Can I move a VM that was created on a Windows OS from Windows to MAC (Vmware Fusion)?

[adbsilvajr]

Hi all,

I have created a VM on my Windows Pc and made a lot of configuration and system installations.

I would like to move this VM that is already configured as from this Windows PC to a MAC.

Is there any way to move a VM that was created on a Windows PC to a MAC?

Thank you.

Adilson Batista.

[ColoradoMarmot · Accepted solution]

Yes, as long as both the PC and the Mac are Intel machines - if it's an M1 mac, then no.

To do so, shut down (not suspend) the VM on the PC.  Then remove any snapshots.  Once that's done, copy it to an external USB drive, and copy it over to the Mac.  Fusion should then just run it without issue.

[adbsilvajr]

Thank you @ColoradoMarmot

I forgot to mentioned that it is a M1 Mac. =(

Is there any scheduled version release to support it?

Thanks.

[RDPetruska]

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@adbsilvajr wrote:

Thank you @ColoradoMarmot

I forgot to mentioned that it is a M1 Mac. =(

Is there any scheduled version release to support it?

Thanks.

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No - this is virtualization software, which presents the actual CPU to the software-based computer.  An M1 Mac has an ARM processor, so any x86-based OS's will not run as they will not recognize/understand the CPU instructions and registers.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Adding on to that last comment with a bit more detail.  There are ARM versions of Linux now, and the VMWare tech preview supports those: https://communities.vmware.com/t5/Fusion-Tech-Preview-22H2/ct-p/3022

You'll have to build a new one from scratch though, and Linux will only run ARM software without a bunch of heavy lifting and tech poking (installing QEMU for example) - I tried, and gave up FWIW.  For Windows support, it's more complicated.  The only version that will run is Windows 11 ARM, but right now the tech preview doesn't support Windows 11 ARM at all.  They've hinted that a new version due out soon will have 'better windows support' but we don't quite know what that means yet.  Again, you'll still have to build a new one from scratch.  The good news is that Windows 11 ARM has intel emulation (like rosetta) built into it, and most things seem to run just fine.  In the preview community forum there's a bunch of threads with workarounds for the current tech preview, but I'd honestly wait a couple of weeks to see how the new version looks before spending time on it.