.PVM File Extension

A PVM file is a virtual machine created by Parallels Desktop for Mac emulation software. It stores the contents of a hard drive and memory used to load and run Windows (or another supported operating system) on a Macintosh computer.

To open a PVM file as a virtual machine, you must have installed Parallels Desktop for Mac. After installing Parallels, place your PVM file in the Macintosh HD/Users/YourUserName/Parallels/ directory. Then, open Parallels, select File → Open, and open your PVM file.

If you want to view a PVM file's contents outside Parallels, you can right-click the file in Finder and select Show Package Contents. With Parallels installed, you can also mount and examine the hard disk a Windows PVM file contains, by right-clicking your PVM file and selecting Open With > Parallels Mounter.

Digital photo album created with HP digital camera software; contains a list of images imported from an HP digital camera; often named "album.pvm" or "index.pvm;" used by HP Image Zone Express, which has been replaced by Photosmart software.

Index file used for organizing collections of digital content; developed by the Optical Storage Technology Association (OSTA) as part of the Music/Photo/Video (MPV) standard; formatted in XML.

PVM files may be generated by various digital media devices such as printers and digital cameras. They can be read by any program that supports PVM format.