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__mac_dev_dude
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I need to expand the disk size for a VMWare image running on VMWare Fusion for Mac. I can't seem to boot into recovery mode.

I need to reboot my VMWare image of MacOS 10.14 (Mojave) into the recovery partition or some other boot disk so that I can resize the main partition of the VMWare disk.

I tried a lot of different things, but I haven't been able to get the VMWare image to either boot into recovery mode or else boot from an image.

One thing I tried is creating a .dmg from the Recovery image using Disk Utility and then mounting it through VMWare and then choosing it as the startup disk in Fusion. This did not work.

What's the best way to do this?

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dariusd
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For all modern versions of Fusion and macOS, it should be possible to boot directly into the recovery environment as follows:

  • Start with the virtual machine powered off.
  • Power on the virtual machine.
  • Quickly, after the play button vanishes but before the VMware logo disappears, do the following:
    • Click inside the VM window.  This will send the following keystrokes to the VM.
    • Hold the Command+R keys down.
  • Once the Apple logo has been on screen for a few seconds, release the keys.

The virtual machine should boot into the recovery environment.

Sometimes things move too quickly, though, so here is an unofficial hack/workaround which does not require speedy keyboarding:

  • Start with the virtual machine powered off.
  • From Fusion's Virtual Machine menu, choose Power On To Firmware, and wait for the blue Boot Manager to appear.
  • Click inside the virtual machine window.
  • With Boot normally still selected, press and hold Command+R, then, while continuing to hold those keys, press (and release) the Enter key.
  • Once the Apple logo has been on screen for a few seconds, release the Command and R keys.

The virtual machine should boot into the recovery environment.

Hope this helps!  (If even the second method doesn't work... your recovery environment is utterly broken and I'm not sure what can be done besides attaching the disk to another VM!)

--

Darius

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ColoradoMarmot
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In system preferences (in the guest), you can choose the startup disk, and pick the recovery partition from there.  Next time you boot, that's what will start.

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__mac_dev_dude
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dlhotka,

Unfortunately none of the VMWare mac images I have show the recovery partition in the Startup Disk pane of the system preferences. Also, no real Mac system I have shows the recovery partition in the Startup Disk pane of the system preferences.

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ColoradoMarmot
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I must have been smoking something - I confused target disk and recovery mode, apologies.

Does the VM even have a recovery partition?  You'll probably have to use diskutil from terminal (diskutil list) to check.

If the Opt key, and the CMD-R keys aren't working, there's not many other options.  You might be able to make a bootable USB installer, convert it to an ISO, attach that to the VM, and then use the choose startup disk option to start from it, but I haven't tried that myself.

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dariusd
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For all modern versions of Fusion and macOS, it should be possible to boot directly into the recovery environment as follows:

  • Start with the virtual machine powered off.
  • Power on the virtual machine.
  • Quickly, after the play button vanishes but before the VMware logo disappears, do the following:
    • Click inside the VM window.  This will send the following keystrokes to the VM.
    • Hold the Command+R keys down.
  • Once the Apple logo has been on screen for a few seconds, release the keys.

The virtual machine should boot into the recovery environment.

Sometimes things move too quickly, though, so here is an unofficial hack/workaround which does not require speedy keyboarding:

  • Start with the virtual machine powered off.
  • From Fusion's Virtual Machine menu, choose Power On To Firmware, and wait for the blue Boot Manager to appear.
  • Click inside the virtual machine window.
  • With Boot normally still selected, press and hold Command+R, then, while continuing to hold those keys, press (and release) the Enter key.
  • Once the Apple logo has been on screen for a few seconds, release the Command and R keys.

The virtual machine should boot into the recovery environment.

Hope this helps!  (If even the second method doesn't work... your recovery environment is utterly broken and I'm not sure what can be done besides attaching the disk to another VM!)

--

Darius

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wila
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Someone I know wrote a great doc for this:

Using the Recovery Environment (Recovery HD) in an OS X Virtual Machine

Does the vmx setting no longer work?

--

Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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dariusd
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Hah!  I had forgotten all about that doc.  The vmx setting should still work, but editing .vmx files is still a bit of a hassle and a risk for folks who aren't already familiar with doing so.

The "keyboard hack" (holding Command+R while pressing Enter) has the big advantage that it doesn't involve editing config files but can still be done at a leisurely pace.

I should probably add it to the doc.  Thanks for remembering my stuff for me.  :smileygrin:

--

Darius

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__mac_dev_dude
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I am sorry to report that I do not see this menu item "Power On to Firmware" in the Virtual Machine menu. I have attached a screenshot of this menu when my virtual machine is powered down.

pastedImage_0.png

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dariusd
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Ahhhh... Try instead going into Virtual Machine > Settings..., then selecting Startup Disk, then hold the Option key down and choose the Restart to firmware... button.  (It seems that restarting to firmware is considered a power-user feature so it only shows up on the menu in Fusion Pro.)

--

Darius

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