Parallels 15: not working on Big Sur

I recently installed the Big Sur beta on my 2019 16" Macbook Pro. I tried to run Parallels, only to be given a message saying to restart to complete the installation. The trouble is, whether I choose to restart or quit Parallels, the application hangs. If I then restart and try to run it again, I get the same message.

I looked at the logs, and it appears that it is failing when trying to load one of its kernel extensions, and then assuming that a restart is needed to enable them. It tries to issue the following command:

/usr/bin/kmutil load -p /Applications/Parallels\ Desktop.app/Contents/Library/Extensions/10.9/prl_vnic.kext -r /Applications/Parallels\ Desktop.app/Contents/Library/Extensions/10.9

which fails with the following error:

Error: Error Domain=KMErrorDomain Code=1 "Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) kext (kmod) start/stop routine failed" UserInfo={NSLocalizedDescription=Kernel request failed: (libkern/kext) kext (kmod) start/stop routine failed}

Does anyone else have this problem? It doesn't seem to be universal since I've seen plenty of reports of people successfully running Parallels on Big Sur.

Replies

Remember that the purpose of this initial beta is for third party developers and Apple to catch these faults. It's common for apps to experience problems on the beta version of a new macOS update. I would suggest reporting the fault to Parallels directly and/or Apple (using the Feedback Assistant).


I am on a MacBook Pro 2020, and Parallels 16. A similar problem persists in Big Sur's public release.

I encounter an error message too, saying I have to restart my Mac to run my virtual PC. I had to dial back to Catalina in order to run my virtual machine. There is a work-related app I need for work that runs on Windows, and until that is resolved, I cannot upgrade to Big Sur.
Permanent Solution for “Network Initialization Failed” issue:

youtu.be/oYhYRPu6IZc