Bizarre CD behaviour in Windows XP Pro VM

[jaydear]

I recently received a software update on CD. We have two identical MacBook Pros with virtually identical Fusion 2.0 / XP Pro SP3 VM setup.

On my machine, the CD read just fine and the software install went like clockwork.

On the other machine the CD had completely different software on it (McAfee AntiVirus, etc) - no sign of the update whatsoever.

So I closed windows and the VM and checked the CD in the Mac which only showed the update software.

I re-started the VM and re-load the CD and once again the CD only shows the McAfee software - this is really wierd!

I checked the CD in a PC dedicated to XP Pro SP3 and the cd shows the update software - no sign of McAfee stuff.

I then used IsoBuster on the PC to look for lost files and sure enough, there was the McAfee stuff, albeit without any directory structure or file names. Only one session shows on the CD which is a mass-produced pressing, not a CD-RW.

How is it that the CD player in the second MacBook Pro's VM is defaulting to seeing only the deleted files rather than the "live" files - and - how on earth is it managing to see the whole directory structure of the deleted stuff complete with full file names when a fancy CD/DVD recovery program like IsoBuster can't?

This is really bizarre... read on

I made a copy of the update software onto a new CD-RW. I made sure the McAfee s/w was not on the copy.

In my machine the CD read correctly in the VM and on the Mac side. In the second machine's VM the CD showed as blank, but normal in the Mac side!

Has anyone else seen this sort of whacky behaviour? It would be really useful if you needed to recover a deleted CD session, but it's a royal pain otherwise.

I've checked VM settings and all seems to be identical in both setups.

Incidentally, I overcame the CD installation problem on the second Mac+VM by copying the update files to a USB key and running it from there.

MacBook Pro 15" - OS X 10.5.5 - Fusion 2.0 b116369 - VM XP Pro SP3 1Gig RAM

[WoodyZ]

Obviously you did not read the Known Issues with VMware Fusion section of the VMware Fusion Release Notes...

• The McAfee anti-virus ISO remains mounted.
  If you start the installation of McAfee VirusScan Plus, the McAfee ISO remains mounted, which can lead to two problems.

• If you cancel the installation and later try to install the bundled anti-virus again, either by clicking Install when the anti-virus prompt appears, or by selecting Virtual Machine > Install McAfee VirusScan Plus,
  nothing will happen. These commands actually mount the ISO, but leave
  the launching of the anti-virus installer to the autorun. Because the
  ISO is already mounted, the autorun is not triggered. To work around
  this, eject the mounted anti-virus ISO image by selecting Virtual Machine > CD/DVD > Disconnect CD/DVD. Then select Virtual Machine > Install McAfee VirusScan Plus to start the McAfee VirusScan Plus installer again.

• Because the anti-virus ISO image is occupying the virtual CD/DVD
  drive, if you insert a CD/DVD on your Mac the CD/DVD will not be
  mounted in the virtual machine, even if you have set the CD/DVD drive
  to be attached to the virtual machine. To work around this, go to Virtual Machine > CD/DVD > Use Physical Drive to force mount the disc.

[jaydear]

Hmmmmm, interesting - but... I absolutely, positively didn't start the installation of McAfee s/w - no doubt about that whatsoever.

The other MBP is not here now, so I can't check whether a rogue ISO image is mounted in the VM. I'll do that asap though.

I don't want McAfee at all, so I'll need to un-mount the image if that is the problem.

Thanks for the reference.

MacBook Pro 15" - OS X 10.5.5 - Fusion 2.0 b116369 - VM XP Pro SP3 1Gig RAM

[WoodyZ]

Hmmmmm, interesting - but... I absolutely, positively didn't start the installation of McAfee s/w - no doubt about that whatsoever.

Someone may have accidentally, without realizing it, clicked on it from the Virtual Machine menu and it didn't autorun.

I don't want McAfee at all, so I'll need to un-mount the image if that is the problem.

Yes it's the problem and I wouldn't install McAfee either as it a resource hog and slow down the virtual machine more so then some of the other antivirus programs.

[jaydear]

Absolutely.

BTW - I have found Comodo Firewall Pro to be light on resources and seems to stop the nasties.

MacBook Pro 15" - OS X 10.5.5 - Fusion 2.0 b116369 - VM XP Pro SP3 1Gig RAM

[jaydear]

Yep, right you were! No idea how that happened.

After restoring the VM to use the physical drive I re-checked the copy CD I made and it reads fine in the XP VM now, as does the original disk.

I don't understand why the copy disk showed as blank when the iso was mounted. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for XP to read the disk (it is very s-l-o-w), but I don't know if the physical drive not being ready would slow down the reading of the iso.

Another interesting thing... I can't find the McAfee antivirus iso now that it is unmounted (I was going to delete it) - it doesn't seem to be present in Mac or XP hdd's.

MacBook Pro 15" - OS X 10.5.5 - Fusion 2.0 b116369 - VM XP Pro SP3 1Gig RAM

[WoodyZ]

I don't understand why the copy disk showed as blank when the iso was mounted. Maybe I didn't wait long enough for XP to read the disk (it is very s-l-o-w), but I don't know if the physical drive not being ready would slow down the reading of the iso.

If you're using as ISO Image as the Virtual Machine' s CD/DVD and there is only one CD/DVD assigned then the physical optical drive should have no bearing on the Virtual Machine while it is configured to use the ISO Image.

Another interesting thing... I can't find the McAfee antivirus iso now that it is unmounted (I was going to delete it) - it doesn't seem to be present in Mac or XP hdd's

It is located at: "/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/isoimages/antivirus.iso"

[jaydear]

Right you are... and I thought Spotlight found all sorts of stuff... apparently not files(!).

I need something like Xtree / Ztree for the Mac side.

Thanks again.

MacBook Pro 15" - OS X 10.5.5 - Fusion 2.0 b116369 - VM XP Pro SP3 1Gig RAM