1. It just took me 8 hours to compact the parallels VM to reduce the disk back to 18gig from 23 gigs. Does VMware have the same issues with expanding disks and compaction? How long does compaction take?
It's going to depend on your disk and the contents, though 8 hours strikes me as a very long time. One difference between Parallels' compaction and Fusion's shrink is that (by default?) Parallels deletes files it thinks is unnecessary. This can be good (space savings) or bad (mucking with the guest without telling you) depending on your point of view. Fusion doesn't do that (you can use third party tools to get similar savings if you're interested). I wouldn't expect this difference to translate to a significant time difference.
2. If I use the tool to transport a Parallels drive to VMWare, can Parallels still use the original drive?
Yes, both Importer and Converter create a new copy of the virtual machine, independent of the original. However, your XP license probably prohibits running more than one copy.
3. I have a clone of the Parallels drive on Time Capsule, can I use that and leave the VMware drive on Time Capsule until i decide between VMWare and Parallels?
I'm not sure what you're asking/trying to do here.
4. Is all really need to do after transporting the Parallels drive over is to enter the Windows XP license number and I am good to go?
That should be it. Remember to install VMware Tools if it's not automatically done for you.
