Fusion 13 not working on Apple M1 Mac

[merge_guardian]

I installed VM Fusion 13 on my Apple M1 Mac. After going through all the installation steps, it came up with a black screen with a white play button, but when I push it, well you can see the screenshot.

 Did I download the wrong version of Fusion 13? It says: VMware Fusion 13.0.1 (for Intel-based and Apple silicon Macs) on my download.

Any help you can give is greatly appreciated.

[Technogeezer]

You have the right version of Fusion. Believe the error message.

You are trying to run a virtual machine that requires an Intel CPU - perhaps one that was moved to your M1 Mac from an Intel Mac or PC. The M1 chip is not an Intel chip, so Fusion is incapable of running any virtual machine whose operating system requires an Intel CPU.

Fusion on M1/M2 Macs can only run operating systems built for ARM CPUs. For Windows users, that means you must run Windows 11 ARM. No other version of Windows will work.

(and no, Rosetta 2 won't make it work. It's a documented Apple restriction that Rosetta can not be used by software like Fusion or Parallels to virtualize Intel operating systems).

You may want to take a look at the Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion Guide, which goes into more details on the operating systems that run on M1/M2 Macs.

[merge_guardian]

I downloaded a Windows 11 ARM version of the ISO. I completely deleted VM Fusion off my computer, downloaded it again, and reinstalled it. It pulls up the "Double-Click to Install" screen. It verifies, asks my permission to open the app, I type in my password, tells me that background things will be happening. Then it says "File not found."

Instead of setting everything up like it did the first time, it wants the file Virtual Machine with the Windows app to already be loaded onto my computer.

Is there some other VM Fusion software lurking around in my computer?

[Technogeezer · Accepted solution]

Let's start fresh.

Use the procedure in the KB article https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1017838 to fully uninstall Fusion and all of the other files it populates on the Mac. Simply moving the application to the trash is not sufficient. You must make sure you find and delete the files noted in the tech note in both /Library and ~/Library (the Library folder found in your account's directory) (the ~/Library folder is normally hidden, at the Finder menu hold down the Option key and then select Go > Library) .

Open the .dmg file you downloaded from Vmware and then double click on the installer once again. And then be very specific on where any error messages occur. 

[RDPetruska · Accepted solution]

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@merge_guardian wrote:

I downloaded a Windows 11 ARM version of the ISO.

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There is no such thing available from MS's website.  Follow Technogeezer's unofficial guide to Fusion 13 for ARM for detailed instructions for obtaining a Win 11 ARM installation media.

[merge_guardian]

I got one off of Archive.org.

[merge_guardian]

Alright. I followed the instructions and deleted the files that I found. (There were some files that weren't there, but the instructions did say they might not be.) I reinstalled VM Fusion and everything seemed to be going well, and then again, it said "File not found."

Here's the steps:

I double clicked.

I hit agree.

I entered my license key.

I hit done. And then...

 

[Technogeezer · Accepted solution]

Is there a log file ~.Library/Logs/VMware\ Fusion folder called vmware-vmfusion.log? If so, could you zip it up and post it to a reply?

What macOS version are you running?

Did the installer place the application file in your /Applications folder?

I assume also that your installer .dmg was downloaded directly from VMware?

Also, it's not a good idea to download OS installation media from sources other than the publisher. The procedures in the Companion Guide document get you an ISO whose contents are sourced directly from Microsoft.  

[merge_guardian]

Well, it's a good thing I didn't get a chance to load the off-brand ISO. I have one log under Library>Logs titled "VMWare Fusion Services.log", and inside Library>Logs>VMware folder I have a bunch of files titled "vmware-usbarb-bunch of numbers.log"

I running Ventura 13.3.1

The installer placed the VM Fusion in the Applications folder.

And yes, I downloaded directly from VMware.

[ColoradoMarmot]

That error can happen when you had a virtual machine set to auto launch and deleted it from Finder instead of the Fusion library.  Just delete the old VM from the library and it should stop.

[merge_guardian]

I deleted it from Library>Application Support and Library>Preferences. I followed the instructions in this article on how to completely uninstall VM Fusion from my computer: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1017838

 

 

[Technogeezer · Accepted solution]

Try what @ColoradoMarmot said first.  

For future reference, my guess is that if you performed what you thought was a full manual uninstall but the "File not found" appears because of an autostarted VM that was deleted from with the Finder, then you didn't get all the files listed in the tech note. The following files (that are prefixed with a "~" character) do not reside in the system's Library folder which you provided the screen shots for.

~/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion
~/Library/Caches/com.vmware.fusion
~/Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusion.LSSharedFileList.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusion.LSSharedFileList.plist.lockfile
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusion.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusion.plist.lockfile
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusionDaemon.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusionDaemon.plist.lockfile
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusionStartMenu.plist
~/Library/Preferences/com.vmware.fusionStartMenu.plist.lockfile

These files are contained in the hidden Library folder that's part of your user's home folder. (~/Library is shorthand for your Library folder, not the system's Library folder). 

To get to this hidden Library folder first go the the Finder menu bar, click the "Go" menu in the menu bar, and hold down the "Option" key so the Library item appears:

Click on Library while still holding the option key. Your user's Library folder will then open. This is what it should look like in Finder column mode for user "Me"...

You'll find an Application Support folder, a Caches folder, and a Preferences folder in your account's Library folder. . Locate and remove any of the files that I posted above that are present in addition to those present in the system's Library folder. 

[merge_guardian]

Thank you for all your help. I finally have the issue resolved and am running the CORRECT Windows 11 ARM on my Virtual VM Fusion Machine. Again, thank you!

[TECH198]

A reboot of Mac fixed this "File Not Found" issue..Yes it is due to if you manually delete VM bundle but not from inventory and can cause issues after you remove "missing" from inventory, but a reboot fixes.

[akd_mac]

I am trying to install VMware Fusion 13 on my MacBook 13 m2. After double clicking on "VMware Fusion" icon and entering MacBook password, a pop-up comes saying "initialising VMware fusion" after few seconds it disappers and nothing happens.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Answered in the other thread, no need to post multiple times.