common theme of the problem was that because Parallels Tools was not installed, access to the host could not be established, and the screen resolution only offered 1024 x 768, which I had not mentioned.

I really needed to get Parallels Tools installed, but the inability to mount the virtual CD was blocking that. I found a Parallels knowledge base article that said the the system automatically mounts it. Speciically it said "When macOS boots up, choose Actions > Install Parallels Tools. The Parallels Tools ISO image gets connected to the virtual machine CD/DVD drive. The guest OS mounts it automatically." This was not happening.

On a hunch, I told the CD device to unmount the prl-tool-mac.iso using the Disconnet choice on the dialog shown in the screen shot:

Here are my steps:

1. Keeping the configuration window open, I first shut down the VM (because some things cannot be changed until the VM is shut down). I don't know if this was necessary, but it is the way I did it.

2. Then I disconnected the ISO image.

3. Then reconnected the ISO image.

4. Then started the VM.

This time the CD device was there right on the desktop, and I was able to click it to install Parallels Tools.

After getting Parallels Tools installed, all the problem listed in my original question went away: - the guest could see the host file system; - drag and drop between the guest and host is possible; - clipboard can be shared between the two - and probably several other actions that I did not try would also be available, such as restoring from a Time Machine backup or cloned image; - screen resolution went to normal.

To summarize, if the Parallels Tools CD image does not mount, disconnect it and reconnect it, with the possible requirement for the additional intervening steps described above.

Answer 2

As of today, this issue exists even once parallels tools are installed when running a mac VM on an M1 processor. From the parallels sites (https://kb.parallels.com/125561#section5):

Please note that Parallels Tools functionalities in macOS virtual machines on M1 Mac computers are very limited. Parallels Engineering Team is researching ways to expand the list of supported features in future product updates. Shared Clipboard has already been added.

Limitations

To run a macOS Monterey VM on Mac computers with Apple M1 chips, Parallels Desktop 17 uses new technology introduced in macOS Monterey, that's why it is not possible to run earlier versions of macOS on a Mac with Apple M1 chips.

Most productivity and integration features are not available to this VM yet. It is not possible to suspend and resume the VM, shared folders and snapshots are not supported for now. Apart from that it is currently not possible to adjust guest macOS screen resolution in real-time mode when resizing ratio; to change virtual machine amount of CPU and RAM or its hardware parameters (Device UUID and Serial number) and to register with Apple ID. USB and camera sharing are also missing in macOS Monterey VM running on a Mac with Apple M1 chips so far.