Mac & PC image sharing

[takuma]

Hello,

I have a WIN2K3 Server image on my mac that I use frequently. I also have VMware for a PC and was wondering if I can copy the WIN2K3 file from my mac to the PC and use it on my PC.

Thanks,

Kei

[continuum · Accepted solution]

Yes - you can.

You must open the bundle - in Fusion the files that make up a VM are obscured in a bundle - and then copy the complete content of that directoy/bundle to the Windows or Linux machine.

On the PC then start Workstation or VMplayer and open the vmx-file

At the very least you need ALL *.vmdk files plus the vmx-file.




___________________________________

VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay

[takuma]

Great! Thanks.

[asatoran]

You must open the bundle...

Just an FYI: The bundle (a.k.a. package) will show up as just a folder to Windows. (I haven't tested this on Linux.) Therefore it's not absolutely necessary to open the bundle. You can treat the bundle just like a "normal" folder when copying.

And going the other direction, Fusion will work with virtual machines in "normal" folders. The VM folder doesn't need to be "converted" to a bundle/package. (But if you wanted to, just add the extension .vmwarevm to the folder.)

[takuma]

Thanks.

Does this mean I don't have to open the package and I can just copy the one big file onto the windows machine?

[continuum]

ah ok - good to know

so you can connect to a share on a Windows host and drag the bundle to the new location without the need to open it first ?

good




___________________________________

VMX-parameters- Workstation FAQ -[ MOA-liveCD|http://sanbarrow.com/moa241.html] - VM-Sickbay

[asatoran]

Thanks.

Does this mean I don't have to open the package and I can just copy the one big file onto the windows machine?

Yes. The bundle/package will appear as just a folder to Windows. (A folder with the extension .vmwarevm.)

[asatoran]

so you can connect to a share on a Windows host and drag the bundle to the new location without the need to open it first ?

Yup, I do this all the time. For consistency, I remove the .vmwarevm extension, but it does not matter to Fusion, Workstation & Player. For me, it just makes it slightly easier to get to the .VMX file, instead of "right-click, Show Package Contents."

[macrifice]

Hi,

I got the same issue excepting that the VMs on my MacPro have been copied originally from a Windows computer. So i don't have the packages on Fusion but already the folder structure including disks and vmx. Copying from Workstation under Windows XP to Fusion on Mac worked well. I installed VMWare tools on my Mac and use 2-4 processors and 4GB RAM for the VMs. Now I temporarily need to copy and run a Fusion VM to a Windows notebook with Workstation 6.5. I copied the folder 1:1, set the processors used to 1 and RAM to 1.5GB, on that notebook I have 3GB RAM and a dual core.

However, now when I start the VM, Windows comes up with the start screen with the progress bar and hangs. I tried starting in safe mode and all the other modes. I never came to the login screen. I assume that this is because of the massive hardware change when moving from 8core machine to the laptop. I tried this with different machines but it's all the same.

Is there anything I can do to get my VMs running on my notebook anyway? Can I remove the mac hatrdware support in fusion first and then move the machine or clone for differen hardware or convert it somehow?

Thanks in advance!

Macrifice

[WoodyZ]

Before copying from the Mac to the Notebook you should shutdown the Virtual Machine, not suspend, and then make virtual hardware changes and then run the Virtual Machine to make sure the changes are synced with Guest OS and then shutdown, not suspend, and close Fusion and then copy to the Notebook.

[macrifice]

I tried this now and it does not help either. When I start the VM on my laptop now I get the Windows progress screen and after a second a message that the boot.ini file is corrupt and that ntdetect failed. Then it reboots automatically and the same happens again and again. I did exactly what you wrote. Any idea about this?

[asatoran]

...Any idea about this?

Backups? Since this VM was copied, can you get another copy? And be sure to shutdown guest OS before copying.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Making multiple 'hardware' changes to an install can trigger Windows reauthorization.

Otherwise, yep, this works just fine - I've done it a number of times, but once it's corrupt (i.e. not shutting down first), it's hard to get it back. I also always delete all snapshots before the copy, since they may have memory images in them.

[macrifice]

I copied the VM already a couple times.

- Snapshots are disabled

- I shut down the guest before copying the files

- I do hardware "downgrade" to 1 processor and 1 GB RAM before copying (and cleanly shutdown the guest, start it again to apply the changes to the guest and then cleanly shut down again before copying)

My VMs originally came from a Windows laptop with Workstation 6. I originally copied the VM to the Mac and upgraded them on the Mac to Fusion andf it worked fine. I got Windows reauthorization messages for each VM, yes, but it doesn't matter as I have a full MSDN subscription and can install as many Windows machines as I want. However, now I copy - after a clean guest shutdown - the VM and it does not work on the laptop with Workstation 6.5. This same copy which does not work on the laptop still works perfekt on my Mac with Fusion. The VM is starting also on the laptop, so no general issue here. But when booting the guest windows says the "boot.ini is corrupt and ntdetect failed".

[ColoradoMarmot]

I'm confused - do you have two macs?

If so, can you copy the working fusion version on one to the one that doesn't work? Also, are you running the same version of Fusion on both?

How are you copying these files? Are you 'pushing' from windows, or 'pulling' from the Mac across a network (better), or are they on an external disk? If the latter, make sure it's FAT32 (and yes, that means that you have to split the disk file into 2GB chunks).

[macrifice]

I got this:

- A notebook running win xp with vmware workstation 6.5

- A mac pro 8 core with vmware fusion 3

This is what I did

1) First I had the VMs only on my notebook. This is where I created the VMs originally and worked some years with it

2) When I got my mac I moved all the VMs to the mac (just copied the files to the mac). There I installed of course the vmware tools for fusion in the VMs. Then I worked on the mac with the VMs for around 6 months now

3) Now I want to take back temporarily VMs from the mac to the notebook. This is where I stumble. When I copy the VM files(vmdk, vmx, aso) to the notebook I can't start them becauseof the error with the boo.ini mentioned before

[macrifice]

Anybody who has an idea?

Still can't use my Mac VMs on my Windows Notebook.

[rcardona2k]

Have you tried a trial upgrade to Workstation 7 on your notebook? That is the version that matches Fusion 3.

[WoodyZ]

Have you tried downgrading the virtual hardware before copying?

VMware Fusion (menu bar) > Virtual Machine > Downgrade Virtual Machine...

This way you shouldn't need to upgrade to VMware Workstation 7.

[macrifice]

Hi,

this was the solution. After downgrading and then reinstalling the VM tools the machines do also work on my Windows notebook again. Thanks a lot!

Regards,

Christian