Software Update: Parallels Desktop 5.0 build 9308

Parallels has released a new version of Desktop 5.0, the virtualization software for Mac OS X. This program is capable of running various operating systems in a virtual machine, especially Windows, but also other OSs such as Linux, OS/2 and solaris. Desktop for Mac is also able to run a Windows installation that has been put on the Mac via Boot Camp as a virtual machine. Below you can find what has changed in version 5.0 build 9308:

Virtualization

• Improved USB mass storage performance.
• SMP Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 virtual machines migrated from Parallels Desktop 4 may crash on startup – fixed.
• Black screen on startup in Windows 2000 virtual machines that support the Intel EPT technology – fixed.

Windows guest operating systems

• Improved resume from suspend in virtual machines with multiple monitors assigned.
• Accidental keyboard problems when switching between applications if several virtual machines are running in Coherence or Crystal – fixed.
• Switching to the default space when clicking Windows Start Menu in the Crystal mode – fixed.
• Improved performance of file access via Shared Folders.
• Problems with switching to Coherence or Crystal in a multi-monitor configuration with a USB-to-DVI/VGA adapter driver installed in the virtual machine – fixed.
• Problems with switching to Coherence or Crystal when Parallels Desktop is on the display attached to a different graphic card – fixed.
• Time zone synchronization in the Windows 7 guest OS – fixed.
• The Visual Studio debugger hitting breakpoint on applications launched in the debug mode when running in Coherence or Crystal view modes – fixed.
• Overlapping of menus appearing on right-click and left-click in Crystal mode – fixed.

Linux guest operating systems

• Parallels Tools support Xorg 1.7 in Fedora 12 virtual machines (experimental) – new!
• Parallels Tools support Mandriva 2010 (experimental) – new!
• OpenSUSE 11.1 installation media autodetection – new!
• A non-writable Desktop folder created during the Express installation in some distributions – fixed.
• Problems with the Ubuntu 8.04 x64 guest OS booting after the Express installation – fixed.
• Problems with non-operational right mouse click on some versions of Gnome – fixed.
• Possible hangs during Parallels Tools re-installation – fixed.

Mac OS X Server guest operating system

• The ability to pass kernel options to the Mac OS X Server guest OS – added. To do so, enable the “Select boot device on startup” option in the virtual machine configuration: it will enable you to specify the necessary kernel options in the 5-seconds timeout before booting the kernel.

User Interface

• Very slow Parallels Desktop 5 startup on some computers – fixed.
• Artifacts in Quartz animation after applying changes to Undo Disks and some other actions – fixed.
• Visual artifacts when switching to Full Screen in some machines – fixed.
• Possible application crashes when switching to the Crystal mode with VoiceOver turned on – fixed.
• Problem with quitting Parallels Desktop via Dock icon > Quit when Virtual Machines List is not closed – fixed.
• Problem with some dialogs staying in background when accessed in the Crystal view mode – fixed.

Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger host operating system

• Parallels Desktop may crash on startup in Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger host OS – fixed.
• Possible problems with connecting USB devices in Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger host OS – fixed.

3D & Video

• Improved video playback performance in Windows Vista and Windows 7.
• Windows Aero is now available by default for machines with Intel GMAX3100 and GMA950 graphic adapters (some MacBook and Mac mini models)
• Vertical synchronization is now configurable. You can configure these settings using the corresponding option in the virtual machine video configuration page.
• Black screen blinking in Windows Aero in SMP systems – fixed.
• Visual problems with the Battlestation Pacific game running on NVidia adapters – fixed.
• Improved 3D performance for the Mirror’s Edge game.
• Possible texture corruption in Autodesk AutoCAD – fixed.
• Possible guest crash in Autodesk Inventor running on Windows XP – fixed.
• Possible crashes of the Torchlight game – fixed.
• Visual artifacts in Quicktime 7 on ATI video adapters running in the WDDM mode – fixed.
• Possible crashes in the Microsoft Train Simulator game – fixed.
• The Mass Effect game crashes on startup – fixed.
• Visual artifacts on “water” in the Spore game – fixed.
• Accidental crashes in the Portal game on the GMA950 graphics adapter – fixed.
• Accidental crashes in the Unreal Tournament 3 game -fixed.
• Problems with OpenGL applications startup in Full Screen in multi-monitor configurations – fixed.
• Blinking when working in the Topogun 1.05 application – fixed.
• The Final Fantasy XI game compatibility issues – fixed.
• Problems with the Counter Strike 1.6 game in DirectX rendering mode – fixed.
• Corrupted images in Anatomage InVivo – fixed.
• Video quality problems in some video players on Windows 7 – fixed.

Parallels Transporter

• Improved performance of virtual machines migrated from VMware Fusion to Parallels Desktop.
• Disabled Aero in the Windows 7 virtual machines converted from VMware Fusion 3 to Parallels Desktop – fixed.
• Migration via the Parallels USB cable when the source computer’s USB port is a USB 1.1 port – fixed.