Does vmware fusion 4 support > 8Gb RAM?

[vlasimsky]

I have been using fusion v3.1 that limits your RAM to 8 Gb, even though I have 32 Gb installed on my Mac Pro.

I am thinking about upgrading to version 4 as the release notes talks about performance improvements.  Does anyone know if that includes increasing the memory limit of the virtual machine to over 8 Gb?

[RDPetruska]

Virtual Hardware version 8 (ESX 5, Workstation 8, Player 4, and Fusion 4) machines can have up to 64 GB of RAM.

[vlasimsky]

Excited to hear the 8 Gb limit has been lift, I went ahead and upgraded from Fusion 3 to Fusion 4.  To my dismay, it appears that the 8 Gb limit on RAM still exists in version 4.  When I open my vmware settings, under 'processors and memory' the GUI won't allow you to allocate more than 8 G--just like in the  version 3.  Is there something additional you need to do (other than upgrade) so that you can address more than 8Gb?

[admin · Accepted solution]

Offically, Fusion 4 supports 8GB of memory via the GUI, as per this KB:

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014006

You can edit your .vmx file to exceed this amount.

Open your .vmx using a plain text editor and look for the following line:

memsize = "1024"

Change to the required size and save the file.

When you boot the VM you will receive a notice that you have allocated more than 8GB of RAM, click on OK and the VM will run with the new amount.

The following KB will show you how to edit your .vmx:

http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1014782

-Kevin

[vlasimsky]

That worked!  Thanks.

[VicF]

It seems strange that the limit for a VM would be 8GB in VMware Fusion 4.02.  When will the supported maximum be raised?  Is it in the plans?  I know it can not be guaranteed until proven but some comments from product folks would be appreciated.