Vmware Fusion Apple Silicon Support Windows

[ynsy]

Hello i installed vmware fusion and download windows for arm but the vmware doesn't see the vhdx extention file which is windows 10 for arm. Does it have support for windows for arm? Thanks

[ColoradoMarmot]

And just in case people missed it in another thread, some info on upcoming things: https://communities.vmware.com/t5/Fusion-for-Apple-Silicon-Tech/M1-Fusion-tech-preview-30-days-licen...

[qmng]

By the way it's .vhdx not .vdhx. No wonder why I've tried the conversion and it threw me "no such files or directory".

qemu-img convert -f vhdx -O vmdk Windows11_InsiderPreview_Client_ARM64_en-us__22454.vhdx Windows11_Fusion.vmdk

[mymonkey]

instructions: https://communities.vmware.com/t5/Fusion-for-Apple-Silicon-Tech/Fusion-Tech-Preview-Testing-Guide/ta...

Looks like you missed this step:

Edit the VMX file and change the Guest OS typeoIn the VM Library window, select the Windows 11 VMoRight click > hold the ‘Option/Alt’ key > Select ‘Open Config File in Editor’oAdjust the line from guestOS = "arm-other-64"to:§guestOS = "arm-windows11-64"oSave the file and exit

[btechit]

Vmware fusion is not free, it's just free to beta test the M1 tech preview.  parallels supports linux for arm just fine, and even have built in auto install packages right from the menu that download and deploy:  Ubuntu; Fedora; Debian; Kali, as well you can deploy manually using your own iso/vhd type files, as well built in download/install for Windows 11 and MacOS. 

Fusion is not free:  https://store-us.vmware.com/fusion_buy_dual_new#GS

[ColoradoMarmot]

Fusion 12 is free for non-commercial use.  While we're all waiting to see what the broadcom acquisition means, it's probably reasonable for the next version of Fusion to have a similar option.

[btechit]

oh well "Player" is always free.....but I use it commercially, and need advanced networking and snapshotting and cloning and support for managing remote vsphere VMs, so yeah, thats not free.  

[Technogeezer]

I do get that if you need something for production use now, Parallels is the only commercially available and supportable product. The Fusion tech preview is pre-release software, which means if something breaks you should report it to VMware but they're under no obligation to deliver a fix - which presents a.problem if you depend on it for a living.

In the interest of fairness: 

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@btechit wrote:

parallels supports linux for arm just fine, and even have built in auto install packages right from the menu that download and deploy:  Ubuntu; Fedora; Debian; Kali, as well you can deploy manually using your own iso/vhd type files, as well built in download/install for Windows 11 and MacOS. 

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The Tech Preview supports Linux for ARM just fine as well. Yes, Fusion doesn't have pre-built downloadable packages (I personally don't like them because I want to control exactly what's installed and the VM configuration, but I understand those who like it). I've installed and run most of the major (and some of the more obscure) distributions since the Tech Preview was originally released last year and they worked fine until the Linux kernel changed.

Admittedly, there's currently a bump in the road  - distributions and kernel upgrades after March 2022 won't boot on the Tech Preview. That's due to changes the Linux kernel developers have made that are being picked up as security updates and are being rolled into the distributions. 

Parallels and QEMU have issued fixes for this issue. VMware is aware of the issue but has not (yet) released a fix (remember the tech preview is pre-release software). I expect/hope the next iteration of the Tech Preview will fix this (otherwise what's the point of releasing another tech preview). It's rumored to be "any time now". 

VMware has hinted at other goodies for the tech preview. For example. VMware SVGA 3D support for ARM Linux guests has been checked into the Linux kernel so we're waiting for the other shoe to drop on Tech Preview support. We're also crossing our fingers on a real VMware Tools release for Windows 11 ARM. We'll wait and see.

Yes, Parallels claims macOS virtualization on ARM - but it's simply a check box. There are significant limitations to what it can do - read Parallels' tech note on limitations of macOS virtualization and you'll quickly see what's missing (snapshots/drag&drop/sparsely allocated disks/changing of settings in the GUI/suspend and resume/screen resizing and more).. Both Parallels and VMware are waiting for Apple to improve its APIs to make virtualization work like you'd expect virtualization to work. 

"The grass may be is greener on the other side of the fence., but it's just as hard to mow". 

[btechit]

And Or if you need to run OSX VMs and Windows 11/10 VMs.   

I'm a long time vsphere; vmware workstation & fusion user & have active VMUG Advantage for my LAB, but  never use the free/player versions, just to limited for my use-cases.  But this year had to license parallels. because I need working solution for M1 now not perpetually 'any day now'. 

[Technogeezer]

Gotcha - and if you need them today, Parallels is indeed the only game in town. 

And yes, I agree that VMware is woefully late to the market with a released solution for Apple Silicon. 

I hope the Broadcom acquisition doesn't throw a monkey wrench into VMware's plans. Especially if they put former CA execs in charge of this new "enterprise software" division. If that happens, it will be the kiss of death for VMware (we used to joke that CA is where software companies go to die, which is not really a joke but a premonition or prophecy) - ask people that worked for Symantec what happened after Broadcom bought them.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Yeah, I'm worried about that too - will they think Fusion is a hobby and simply kill it?  I do think that a subscription is going to happen (Broadcom has already indicated that it will), which will cause a huge meltdown on people who expect support in perpetuity for $150 software.  The good news is that the 'surprised I have to pay again' excuse will disappear.

On the flip side, subscriptions might make the Fusion business worth keeping or adding resources to, if it's large enough.  I really hope it sticks around - it's far more stable and functional than the competition.

[itsmylifedude]

The above commands worked except that I couldn't get WiFi, only cabled internet.

(Fixing Internet problem)


1. Open CMD as admin to fix it (click magnifying glass/search in dock at bottom of screen and type cmd then when a black box icon labelled Command Prompt pops up then right-click it and Run as Administrator


2. Run the commands below
 

The 1st thing to type (minus the inverted commas is “bcdedit /debug on”
 then “bcdedit /dbgsettings net hostip:10.0.0.1 port:55555"
3. Restart the Virtual Machine and you should have internet via the cabled ethernet connection ThunderboltEthernet

Otherwise I now have Windows11 running on my M1 Mac in Monterey via VMWare beta

[Technogeezer]

What you see is normal. All VMware provided virtual NICs are considered wired connections, even in Fusion /Workstation running in Intel CPUs. 

Fusion virtual NICs can be set to use WiFi provided by your Mac  NAT devices require no additional config  Bridged networks can either automatically use the WiFi NIC or can be explicitly targeted to it  

There’s not a way to get a direct WiFi device in the VM unless you use a USB WiFi NIC and have Windows drivers for the device. 

[wdwefwt]

With the latest Fusion Preview 22H2 I have installed the VMware Tools Network driver (VMXNET3).

Now I wanted to turn off the Network Kernel Debug adapter that I have previously used by

- opening a open a command prompt (cmd) as administrator: bcdedit /debug off

- and disabling the Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter in Device Manager.

But Windows 11 is not able to find any other Networking connection. I have reinstalled the VMXNET3 Driver, but still no network. Windows complains that the Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter is disabled and not working because of 'debug off'.

Am I missing something? Do I still have to use the Microsoft Kernel Debug Network Adapter?

[Technogeezer]

The existing virtual adapter that was configured with the 21H1 Tech Preview is an Intel e1000. In order for the VMware Tools to properly configure the adapter in Windows, it has to be a vmxnet3 type virtual graphics adapter.

The easiest way to change this is to shut down the VM. go into its Properties, delete the existing network adapter, then re-add the network adapter. The new graphics adapter for a Windows 11 VM will be created as a vmxnet3 type.

Reboot the VM. If the network isn't active, re-install VMware Tools.

[wdwefwt]

That was easy. Thank you @Technogeezer for the help!  Deleting and re-adding the network adapter in Fusion did the job.

[soren0]

I noticed that it says Your PC does not meet the minimum hardware requirements for Windows 11. Your channel options will be limited. I believe I meet the minimum requirements, 64GB VM hard drive, 2 processor cores, 4096MB of RAM, 4GB, UEFI secure boot is enabled, etc.

Running an M1 MacBook Pro and the Tech Preview of Fusion.

Any help would be appreciated.

[tallLeRoy]

Same here, does not meet windows 11 requirements. If you get PC Health Check, it says the CPU is not supported for Windows 11. Not sure why VMWare choose the CPU name it is using. I would hope they could figure out how to emulate a supported CPU type. So close...

[ColoradoMarmot]

They don't emulate the CPU - they virtualize it.  What's the host hardware you're on, and where did you get the install media?  VHDX or ISO from uu?

[Technogeezer]

well in Microsoft’s eyes running Windows for ARM on anything but a Qualcomm ARM CPU is an unsupported configuration, regardless of spoofing of a CPU identifier. Microsoft does warn that Windows may run on unsupported configs,  but they are not specific on what won’t work. 

Signing up an unsupported configuration for the Windows Insider program and runnung PC Health Check are two things that don’t.   But it does not mean that Windows 11 for ARM itself doesn’t work. As many have said here, it works well.  I’ve run various builds of Windows 11 for months (on 21H1 and 22H2 versions) and I’ve seen monthly updates and Microsoft Defender definitions. No problems from Microsoft so far. 

[soren0]

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@ColoradoMarmot wrote:

They don't emulate the CPU - they virtualize it.  What's the host hardware you're on, and where did you get the install media?  VHDX or ISO from uu?

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@ColoradoMarmotI'm running an M1 14" MacBook Pro running MacOS Monterey. Let me know if you need additional information. I couldn't figure out how to convert the VHDX to VMDK so ended up getting the ESO from uudump.

If I were to get the VHDX and convert it would that work?

Thanks