Capture Parallels OS X VM

[NowAllTheTime]

Has anyone tried capturing a base image of OS X from a parallels vm? I get the impression that it is not possible, and potentially problematic since it's not pulled from physical hardware (which is especially important when new hardware with forked OS builds come out). If anyone has had any success I'm curious to know what approach you took. At least in the case where there is a current un-forked build in circulation this could be an alternative way to make a new base image on the fly when a spare machine is not on hand to capture from.

[stevewood · Accepted solution]

@jasonaswell why not just use AutoDMG to capture a never booted OS? What are you going to use this base image for? Are you doing anything to the base image that cannot be done via config profiles or scripts?

[adamcodega · Accepted solution]

Most people have adopted AutoDMG instead to build images.

AutoDMG can be run from any Mac. Drag and Drop the OS X Installer into AutoDMG and it will download any applicable updates that are available, and then create an image. The image can be written to a Mac using NetBoot or Casper Imaging. When a new version of OS X comes out, just grab the Installer and remake the image.

[stevewood · Accepted solution]

@jasonaswell why not just use AutoDMG to capture a never booted OS? What are you going to use this base image for? Are you doing anything to the base image that cannot be done via config profiles or scripts?

[adamcodega · Accepted solution]

Most people have adopted AutoDMG instead to build images.

AutoDMG can be run from any Mac. Drag and Drop the OS X Installer into AutoDMG and it will download any applicable updates that are available, and then create an image. The image can be written to a Mac using NetBoot or Casper Imaging. When a new version of OS X comes out, just grab the Installer and remake the image.

[NowAllTheTime]

We actually barely use base images or casper imaging anymore because we thin provision almost everything with config profiles, scripts, etc.. AutoDMG can definitely meet my needs for the limited amount of bare-metal imaging we occasionally do. Mostly it's just curiosity that has me exploring this.

[adamcodega · Accepted solution]

Glad to hear you're staying progressive. Yeah, short answer is no, I don't think anyone plays with capturing images that way.

[NowAllTheTime]

Fair enough - probably more trouble than it's worth. AutoDMG is a solid wheel that doesn't need reinventing.