Phoenix runs on XP in Parallels!!!!!!

[Augman37]

I just got an email from parallels customer support that explained how to setup the newest parallels to run DirectX 9.0c. I did as stated in the email and loaded phoenix and it works!!!! There is a line in the screen that flashes every once in a while but the sim seems to run perfectly except for that in even the highest settings on the sim. I will post more if I find any other glitches but this is great news for me. I don't like having to use bootcamp and partition my drive. now we do not have to!


EMAIL I RECEIVED:
Hello!

We have the support of DirectX9.0c already. It is somewhat experimental, but it works.

Firstly, please, update Parallels Desktop to the latest build available here:
http://download.parallels.com/v3/en/GA/Parallels-Desktop-5600-Mac-en.dmg

Then, please, set up Parallels Desktop this way.

Please, start Parallels Desktop using its icon in
"Applications/Parallels" folder. Do not start the virtual machine. If it
starts automatically, press "Apple/Command" button while clicking
Parallels icon and hold it for 10-15 seconds. You will see configuration
screen with the name of your virtual machine and the "Stopped" state.
Click "Edit->Virtual Machine" in the Mac top bar.

In the Memory tab, decrease the amount of RAM to 1024Mb and increase the
amount of video memory to 64Mb.
In the Video tab, check "Enable DirectX" flag.
In the Options tab, select "Advanced" on the right side and in this,
advanced tab, switch acceleration from "Full" to "Disabled" and check
(if it is not checked) "Enable Vt-x support" option.

Click “OK”.

Click "Parallels Desktop->Preferences" in the Mac top bar. In the
"Memory" tab, check "Virtual memory prealloaction" flag.
Click "OK" and close all your Parallels windows.

Reboot your Mac.

Start your Windows using your usual shortcut.

While in Windows, Ctrl-click (right-click) on the Windows Desktop. You
will see the drop-down menu. Choose "Properties". In the opened window,
open the "Settings" tab and click on the "Advanced" button. You will see
another window, click "Troubleshoot". You will see the "Hardware
Acceleration" section. Put the slider on the line that precedes maximum.


Thanks!



-------------
Best regards,
Dmitriy
Parallels Customer Support Service Engineer
http://www.parallels.com

[TheBum]

I'll have to try out those settings. Are you booting the Boot Camp partition or a Parallels disk image? I'm just wondering if it matters; I have Phoenix running already in Parallels using my Boot Camp partition, but I can only get it halfway smooth if I turn down/off just about all of the enhancements, e.g. anti-aliasing and shadows. Maybe the additional setting changes will help.

[Augman37]

I am booting on the parallels disk image. I deleted my bootcamp and its partition because I only had the partition for phoenix. Once I did what tech support from parallels suggested, everything was smooth with ALL enhancements turned to max. The only glitch I see is a flicker of a row of the screen about 2mm tall across the entire screen about once every 5 seconds. It is in the lower 1/5th of the screen so it is easy to ignore but I am going to try and troubleshoot that also. It does not affect it turning the enhancements down. let me know if you see it.

[TheBum]

I tried those settings with mixed success. I was finally able to run Phoenix full-screen, but the options for anti-aliasing or high shadow quality are disabled. The animation was about the same as it was before. I ended up turning the acceleration back to maximum in Windows because of a black bar crossing the screen wherever the cursor was vertically.

Part of the problem may be that my MacBook Pro is a first-generation machine that has a Core Duo processor and not a Core 2 Duo.

[Augman37]

I had the same black bar flashing issue and got rid of it by adjusting the screen resolution to 1280x720. Shadowing can only be low on mine too but I am happy enough with that for now. I have my MBP hooked to my 52 inch plasma and it looks really good with no black bar now and shadows look good (not sure how different they look on the high setting). I am running my MBP at 2.33 GHz and is a core 2 duo (one year old 17"). Did it change anything when you turned acceleration to the max in windows?

[TheBum]

shadows look good (not sure how different they look on the high setting)
The shadow is more of a gradient (darker in the middle and lighter further out) and the edges are softer. I only know that from running in Boot Camp.

Did it change anything when you turned acceleration to the max in windows?
Not that I could see, other than the improved cursor rendering. I did notice a significant difference in performance between running Phoenix full-screen and running it in a window; full-screen was smoother. As far as I can recall, the control response is about the same as real-life, so I'm happy.

I found that using Spaces in this application is ideal. I can run Parallels full screen in one Space and just toggle to another Space when I want to go back to OS X. Of course, running it to a TV negates the need.

[Augman37]

I will try the spaces trick you suggest. Thanks.

[Augman37]

I tried those settings with mixed success. I was finally able to run Phoenix full-screen, but the options for anti-aliasing or high shadow quality are disabled. The animation was about the same as it was before. I ended up turning the acceleration back to maximum in Windows because of a black bar crossing the screen wherever the cursor was vertically.

Part of the problem may be that my MacBook Pro is a first-generation machine that has a Core Duo processor and not a Core 2 Duo.


What resolution settings are you using to get antialiasing and shadows to go to high setting? I only have the low option and antialiasing off.

[TheBum]

What resolution settings are you using to get antialiasing and shadows to go to high setting?
I can only get those settings when I run in Boot Camp. In Parallels, I'm experiencing the same thing you are. I suspect it's a deficiency in Parallels' DirectX emulation.

[Augman37]

I can only get those settings when I run in Boot Camp. In Parallels, I'm experiencing the same thing you are. I suspect it's a deficiency in Parallels' DirectX emulation.

Oh, thanks. I kept trying to alter setting to get it to work. Parallels tech said they are working on complete directx support right now and should have it running all directx soon. I am going to live with it the way it is for now and hope they update it soon so I can upgrade my settings on the sim.

I just went to a heli fun fly here in GA and I am very excited to get my trex 500 and start the real thing! I am going to put in at least another 50hrs on the sim before maiden though. Damn those pros are amazing with their helis

[TheBum]

I'm glad it's working for both of us. I was very put-off having to reboot into Windows to run Phoenix and then back into OS X for other stuff, so I rarely used the sim. I've already found myself using the sim more, since going back to OS X is as simple as a pressing a key combination.

[Augman37]

I agree. That is really why I do not like boot camp. when it is just a matter of clicking over to parallels, I do 20 min of sim here and there. When it required a re-boot into bootcamp, I only did it when I was going to practice for an hour or so. How do you like your 600N? Which gyro are you using?

[TheBum]

I agree. That is really why I do not like boot camp. when it is just a matter of clicking over to parallels, I do 20 min of sim here and there. When it required a re-boot into bootcamp, I only did it when I was going to practice for an hour or so. How do you like your 600N? Which gyro are you using?

I love it. It's definitely more work to keep it running smoothly than my 450, but the sheer power and the lack of down-time waiting for batteries to charge makes up for it. I'm using the JR G770/DS8900G combo.

[TowPilot]

If you do have a partition for Boot Camp, what I do is boot to XP and run full screen. If I am using the sim, I don't have a need for any of the Mac applications during the time I am "flying".

There are no issues when booted to XP in Boot Camp.

If you have a Boot Camp partition, I do not see a reason to add the complexity of also running Parallels to fly the sim.

Mike

[TheBum]

If you have a Boot Camp partition, I do not see a reason to add the complexity of also running Parallels to fly the sim.
Let's say you want to fly for 20 minutes, take a break to do some e-mail or something else, and then go back to the sim for 20 more minutes, then stop flying for the day and go back to OS X. Here are the scenarios in Boot Camp and in Parallels:

Boot Camp: Reboot into Windows, fly, reboot into OS X, do other stuff, reboot into Windows, fly, reboot into OS X.

Parallels: Boot Windows, fly, ctrl-arrow to another Space, do other stuff, ctrl-arrow back to the Parallels VM, fly, shut down Windows in Parallels and do other stuff while it's shutting down.

Before I had Windows and Phoenix working in Parallels, I rarely used the sim because it was too much of a hassle to keep rebooting. With Parallels, there's no more rebooting and my sim time has increased exponentially.

[Augman37]

If you have a Boot Camp partition, I do not see a reason to add the complexity of also running Parallels to fly the sim.

Mike

I already had parallels on my Mac with XP. I wanted to get the sim to run on it because I was going to have to install Boot Camp and ANOTHER copy of windows on the partition just to use the sim. Also, I will often boot up the sim on my mac and fly for 10-20 min at a time on a break between working on the computer (Mac). If I had to shut down the computer and re-boot the partition each time I wanted to put in a little sim practice, I would probably not do it as much. It is just nice that the technology has finally caught up to where you can run the sim in a VM without any problems.

I also did not want to lose the disk space on my laptop by partitioning and installing the extra XP when it works on the VM I already have installed and use every day. Just another option. BootCamp also works great. To be honest, I think the video is a little smoother on bootcamp than on the VM at times (depending on what other programs I am concurrently running). I chose to have the rare video "stutter" on the VM than to lose the disk space and inconvenience of BootCamp.

[TheBum]

I installed Boot Camp first because I bought an OEM version of Windows XP Home and wanted to make sure I could run with maximum compatibility in case I had any authorization problems. At the beginning, I could not authorize Windows both in Boot Camp and in Parallels, but a few months later I tried again in Parallels and was able to do a second authorization.

[fxbulldog]

I am also asking this question in the following thread:
http://helifreak.com/showthread.php?t=81072

I installed parallels v3.5608 with XP Home and when I start Phoenix there is no text displayed. Has anyone had this problem and corrected it?

Pictures uploaded below:
http://gallery.me.com/jahmlh#100104

Followed the directions listed above.

Jim
--------------
macbook pro 2.4 ghz intel core 2 duo 2 gb 677 mhz ddr2 sdram
os x version 10.5.4
phoenixRC version 1.05.j
blade CX-2
blade 400

[spacecowboyz]

New mac guy i. just bought an i mac and i need a step by step how to set up phoenix

[spacecowboyz]

Just bought a new i mac and need a step by step guide on how to set phoenix up

[fxbulldog]

I just installed xp with boot camp and phoenix works ... as advertised on phoenix's website. I would like it to work in parallels though ... I submitted a support incident and will post the results if they are useful

[TheBum]

I just installed xp with boot camp and phoenix works ... as advertised on phoenix's website. I would like it to work in parallels though ... I submitted a support incident and will post the results if they are useful
You probably wouldn't be happy with its performance in Parallels. It relies on Parallels' DirectX emulation, which is officially still experimental. If I avoid network play and turn down most of the settings, I can get it to run reasonably well.

[fxbulldog]

I can not get the menu bar to display so that I can turn down the settings. I would like to see how bad the preformance is first before I deside wether or no to purchase parallels. Do you have a mac book pro with parallels? Did you do the standard install and see the text so that you could alter the settings?

[TheBum]

I have a first generation MacBook Pro (Core, not Core 2, Duo). I have a Boot Camp partition that I use for Parallels, so I seem to remember having to run Phoenix in Boot Camp and turn down the settings first, then I ran it in Parallels.

[Augman37]

I just installed xp with boot camp and phoenix works ... as advertised on phoenix's website. I would like it to work in parallels though ... I submitted a support incident and will post the results if they are useful

I have been using Phoenix on my MBP in parallels. It runs pretty smoothly most of the time even with the graphics set on medium or high. sometimes it will be choppy so I just re-boot and go directly to parallels and then run phoenix. That fixes it so I think there must me some memory hogged up by programs I open in OS before going to parallels even when I close them.

I did not want to partition my drive so I have gone this route and have been happy with it. I have also played online and it has not been a problem.

Let me know what you hear on your support ticket.