I have XP Pro SP3 running inside Parallels under Snow Leopard. It runs fine. Faster than any other Windows PC I have access to.

But every now and again I come across some Microsoft s/w that just doesn’t run with the graphics drivers that Parallels have produced. So if I could just transfer my Parallels package into a Bootcamp one, that’d be rather good. I know how to do it in reverse, but not this way.

I’d rebuild Windows from scratch in Bootcamp if I could, but the XP installation disk I have is SP1 (or possibly earlier!), so that won’t work. And even if it did, I’d hate to have to go through the rigmarole of applying ten years of patches to it!

Anyone have any ideas?

Somebody posted some detailed instructions on the Parallels forums on how to do this. See http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=6433&highlight=convert+boot+camp

However, you may also want to consider creating a “slipstreamed” XP install disk that includes SP3 (or SP2, for that matter) and just installing XP from scratch into Boot Camp (which, as you note, requires XP SP2 as a minimum to install.) Instructions for this are here:

http://www.winsupersite.com/showcase/xpsp3_slipstream.asp

Thanks for that - so it can be done.

But I don’t have even an SP1 disk to do it from. I think it is possible to slipstream from the original CD but it may end up being more trouble than it’s worth!

It’d be nice to just be able to copy from my Parallels partition and making the bootcamp partition bootable. But that would be too easy. )-8

I thought that you said that you had SP1, but, even if you do not, you can create a slipstreamed SP3 (or SP2) disk from the original instal disk. See http://www.howtohaven.com/system/slipstream-xp-service-pack-3.shtml for better instructions.

There is an issue with moving the Parallels VM files to Boot Camp - the hardware drivers for Parallels would be so different from Boot Camp’s that you’ll be going through several cycles of reboots as XP recognizes that existing hardware is no longer there, new hardware exists and needs drivers, and you may end up with a problematic install anyway. I have tried this from one real hardware PC to another (think from a Dell PC to an HP), and it can be a real pain. In fact, I did move my Parallels VM to Fusion at one point and that was a similar pain. Really, you’ll be so much happier if you can just reinstall XP from scratch on Boot Camp and move your files over.

[Duplicate post]

Wow! You are being so wonderfully helpful. Next time you’re in Wellington, there’s a pint of Renaissance Pale Ale waiting for you. 

I misremembered - I thought it was SP1 but no. I finally found my XP disk (I swear it had some moss on it) and it was an original one. Should I put it in a museum? I think I’ll put a few days aside sometime and have a go slipstreaming it after all. Sigh.  

Thank you also for your concerns about the Bootcamp drivers. I was particularly avoiding going down this path (installing from scratch) because I would have to reinstall SAS as well, and that’s somewhere between 5 and 10 DVDs! Oh well, it’s time I bit the cliché and upgraded to version 9.2 anyway.

Kia ora,
Laurie.