Buy VMware Fusion 7, but Download and Run Fusion v5 too?

[vmxmr]

I looked at VMware's website, but can't find the answer to this question:

Can a customer buy VMware Fusion version 7 (the current version) but also download and run an older version of VMware Fusion (e.g., Fusion v5) for temporary use? Here is an example scenario:

* A VMware customer has two Macs. One is an old Mac running Snow Leopard, and the other is a new Mac that runs Mavericks or Yosemite. The customer wants to use the new Mac going forward (and give away the old Mac). The customer still runs a few applications that are not supported on anything later than Snow Leopard (e.g. PowerPC applications). The obvious solution is to run those applications in a Snow Leopard Server guest in VMware Fusion on the new Mac.

* The problem is that Snow Leopard Server does not install as a guest OS on the customer's late-model Mac, but it can run an existing Snow Leopard Server guest that was created on an older Mac.

* The customer has that old Snow Leopard Mac. Unfortunately it won't run VMware Fusion 7. It will run VMware Fusion version 5, however. The customer wants to run VMware Fusion 5 on the old Mac to create the Snow Leopard Server guest on the old Mac, and then copy the guest file to the new Mac where it can run under VMware Fusion 7.

HERE ARE MY QUESTIONS:

--> How can the customer buy VMware Fusion 7, but also download a copy of VMware Fusion 5 for that one-time "create a Snow Leopard Server guest" operation on the old Mac?

--> Will VMware provide a Fusion 5 license in case the trial period expires on the old Mac before the customer can get a working Snow Leopard Server guest?

[vmxmr]

Thank you for replying to my question, but you answered the wrong question.

Let us assume that the user has already purchased Snow Leopard Server as described by Gringley, above. In addition, the user has already purchased VMware Fusion 7. The problem is that Snow Leopard Server will not install as a guest OS on the user's new Mac running Fusion 7, so the user wants to use an older Mac to install it. The problem is that the older Mac will not run Fusion 7. The latest version of Fusion that the older will run is Fusion 5. This is just a one-time use, just to get Snow Leopard Server installed and running.

QUESTIONS:

1. Even though the user bought a copy of VMware Fusion 7, can the user download VMware Fusion 5, just for installing that Snow Leopard Server on the old Mac?

2. Can the user get a license to continue running VMware Fusion 5 on that old Mac, in case something goes wrong (past the trial period) or the user need to create a clean Snow Leopard Server guest in the future?

[wila]

Hi ,

From what I understand you can downgrade a license to an earlier version as it certainly has been mentioned here before at the forum.

After you bought a license, go to: Login - My VMware

Select "License Keys" menu option on the left. Your license should show up.

You then get an option at the top "I want to" where you can select "Downgrade license keys" from a combo box.

That should be the option you are looking for.

But I admit I have not done that myself and as I'm not working for VMware I'm not guaranteeing it to work either.

If you are unsure about the procedure I'm afraid you will have to contact VMware sales, they are the only ones who can help you with this.

Your question on "temporary usage" appears to suggest you want to use the same license for 2 installs -one Fusion 7 and one Fusion 5- at the same time, I'm unsure and doubtful that that is supposed to work.

The forum isn't frequented by VMware Sales people afaik, or to put in another way:

For your information, the Community Forum is not an official support-forum and is not actively monitored by VMware Support or Product Managers. This is a community based forum where VMware Fusion users help other users.

You will have to contact VMware Sales for a more definite answer on this.

--

Wil

[vmxmr]

Hi Wil,

Yes. You're right. It would be a temporary downgrade to install a Snow Leopard Server on an older Mac. Once installed and patched with Apple's latest software updates, then the Snow Leopard Server guest virtual machine would be copied and run on a modern Mac with the latest versions of OS X and VMware Fusion.

The VMware Fusion license says, "You may install and use VMware Fusion for personal, non-commercial use on any Apple-branded products running Mac OS X ("Mac Computer") that you own or control. - See more at: https://www.vmware.com/support/fusion/faq/licensing#sthash.k3ApXLEg.dpuf"

Reading between the lines, I assume that it is okay for a user to run both versions of VMware Fusion on two different Macs that they own or control. The question is how to download older versions of Fusion and get a license to run it.

[wila]

Hi,

I'm afraid that reading between the lines is not valid when it comes to legal things.

Can't say that legal documents are always logical and making sense.

It is a bit of an edge case and as such I would personally contact sales with your questions ready written down so you can tick them off.

Like for example since you want a temporary license you not only want to downgrade, but after your migration you want to upgrade back to Fusion 7 as well.

Would it make sense? Sure. Is it a given? No, I'm afraid not.

There's a small chance somebody else here bumped into it before, but even if they did and answer you then their answer doesn't give you any claims to fall back on.

--

Wil

[gringley]

I deleted my old post as it misunderstood the situation.  I am playing through with a 2011 iMac that has multiple partitions using rEFInd.  With the Snow Leopard client partition I can download Fusion 5.0.5 after logging in with my VMware credential.  The Fusion 5 installer will not proceed without a license key.  I would be curious as to what model Mac will not allow the Snow Leopard Server to install as a VM?

[vmxmr]

I would be curious as to what model Mac will not allow the Snow Leopard Server to install as a VM?

It is a fair question. I thought it was common knowledge that the commonly used Snow Leopard Server 10.6.3 installer DVD (or its disc image) will not boot under VMware Fusion on the newest Macs, but I cannot cite specific models. A web search should yield some answers for you, but basically, newer Macs since around 2012 / 2013 have had problems, even in virtual machines, according to reports that I read in the past. I hope I am not repeating an unsubstantiated rumor, but I have seen reputable VMware people comment repeat the same "issue".  I do not know whether there are workarounds other than creating the Snow Leopard Server on an older Mac.

I tested a few Snow Leopard installations and thought I had found an issue. What I found was that I was creating disc image files incorrectly. Dariusd pointed out my mistake, and I have edited this message accordingly. After my experience testing many different Snow Leopard Server installer disc image files on two different Macs (but not late model Macs), I wonder whether the "recent Mac" issue is a rumor, or whether other users stumbled upon the same mistake I made.

When you use Disk Utility to create a disc image file from a DVD or CD, be sure you select the DRIVE, not the disc below it. If you select the disc as I did, your installer will hang on boot.

I started this thread as a separate topic, since it seems so generally applicable to people trying to get Snow Leopard Server as a VMware Fusion guest on a late model Mac. It is related to a thread started by Stu22 who asked how to migrate an old Snow Leopard MacBook Pro to a VMware Fusion virtual machine that would run on a brand new MacBook Pro. Here is the thread:

run Snow Leopard in Mavericks

Hopefully someone else can add their own experience with a failed installation of Snow Leopard Server on a late-model Mac. (Hint: Try creating your disc image in Toast Titanium instead of Disk Utility.)

[dariusd · Accepted solution]

I sent you this link last night via Private Message, and also posted it in your other thread on the topic.  You should be able to use Disk Utility as documented here: Creating a disc image from physical Mac OS X install media.

If that process fails to create an image which boots on your newer Mac, please let us know, as it would be an issue that we would like to address.  I'm not aware of any circumstances that require a downgrade to Fusion 5 to install Snow Leopard Server.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[ColoradoMarmot]

They may also be hitting the CPU issue with older versions of 10.6 (co-incidential to Fusion 7 - really happened with the new mac).

[dariusd]

While there have been several CPU model (CPUID) related issues over the years (and there will almost certainly be more yet), I am not aware of any remaining that aren't fixed in all the latest versions of Fusion.  If there still are any, let me know!

Thanks,

--

Darius

[gringley]

My 10.6.3 disc arrived today and worked normally on the 2011 iMac and Fusion 7.1. 

[ColoradoMarmot]

Really?  So 10.6.0/1/2 will install now (not just 10.6.3)?  That's cool!

[vmxmr]

I would like to see someone install from Apple's current Snow Leopard Server installer (10.6.3) on a real 2014 model Mac running the latest Yosemite and the latest Fusion 7.