Is this a catastrophic problem with BootCamp / virtual machines or something else?

[licensedtoquill]

Just had a catasrophic problem with BootCamp

My MBP was running a bit sluggish so Apple gave me some instructions on how to deal with this problem, including running disk utility from the install discs and emptying all my cache folders in OSX. Not sure if all this slowness and crashing was anything to do with install of newest update to OSX

When I came to go back into Windows in the normal way, suddenly the windows installation in the VM demanded activation. Needless to say as I had to activate windows every time i switched from Bootcamp to OSX and/or then went into Fusion to get to Windows, I had to reactivate so ultimately Microsoft starts to think that someone is installing Windows on multiple computers and telephone activation becomes a nightmare.

But even worse, when I managed to figure out which product key I was using for bootcamp, and windows started, EVERY CONFIGURATION I HAD MADE OVER A YEAR OR SO AND EVERY SOFTWARE INSTALLATION HAD DISAPPEARED! Without going through any installation process for windows, I was weft with a fresh-install windows desktop with all my favourites lost. Leading to an even bigger nightmare in re-installation of hundreds of hours worth of software. There were two measly folders to show that I was in the right place and that everything isnt contained in some other folder and a file or two but I am wondering whether all of this installation information is contained in a cache in the OSX direcotry structure? If so, is there any way of identifying which files or folders in which cache directory should be backed up?

If this is so, I had never dreamed that anything to do with the windows installation was contained in the OSX directory structure? Surely if this is the case, there should be a strong warning on this? Admittedlythe Windows installation WAS running a bit slow before the 'incident' but I doubt that there was anything disastrously wrong and in any event I had just run a fully updated Adaware and Spybot so this problem is unlikely to be a virus. (I dont use email in Fusion)

If all this is the case, can anyone identify the folders which need backing up in OSX before emptying caches? I dont THINK much here could have been salvaged by taking a snapshot could it? (in any event, I couldnt get into windows without this activation)

[WoodyZ]

Based on what you've said in your post I fail to see how this is a Fusion issue in any respect.

[licensedtoquill]

Also FWIW, the Windows installation had forgotten that it had installed all printers, IE8 and SP3 and lord-knows-what-else (I am still learning)

If what I report is correct, there really has to be an FAW on this somewhere fully highlighted

[licensedtoquill]

So are you saying that when I install windows in bootcamp under Fusion, OSX DOESN'T put the information which I have lost in a cache in the Mac directory structure somewhere?

[WoodyZ]

Again I fail to see how any of this has anything to do with Fusion.

[WoodyZ]

So are you saying that when I install windows in bootcamp under Fusion, OSX DOESN'T put the information which I have lost in a cache in the Mac directory structure somewhere?

First of all you didn't install Windows in Boot Camp under Fusion. Windows was installed using the Boot Camp Assistant under OS X and has absolutely nothing to do with Fusion to start with. Secondly Fusion can run the Boot Camp partition as a Virtual Machine however this is quite different then a normal file based native virtual machine created by Fusion and instead actually uses the physical Boot Camp partition as its hard drive under Windows and whatever you did under OS X by the direction of the Apple Tech is what messed up your physical install on the Boot Camp partition and really has nothing to do with Fusion as Fusion is only virtualizing what already existed on the physical Boot Camp partition.

[WoodyZ · Accepted solution]

FWIW The only way I can see this being a Fusion issue is if by chance you're running Fusion 2.0.0 which had a fatal flaw in that it would allow the Boot Camp partition Virtual Machine to take a Snapshot and if you didn't boot it natively again you might not notice immediately that all changes being made were being written to a disk file instead of the physical disk itself and then if one deleted the Boot Camp partition Virtual Machine a situation such as you've described could have similar results.

Another thing to look at is to C:\Program Files directory in Windows and see if it contains all the applications you once installed and if it does then it's entirely possible that you're running Windows from a default Registry Hive which of course would not contain any information about the changes since Windows was originally installed however you really haven't provide adequate details about what you actually did under the Apple Tech's directions to get where you're presently at so there is not much I can offer.

[licensedtoquill]

Actually, now that I come to think of it, you are right: I THOUGHT I had installed Windows under Fusion after installing Fusion but I do seem to remember that Fusion automatically picked up what was already there. The trouble is that the Mac people say that the problem was caused by Windows and all I THOUGHT I had done was to empty OSX caches to lose all this information.

I still think windows users should learn somehow where all these details which seem easy to lose are stored and can be backed up if they are using BootCamp under Fusion: As the results are comparatively disastrous, is there no way of doing this? From what has been 'lost' and what is still there, this doesnt seem to be a normal windows backup problem?

[licensedtoquill]

No, I dont think there was any fatal flaw in the Fusion installation. MUCH more likely is your second paragraph. The Programs directory is standard as of installation date. Something is making it see the wrong registry hive which has all the software in it. Is there any way of changing this please? I think it is probably a bit late now to start trying to do an F8 boot (if that is possible with a VM?) and going back to a last known good configuration.

[WoodyZ]

No, I dont think there was any fatal flaw in the Fusion installation.

Fusion 2.0.0 did indeed have a fatal flaw in that it would allow the Boot Camp partition to have a Snapshot when it's not supposed to and was corrected with Fusion 2.0.1 and if your not running Fusion 2.0.0 then it's not applicable to you or this situation.

The Programs directory is standard as of installation date.

This statement really isn't clear so I have no idea what you mean by it and for that matter your post really lack technical details and technical details typically are what's needed to resolve issues. As an example you haven't mentioned Host OS version, Guest OS version, VMware Fusion version, etc.

Something is making it see the wrong registry hive which has all the software in it. Is there any way of changing this please? I think it is probably a bit late now to start trying to do an F8 boot (if that is possible with a VM?) and going back to a last known good configuration.

First of all I'd leave Fusion out of the equation until any issues involving the Boot Camp partition are resolved.

Yes you could try last known good configuration although if that doesn't work you might be able to restore the Windows Registry Hives from a System Restore Point either using System Restore or if need be booting the Windows from the install CD to the Recovery Console and manually replacing the Windows Registry Hives from a Restore Point folder under the System Volume Information folder and you can find directions on how to do this at Microsoft's Web Site.

You can use information in the following links to accomplish a manual restore.

Description of the Windows XP Recovery Console for advanced users

How to recover from a corrupted registry that prevents Windows XP from starting