Fusion 2 - VMware Tools - Network driver for Vista Ultimate x64

[nextech]

I have an iMac 20 (late 2008) with the Broadcom BCM4328 WLAN chipset, etc.

Ok, the problem I am having is that I installed Vista Ultimate x64 in Bootcamp (OS X Leopard 10.5.5). I installed the Bootcamp Mac Pro x64 bit drivers (that I downloaded off of torrent). That resolved most of my issues, with the only two devices that I still don't have drivers for are the wireless LAN (Broadcom BCM4328) internal wireless NIC, and the integrated gigabit ethernet NIC drivers. I've been unable to find Vista x64 drivers for either of these devices.

I can boot the Vista Ultimate x64 partition using Fusion 2.0. I installed Fusion 2.0 VMWare tools (hoping that I would be able to access the network/internet inside of Vista Ultimate x64 using Fusion 2.0).

VMWare tools installs, but doesn't install a network driver. The wireless NIC and gigabit ethernet work fine in OS X, but is there a VMWare Tools network driver for Vista Ultimate x64? (that works on an iMac 20")?

How can I get VMWare Tools to install a correct NIC driver that works properly in Vista Ultimate x64 on an iMac 20?

Keep in mind that I can't connect to the internet in Vista Ultimate, so it's difficult to try and update VMWare tools, or do much of anything without having any network connectivity inside Vista Ultimate x64 (in Fusion 2.0).

Are there any developers out there that can help me get Vista Ultimate x64 running in Fusion 2.0. I would greatly appreciate it. Thank-you!

Vista Ultimate x64 is running perfectly inside of Fusion 2.0, but the only problem is the network driver (no network driver installed). I installed VMWare Tools, and in setup the Video card, and various other things, but no network driver. Is there a VMWare Tools network driver that I can download and install on Vista Ultimate x64 that will allow me to access the internet in Vista? Thank-you!

If I go into Device Manager there is a nice yellow exclamation point next to "Ethernet Controller". If I click on properties it says "This device is not configured correctly. (Code 1) There is no driver selected for the device information set or element. To reinstall the drivers for this device, click Reinstall Driver.

If I attempt to Reinstall Driver, it asks if I want to "Browse my computer for driver software" or "Search automatically for updated driver software." Either way, it's unable to find a driver for the Ethernet adapter inside Fusion 2.0.

Is there an updated version of VMWare Tools that supports the "Ethernet Controller" for an iMac in Vista Ultimate x64? I really need to be able to access the internet, and network from within Vista Ultimate x64 (running in Fusion 2.0). Thank-you for your help.

[admin · Accepted solution]

As far as network drivers in a Fusion virtual machine, Apple's drivers are irrelevant. The virtual hardware presented to a guest is different from the physical hardware; having drivers for nonexistant "hardware" doesn't matter. For properly configured Vista guests, I believe we present a standard Intel e1000 NIC; Vista should already come with a driver for it. See .

[nextech]

Just for archival purposes, I would like to just post the final correct solution and close out this old thread.

The solution to the network driver problem, is that the line ethernet0.virtualDev = 'e1000' was not properly added to the VMX file (during the default VMWare installation process). This seems to be a known bug.

The VMX file, it is located in a package called "Boot Camp partition".

In OS X, the file is located in "/Users/yourusername/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/Virtual Machines/Boot Camp/%2Fdev%2Fdisk0/".

Then inside that directory there was a package called "Boot Camp partition". If you open that package, inside there is a "Boot Camp partition.vmx" file.

Added the following line to the .VMX file using TextEdit:

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000" <----

---

THIS IS THE LINE I ADDED

I saved the file, then booted up Fusion 2.0, and it found the new hardware, configured the driver (for the Intel 1000T network card), and everything worked perfectly!