Parellels converted to Fusion, no mouse or keyboard

[jleonar]

I have searched and found posts related to boot camp but I am using a disk image.

I converted my parallels image to fusion using the vmware converter. Everything went fine and I can boot the OS with Fusion. However I have no keyboard or mouse.

I can however use the keyboard to enter into safe mode but once windows xp is booted, the mouse and keyboard no longer work.

I am on a macbook using fusion beta 3. Any ideas? I can't login to do anything at this point.

Message was edited by:

jleonar

[bgertzfield]

Hi jleonar,

You might want to give the "Solution for Boot Camp" fix a try:

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?threadID=80060

[jleonar]

To do that you actually have to be logged in. I can't login without typing in my password from vmware.

Since it is not a boot camp partition, I can't boot natively into it to execute the registry update.

[n9yty]

Try plugging in an external USB keyboard/mouse and give those to the VM via the menu so it has primary and full access to them. I haven't tested it, but it'd be worth a shot.

[jleonar]

Tried that with a Microsoft wireless mouse and keyboard. Doesn't even show up in the USB devices to give to XP.

I will track down a corded USB keyboard and give it a try.

[admin]

Bootable HID devices (e.g. mice, keyboards) are not shown in the toolbar by default. This is to keep people from connecting their last input device to the VM and have no way to get back to the host. If you want to try this, you'll need to edit the vmx file to include the line "usb.generic.allowHID = TRUE".

[l-rs]

I have exactly the same problem (a good conversion from Parallels ends up in no mouse or keyboard in the virtual machine). I tried your suggestion with adding that line in the .vmx file, but as soon as I connect my mouse (by clicking on the usb icon) it locks the mouse in both OS X and the virtual machine.

l-rs

[jim_gill]

The problem with the mouse and keyboard is a known issue with some imported Parallels VMs.

Most of the time, the keyboard will be recognized by Windows within a minute or two of the importer virtual machine booting up. The mouse, sometimes but not always. You should be able to log in by pressing the Tab key to highlight your user account, Enter to select it, and typing a password if necessary. Once you've logged on, VMware Tools will install and this completely solves the mouse/keyboard issue.

If you don't use a password on this account, another thing you can do, a little more troublesome, is to add the line

mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"

to the imported virtual machines .vmx file. This enables the mouse so you can click to log in -- it won't change the keyboard. Again, once you've logged in, VMware Tools will install. After this has completed, edit the .vmx file once more to remove or comment out (add a # to the beginning of the line to comment it out) the mouse.vusb.enable line. We don't turn that on by default in Fusion because the virtual USB mouse doesn't see right-clicks in Unity mode.

Pleae let me know if this solves your problem.

[barrylustig]

I've run into this problem as well. What I've done is to make a copy of the Parallels VM, boot the copy and remove the Parallels tools. I then use the VMware converter on the image.

[l-rs]

The suggestion to remove Parallel Tools in a copy of the virtual machine is a sound one. I tried it but sadly it converts ok, then ends up in a blue screen STOP error. It won't boot into safe mode or anything. The suggestion with an additional line in the .vmx didn't work for me either. 😐

Getting there... I've asked VMWare for help in a seperate support request.

[jim_gill]

What OS is in the Parallels VM?

Would you be willing to import the virtual machine one more time? The keyboard will ordinarily wake up within a minute or two once you start the imported VM. Once it does, you should be able to log in by tabbing to your user account, pressing Enter, and entering your password. Once you've logged in, VMware Tools will install and this fixes every issue with the mouse and keyboard.

I'm suggesting doing the import all over again because it sounds like you've blurred issues by editing the .vmx config file directly, and a fresh import is the simplest way to undo all that.

[l-rs]

Ah, I should've mentioned that earlier. It's Windows XP Professional, it logs on automatically (set via TweakUI).

The first time the machine started it did go through an install of VMWare Tools (but I can't check whether or not Parallel Tools is interfering - does the conversion deal with that, I wonder?). I can see the icon in the taskbar, next to something that looks like a warning for a missing/problematic network. I've attached a screenshot, pictures more than thousand words et cetera

Also of note is the fact that Windows offers a "New Hardware Found" dialog, that I can't interact with, nor can see what exactly it thinks it's found.

In the time the machine has been up and I've written this text and made the screenshot, the keyboard hasn't activated. The mouse pointer stops dead in it's tracks when it enters the Windows environment.

I'm willing to import the machine again, but making a copy of the Parallels VM, removing Parallel Tools from it, shutting it cleanly and converting that image results in a blue screen (tried it twice) and that was without altering the .vmx file or anything.

And for my own curiousity, adding the line was something I had to do outside the VMWare Fusion application, right? I couldn't find any way to influence those settings without resorting to vi...

Thanks for your help and suggestions so far!

[McSvenster]

Well, almost the same with my vm: it tries to install vmware tools. The installer asks if I really wnt to install, but I can't klick on the button as I have no mouse ;-(

Win XP coming from parallels, MBP

And I tried it twice, and uninstalled Parallels Tools before the conversion to vmware.

I'll try the registry- patch now and let You know...

Greetings

SK

[McSvenster]

well... it does not work.

Please, how can we help You to solve this issue?

Greetings

SK

[rcardona2k]

The solution I proposed in has worked since the first Converter beta. It's a bit long but if followed works. I wish this was not such a problem.

edit: fixed broken thread reference

[McSvenster]

some more Information: As it works fine with linux the problem lies within the f...ing Windows XP (sry for the words, but I lost a hole day of work now and can't smile anymore).

Greetings

SK

[McSvenster]

well, I'll give the Remote- Desktop way a try...

last thing I tried was to install a Logitech Mouse driver before the konversion... no luck

I'll let You know

[McSvenster]

lol, as I have no pointing device i cannot install the network- hardware.... I'm going to throw all this shit through those good damn windows!

[jim_gill]

I'm sorry you're having trouble with the conversion, and I understand how frustrating this can be.

As I posted to lr-s earlier in the thread, the best way I have now to get your mouse working is to edit the .vmx file of the imported VM with TextEdit/vi/emacs after you import it but before you run the virtual machine.

1) For talking purposes we'll imagine you named your vm "myvm" and put it in the default folder. Import it, then close the Importer but don't run the VM immediately.

2) Open the file ~/Documents/Virtual Machines/myvm.vmx with a text editor.

3) Add the line

mouse.vusb.enable = "TRUE"

at the end of the file, save and close.

4) Start the VM. Your mouse should be recognized unless the Logitech things have muddled matters (I don't believe they will) and you should be able to click to get VMware Tools installed.

5) After things are working, edit the .vmx file one last time and remove the line you added; it can cause right-mouse conflicts when the VM is in Unity mode. After VMware Tools is installed, that line is no longer necessary.

This is a known issue with Importer Beta 1 and we have scheduled this to be fixed.

[rcardona2k]

Sorry , you can also perform a custom install of the VMware Tools without selecting the network driver so it doesn't kill the connection. As soon as you have the keyboard and mouse working via the Console you can dump RDP and add the network driver through a Complete install of the VMware Tools.

I have these steps in a detailed message with my first usage of Converter here in the forums.