VMware Communities
bb101
Contributor
Contributor

VMWare Fusion not compatible with Windows 10? Seriously?

Frankly, I find it incredible that a company as large as VMWare can sit around for months knowing that their Fusion SVGA driver is preventing their customers from upgrading to Windows 10. Today is Windows' release date, and nothing has been done to fix the situation.

Apparently VMWare has "opened lines of communication" with Microsoft. If VMWare were a tiny company then I would understand and believe the delay, however are we really to believe that Microsoft is refusing to work with VMWare on an issue that affects all their users?


The cynic in me thinks VMWare is waiting to release Fusion 8 quite soon (paid upgrade of course) and will have "compatible with Windows 10" plastered all over it.... Planned obsolescence?

#VMWare #Fail

B

39 Replies
andymorgan
Contributor
Contributor

I think an update from VMWare is in order. I have been following the threads even wiping the appraiser directory to no joy. The last solution even removed my windows.app icon.

I have heard that Parallels and virtual box have a similar failures but I don't have the licences available to test this out.

You would think that VMWare would have everything in place for today

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

Hi,

On twitter they posted this yesterday:

"  11h11 hours ago   

Super psyched about Windows10 launch! We’ve got an exciting announcement tomorrow, so stay tuned!"

That will be US West Coast time line I'm afraid as they forgot the rest of the world already downloaded Windows 10.

Also it is not exactly clear what the exciting(?) announcement is going to be.

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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SiBeesley
Contributor
Contributor

Can't agree more. It's not like Windows 10 was only announced last week. Very disappointed. Come one VMware - get your finger out and get this sorted.

Simon

DanVin001
Contributor
Contributor

Let's hope it's note a new version that we'll have to buy.... again!! Anyway, as usual, they should launch a new version this fall. I hope Fusion 7 will work by then! :smileyangry:

I'm really desapointed from a big company like VMware, really! I fully agree with you bb101!

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bb101
Contributor
Contributor

Looks like Microsoft has seen the light and has decided to stop ticking people off. You can download the Windows 10 ISO at https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/windows10ISO and just mount it like any other DVD to start the upgrade.

Thanks to Mike Roy's blog for the tip.

B

mrvegas1586
Contributor
Contributor

The ISO requires a W10 activation key, so, no joy there (W8.1 key does not work).

And to confirm what someone else said, VirtualBox does not pass the W10 reservation system compatibility tests: same basic issue, video "drivers".

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bb101
Contributor
Contributor

I'm still downloading the ISO so I can't vouch for it installing properly, although Microsoft state in their ISO FAQ that Windows 7 and 8 keys will be accepted. Hope that is indeed the case.

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/software-download/faq

B

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dariusd
VMware Employee
VMware Employee

Please do not make the assumption that the Windows 10 Appraiser is telling the truth.  Our SVGA driver is completely compatible with Windows 10... You can download and install a fresh copy of Windows 10 into a virtual machine and install VMware Tools and it all works just fine.  Our SVGA driver has completed the necessary qualifications, has the necessary digital signature, and meets the Windows 10 requirements.  There is no reason for it to be considered incompatible with Windows 10.

Yes, Parallels and Virtualbox are both encountering the same issue with spurious driver compatibility warnings, even today:

You can try downloading the Windows 10 .iso file and either performing an in-place upgrade or installing a fresh virtual machine.  In either case, installing VMware Tools inside the virtual machine will install the VMware SVGA driver which will work correctly.

The only part that seems to be troublesome is the Windows 10 Appraiser, and it seems to be equally problematic for all hypervisor vendors.  We have no control over what the Windows 10 Appraiser tells you...

Thanks,

--

Darius

bb101
Contributor
Contributor

Darius,

Thank you for the details. However I am still flummoxed that a company as large as yours could sit by with no workarounds or instructions for the users of its software, especially on the day that Windows 10 is released. I appreciate most of you are on the west coast of the US but most of the world isn't. It's late afternoon in London and early morning (Thursday!) in Sydney.

Thankfully we have illustrious people like Mike Roy who found a workaround with the ISO, it's just a pity the instructions weren't made prominently available in the place most people were looking - VMWare's website.

B

mrvegas1586
Contributor
Contributor

It does indeed seem like the iso method works. What appears I did wrong on stab #1 was downloaded "single language" W10 iso. The "plain" W10 iso is installing over my W8.1 as I type this. No prompting for activation key.

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

Hi B,

Glad to hear you found a workaround.

Btw, just fyi, Mike Roy ( Mikero‌ ) is a VMware employee Smiley Happy  I agree he has a nice article there, it would be good for being re-blogged at VMware's blog.

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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JuanGuapo
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Since this is happening with Parallels, Virtualbox, and VMware, this is a glitch in Microsoft's upgrade system; they never accounted for VMs, or never released the testing criteria. Either way, it appears to be a glitch in the Windows 10 upgrade schema for Windows 7/8.1, not with VMware specifically but with VM apps in general.

I downloaded the vanilla W10 x64 ISO and am currently doing an in-place upgrade to Windows 8.1 x64. Installing W10 now... The only change was I uninstalled VMware tools, restarted, then began the upgrade. So far, so good. Smiley Happy

Specs:

VMware Professional Version 7.1.2 (2779224)

Mac OS X Yosemite 10.10.4

Mid-2015 15" MacBook Pro (16GB RAM, 1TB SSD)

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grdh20
Contributor
Contributor

Your drivers is NOT fully compatible with windows 10 unless you call running 1024x768 on a 5K imac a good experience! Come on guys... Everything works as expected on 8.1 but on 10 you can't get anywhere near an HD resolution of any sort. It's the virtual video driver. Not good with win 10 release.

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

re update exciting update about windows 10:

Suppose this is the one (?)

VMware Fusion on Twitter: "Discover #Windows10 on Fusion 7 today! Take 10% off now and get a free up...

"Discover #Windows10 on Fusion 7 today! Take 10% off now and get a free upgrade to Fusion8 later this summer!"

Umm.. I'll refrain from what I think about this being exciting, but clearly it is not helpful for customers who currently already have VMware Fusion 7.

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
DanVin001
Contributor
Contributor

gnew it,a new version... how sad it is... nothning about there most faithful customers with a current version. You're losing me guys!

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wila
Immortal
Immortal

Hi DanVin001‌,

While you can read it that way, I personally expect Windows 10 to be fully supported on VMware Fusion 7 especially as it actually runs great once you get past the SVGA upgrade issue (see Mike's blog post mentioned elsewhere for steps on how)

The "Windows 10 exciting news" is a marketing deal designed for motivating people to buy VMware Fusion, I do not think that particular news is targeted at existing customers at all.

Please note that I am not employed by VMware so this is just my personal opinion.

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
rimcrazy
Contributor
Contributor

I'm seeing the same thing on my MBP.  (15", Mid 2014 MPB, 16GbRam, Nvidia GeForce 750M, Retina Display).

I upgraded my Windows 8.1 Pro 64bit to Windows 10 Pro 64bit.  The largest resolution I can get on my screen in my VM is 1152x864 which is pretty much useless.  I've run my laptop single monitor, I've tried turning off 3D acceleration on my VM, reinstalled the VMTools.  Nothing seems to work.  I've looked over the forum and as far as I can see most of the SVGA issues are related to just recognizing a driver and upgrading.  I upgraded fine but no matter what I do I cannot increase the resolution.  Any words of wisdom on this would be appreciated.

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clivekay
Contributor
Contributor

I managed to cure it !! It loads up the standard Windows VGA driver.. If you go into the driver settings and ask it to look for another driver and then browse to the Windows old/system32/ directory and do a search for the VM3D.inf file  Right click it and install and then reboot and all will be back to normal .. Working fine now .. Dunno why they couldn't see this ..

wila
Immortal
Immortal

Hi rimcrazy‌,

When you say "I reinstalled" VMware Tools do you mean, uninstall VMware Tools, reboot Windows 10, install VMware Tools, reboot Windows 10? Normally that is the best way to fix a botched VMware Tools install.

You are correct that such a low resolution isn't exactly expected.

Do you have the  "Automatically adjust user interface size in the virtual machine" checkbox under settings -> video checked?

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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