Instructions for non-technical person to connect to the Internet from iMac via Fusion 8

[Boijack]

Are there instructions for someone with limited technical skills to connect to the Internet from iMac via Fusion 8?

(For the record, my job requires that I use Windows software and I own an Apple computer.)

Please help.

[vmxmr]

As a general rule, if you run VMware Fusion with the default settings, it will work for you without any issues. It might help if you would share some more information about your setup:

• Which version of OS X does your iMac run? How much RAM memory and free disk space does your iMac have now?
• Which version of Windows will you be installing? Windows 7? Windows 8? Windows 10? Home? Pro? etc.
• What software will you be running on Windows?
• How much disk space will you need for Windows?

You will need to buy your own copy of Windows to install. Buy the "Retail" version of Windows. Do not buy the "OEM" versions that you might find on Amazon or other sources. The OEM versions will install, but when you start Windows and are prompted for the Product Key, it will be rejected (because you are not running Windows on a manufacturer's computer like Dell, HP, or Lenovo).

Here are the basic steps to install Windows in VMware Fusion:

1. Install VMware Fusion 8 on your iMac.

2. Launch VMware Fusion.

3. The "New" virtual machine window will appear. If not, then choose New... from the File menu.

4. Insert the Windows installation DVD or click the Continue button and navigate to the Windows installation ".iso" file.

5. Follow the prompts to install Windows. You can give it a username and password, and VMware Fusion will do the rest for you.

6. When the installation is complete, Windows will automatically share the iMac's Internet connection. If the iMac works on the Internet, then your new Windows virtual machine will also connect to the Internet.

Don't worry if you do not understand a question or a prompt. Choose the default (or make your best guess). Whatever you decide can be changed or undone later.

Once you are done installing Windows:

VMware Tools helps you do things like drag-and-drop and cut-and-paste between your Mac and Windows, and it also helps with the display for Windows. It should install automatically when you install Windows. You can check by looking for "Install VMware Tools" from the Virtual Machine menu while your Windows virtual machine is running. If it is grayed out or says, "Update VMware Tools", then you know it is already installed and you are done. Otherwise, choose "Install VMware Tools" and you will see the VMware Tools installer in Windows - accept the defaults and it will install. After it installs, restart Windows.

IMPORTANT: Be sure to keep Windows up-to-date. You can set Windows to update itself automatically, but your Windows virtual machine has to be running at update time or it won't happen. The default time is 3:00 AM.

SPECIAL HINT: VMware Fusion has a great feature called "Snapshots". Before you try something in Windows or change a Windows or VMware setting that you are not sure about, you can take a snapshot first. If you don't like what happens, you can revert back to the snapshot and your Windows virtual machine will be the same as if it never happened. You don't want to keep too many snapshots around - they can use a lot of disk space and affect overall performance.

It may seem scary to a non-technical person, but once you are finished, you will say to yourself, "That was easy!"

Good luck! It takes a lot of time to type these instructions, and it would be nice to know how it works out for you.

[Boijack]

Thank you for the detailed reply.

I have a physical copy of Windows XP Professional.

Windows is mounted and working on the iMac; however, I do not have Internet connectivity on the virtual machine.

Here is the information that you requested.

• Which version of OS X does your iMac run? OS X El Capitan Version 10.11.2

• How much RAM memory and free disk space does your iMac have now? Memory 16 GB  :  3.05 TB

• Which version of Windows will you be installing? Windows XP Professional
• Windows 7? Windows 8? Windows 10? Home? Pro? etc.
• What software will you be running on Windows? MusicMaster Professional 5.0 (radio station music scheduling software)

• How much disk space will you need for Windows? I am not sure how to answer that question; however, I did take a screenshot, hoping the requested information is included in the data (this is the space information that is shown on a Windows based PC).
• 
  

[vmxmr]

Thanks for the info. It seems like you have everything you need, except for the network issues. You have plenty of memory and disk space. I assume that you have installed Windows XP Professional and it is running in the virtual machine.

Have you installed VMware Tools? (Probably yes.)

If I were troubleshooting your network issues, I would suspect one of two possible sources:

1. A Problem with the VMware Network Setting for Your Virtual Machine:

* Shut down your Windows XP Virtual Machine. (You don't really have to do this, but I want to eliminate any possible issues.)

* Select Settings from the Virtual Machine menu, (or Command-E or click on the "wrench" icon).

* In Settings, click on Network Adapter.

* --> Make sure Connect Network Adapter is checked (enabled).

* Under Internet Sharing, try "Share with my Mac" first.

* Start the Windows XP Virtual Machine.

* Test the network to see if it is working. Launch Internet Explorer and go to a "safe" website such as apple.com

* If that didn't work, try the same steps above, except choose Bridged Networking, Autodetect (instead of "Share with my Mac")

If that didn't work, then the problem is probably #2, below.

2. A Problem with the Network Configuration for Your Windows XP Virtual Machine:

Note: This is a Windows issue.

* From the Start Menu, Open the Control Panel

* Double-click the Network Connections icon - See what appears for "Local Area Connection"

* If there is no Local Area Connection, try creating one by clicking "Set up a home or small office network" under Network Tasks on the left side.

* Follow the prompts. If you are not sure, then choose the defaults.

* Reboot the Windows XP Virtual Machine. (You don't really have to do this, but I want to eliminate any possible issues.)

* Test the network to see if it is working. Launch Internet Explorer and go to a "safe" website such as apple.com

I hope this helps!

Reminder: Windows XP is no longer supported by Microsoft. It has known security vulnerabilities that will never be fixed. I would limit Internet connections to the minimum necessary to do what you need.

[Boijack]

vmxmr

vmxmr,

I am still having problems with Fusion and the Internet.

I attempted to following your instruction; however, I am hung up on installing VMWare Tool. I downloaded the offering and cannot get it to install.I am truly frustrated, and wondering if you know of professional installer?

I am likely to look at other options, because this gift for Christmas is taking [a lPHd] too long for what was advertised as a simple install.

Any suggestions?

Advance thanx!

[vmxmr]

Just to be clear: VMware Tools will help you with your user experience running Windows XP - you will get drag and drop, cut and paste, window resizing, and much more. VMware Tools will not solve your network issue. It takes patience to get something working.

To install VMware Tools in Windows XP:

0. Make sure you are running the latest version of VMware Fusion. You can Check for Updates in the VMware Fusion menu at the top.

1. Launch the Windows XP virtual machine. It must be running first. If you have not logged into Windows XP so you can see the desktop, then please log in.

2. Perhaps there is a problem with an existing installation of VMware Tools. Let's remove it first.

3. Click the Start menu, then click on Control Panel.

4. In the Control Panel window, double-click Add or Remove Programs.

5. Scroll down the list to see if VMware Tools is there. If VMware Tools is not in the list, then skip to step 9.

6. If VMware Tools is in the list, then click on VMware Tools, and click the Remove button. Answer Yes to the prompt "Are you sure you want to remove VMware Tools from your computer?"

7. Windows XP will remove VMware Tools. You will see various progress bars, etc. It may take some time to complete. Various "Found New Hardware" dialog boxes may appear. Click Cancel. Eventually you will the restart prompt. Go ahead and restart Windows XP.

8. After VMware Tools is removed, the screen may look wrong or run at a very low monitor resolution. Don't worry - it is normal. 

9. If you are not logged in to Windows XP, log in and wait until you see the desktop. If you see "Found New Hardware" dialog boxes, click Cancel. Now let's install VMware Tools...

10. In the Mac's Virtual Machine menu, click Install VMware Tools.

11. A dialog box will appear, "Click Install to connect the VMware Tools installer CD..." Go ahead and click the Install button.

12. The VMware Tools Setup installer should launch automatically. Go to step 14.

13. If the VMware Tools Setup installer does not launch automatically, then click the Start menu, then click on My Computer on the right side, then try double-clicking on VMware Tools drive (the CD/DVD drive in Devices with Removable Storage). If that doesn't work, then right click the VMware Tools drive, choose Open, then double-click on Setup (or Setup.exe).

14. When the VMware Tools setup dialog box appears, follow the easy prompts. Click Next, choose Typical and then click Next, click Install, click Finish, and reboot.

15. Login to Windows XP. VMware Tools is now installed and ready for you to use. You should see a tiny gray "VM" in the lower right corner of the taskbar (notification area).

Regarding "Professional Installation" - I am sure that there are people who can help you wherever you are. It won't be cheap. If I were you, I would be patient and stick with it for a little bit longer.

[Boijack]

I will stay the course, dedicating more time to following your excellent step-by-step instructions.

Will post my progress (or not), as I take the journey.

Thanks for all that you do.

[vmxmr]

I sent you a PM, but you must have missed it.

[Mikero]

If I may suggest something more simple than all of this thread...

Internet in Windows should 'just work'. If it doesn't, try toggling between NAT and Bridged networking modes.

To do this, click this button (Red arrow):

Then choose one of the Green arrows. IF you're already on NAT try using Bridged. If you'r Bridged, try NAT.

Windows might need a reboot if it doesn't pick up the new network in 30 seconds or so. (good old XP!)

You should also consider updating beyond XP tho.  Windows 7 will run almost all of the stuff that XP does, and XP stopped getting security updates a while back.

[MtDon]

Miker & vmxmr, I tried all of the above with no luck. OS X 10.11.1, Fusion 8.1.0, XP-PRO and internet via WiFi router. I would remove everything and start from scratch but I am worried that I will loose apps which were installed mostly via download. Download using OS X to a shared folder and then installed into XP. Is there a discrete feature in Fusion or XP that I can delete and reinstall with the hope of getting to a default situation that will automatically recognize connection. My windows apps are minimal (Turbo Tax Business and a older version of Quickbooks PRO). If I could find a MAC based affordable business tax software, VMware would be history.

Thanx,

Don

[vmxmr]

@MtDon:

If you still have the Windows XP installation disc or .iso image, and the product key, you could create a new Windows XP virtual machine from scratch without losing your current Windows XP virtual machine. Use the easy install and it should work and it should connect to the Internet through your Mac. If it doesn't work, shut down Windows XP and change the VMware network adapter setting to "bridged networking" as shown above, and then restart the new Windows XP guest.

Of course if the new virtual machine works, you would have to reinstall the apps there.

Question: Could you (and @Boijack) be running some type of firewall on your Mac that blocks outbound communications? A popular example is Little Snitch.