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Pbryanw
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Will I be able to reserve a copy of Windows 10 using my Windows 8.1 VM?

Hi,

I've managed to get the Windows 10 reservation app to run in my Windows 8.1 VM.

Currently it says Windows 10 can't be installed on this PC because it doesn't have enough RAM (I've assigned the VM 4GB) and also because of the VMware SVGA 3D graphics adapter.

I know that Windows 10 will be freely available upon launch, but will reserving be fixed with a later update or is it best just to wait until Windows 10 gets officially released and then wait for the ensuing Windows 10 compatibility release from VMware?

Thanks, Paul

Message was edited by: Pbryanw

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Ambiss
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I had the same issue as Windows 10 update failing due to the SVGA 3D driver, etc. What I did was to download from MS the "Windows 10 Media Creation Tool" within my Win 8.1 VM. I ran the tool, it asked for either creating media or upgrading PC. I chose Upgrade, it downloaded Win 10 Pro, x64, installed it, and when completed, was activated! This process bypasses the HW compatibility checker, etc. The VM is running smoothly. I did run disk clean up to remove the old win 8.1 to gain some GB within the VM.

Also after Win 10 was running I needed to select "repair VMware tools" to reset all drivers, etc. All looks good.

Good Luck All!

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wila
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Hello Paul,

This is more of a Microsoft question as a VMware one.

While Microsoft upgrades for personal licenses of Windows 7/ Windows 8 are intended to be free I have not seen any statement about virtual machines. I would assume that it is the same, but with this being a licensing question... assuming might be wrong.

The  statement from Microsoft about the hardware requirements down here say "2 GB" of RAM for x64 processors:

http://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-10-specifications

So you should be fine in theory, we'll have to wait for how it is in practice.

You do however have a year to update so things might resolve in time if not immediate after the release.

Edit: FWIW you can already run the technical preview of Windows 10 in a virtual machine, no problem. At least I had no problems with running Windows 10 TP in a VM.

hope this helps,

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
chriz74
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No, this is not a Microsoft problem, it's a VMWARE problem as Windows doesn't consider VMWARE SVGA 3D graphic card capable of running Windows 10 so the compatibility verification fails and the "reserve windows 10 copy" app doesn't let the user reserve anything.

ColoradoMarmot
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The whole windows 10 upgrade is a mess, but it appears that it is tied to that physical machine.  Since VM's aren't physical, and MSFT hasn't specifically addressed VM's, I suspect this is deliberate on their part.  There's nothing VMWare can do about MSFT's licensing systems.

Matthoff
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Microsoft's Windows 10 reservation software runs a driver/hardware compatibility check before a reservation is allowed. The old "SVGA 3D" driver is deprecated and not supported in Windows 10. Therefore, the reservation is rejected. VMWare is going to have to resolve this. The published Window 10 minimum graphics requirements are Direct X 9 or later with WDDM 1.0 driver. The VMWare SVGA 3D driver meets these requirements so there is another issue. Perhaps because the DDI Version of the driver is 9EX.

Matthoff
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It's probably also important to note that VMWare hasn't released a version of Fusion yet that is officially compatible with Windows 10. However, the Windows 10 preview versions did run quite well under the current version of Fusion.

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chriz74
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dlhotka This is false, the reserve and upgrade program is not tied to any machine, it's tied to Windows 7 / 8 licence. The problem here is VMware SVGA 3D driver, the reservation process works in Parallels.

Pbryanw
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‌Thanks for everyone's replies. I'm already running a Windows 10 preview VM side by side with my Windows 8.1 VM so I know it will work on my machine.

However, I recall no problem updating Windows 7 to 8 in a VM when that was released. With the news that Parallels supports Windows 10 reserving, it'd be great if VMware could fix the SVGA incompatibility stopping this from happening in Fusion 7.

On the other hand, I'm in no rush to use features specific to Windows 10, but it would be nice if fusion supported upgrading to 10 shortly after the launch of the new OS, especially as it's a free upgrade, and I want to keep my Windows 8.1 user files.

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SvenGus
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I can confirm that it works in Parallels Desktop 10.2.1: my Windows 8.1 Parallels VMs got their Windows 10 reservation without problems; and they were both activated: BTW, could this perhaps be required, in order for the reservation to succeed (besides the virtual hardware being up to date for Windows 10's standards)...?

So, it should be doable also in VMware Fusion.

(Anyway, I'd probably prefer a clean Windows 10 install, from an ISO...)

chriz74
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I can confirm that too, both my W7 and W8.1 virtual machines got reservation confirmations in Parallels 10.2.1, not any incompatibility issue arised.

dcell59
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It would be nice if someone at VMWare would acknowledge this problem and tell us if it's going to be fixed.

dariusd
VMware Employee
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We are aware of the problem, and are in the process of reaching out to Microsoft to understand why our driver has been blacklisted.

Thanks,

--

Darius

gevola
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Thanks Darius for your clarification.

Please let us know the status of your investigation/issue when you will have more information.

gevola
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Hello Darius,

I saw a new build of Fusion was released ( v7.1.2 ).

I checked the release notes but this issue seems was not resolved.

Can you please confirm it ?

Thanks,

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dariusd
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The issue is not resolved by Fusion 7.1.2.

Thanks,

--

Darius

Matthoff
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The release notes make no mention of this issue. It is therefore safe to assume that the problem still exists.

MacsRule
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FWIW, I was able to get a Win 8.1 VM reservation for upgrade to Win 10 and the reservation was confirmed. The trick was to not install at least one of a variety of Win updates associated with the upgrade. I then foolishly allowed those installations so now I get the same error message you are regarding the graphics adapter. I'm curious to see if the upgrade download and installation will occur anyway. Also, I believe having a reservation allows the download of the upgrade file to take place over time prior to the release date so that the actual upgrade can be offered to you on the release date. Otherwise, the MS servers will be swamped with everyone trying to get the big file all at once.:smileyshocked:

At the same time, a preview of Windows 10 has been available since January and I read yesterday that as long as the preview is associated with your Microsoft account, it can be upgraded to a valid installation when the release occurs. Since it works just fine in Fusion, that would seem to be the way to go.

Pbryanw
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Any update on this with the Windows 10 launch just under a month away - have VMware heard anything back from Microsoft?

jer3000
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Bump. How is this not a PR thing yet? Windows is bread and butter for Fusion. I really would like to reserve my copy before the window closes.

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dariusd
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Here's a random thought ... and I haven't tried it myself yet ...

If you uninstall VMware Tools, does it then allow you to go through the reservation process?

I have no idea if it will work, but it seems like it's worth a shot.

Cheers,

--

Darius

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