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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

Problem With VMWare Fusion 2.0.2 Upgrade

I was prompted this morning to upgrade my Vmware fusion software. So, I tried the upgrade. Now my Virtual Machine will not start. Windows starts to boot up. The, all of a sudden, a message appears saying that I must restart. The only was to restart at this point, as far as I can tell, is by turning off the computer. So, I end up restarting Mac OSX as well.

This is just an outrageous inconvenience and I am appalled that VMware has allows this situation to occur. Upgrades should be straightforward.

I have a ton of work that I need to get done on windows. But now, I can't start it. I can't afford to loose the software on my virtual machine either.

What can be done about this? How can I get my virtual machine to work again?

Also, I want to update the tools, which could be a critical part of this upgrade. Yet, updating the tools, for some (misguided) reason is another step. Unfortunately, I cannot complete this second step, as the computer crashes before the tools can install.

Is someone at VMware working on this?

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17 Replies
Technogeezer
Immortal
Immortal

First, there's not enough specific information to figure out exactly what's going on. What's asking to restart? The VM? Mac OS X?

Please post additional information as noted in . Exact error messages that occur would be the most helpful.

I never trust VMware's default mechanisms for upgrading Fusion. Try deinstalling Fusion 2.0.2, reboot, re-install, and reboot.

Upgrades should be straightforward.

I agree. But they never are for any vendor. Nobody can test every combination of everything (otherwise nothing would ever ship). The 2.0.2 upgrade worked smoothly for me. But I know that doesn't guarantee it works for you because my computer isn't the same as yours.

That's why it's good practice to back up your system before upgrading - in case something goes wrong you have the means to get your system back to the working state.

- Paul (Technogeezer)
Editor of the Unofficial Fusion Companion Guides
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jerome22
Contributor
Contributor

Same here I get the following error

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

I would have specified if the computer specifically indicated what I should restart...i.e., the virtual machine, windows XP, or Mac OSX. However, the screen specifically indicated that you much restart the computer.

I have upgraded software on numerous occassions and nothing as dire as this issue has ever happened. As such, I respectfully disagree with the prior post, although any effort to help is much appreciated. Perhaps I have been lucky up to now.

From hindsight, I would have waited for a few weeks before upgrading if I could take it over. But, again, all of my other upgrades went smoothly..

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jerome22
Contributor
Contributor

I reinstalled. rebooted. now it works fine Smiley Happy

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

I reinstalled and rebooted. It did not work. My problem must have been different from yours, as the problem screen was different. I could start to boot the virtual machine...but it crashes before it completes. I'm 5 hours into this problem so far. I tried creating a new virtual machine. I was able to do this and start windows. However, in this new virtual environment, I am still unable to intall VMware tools. It says I must have windows 98 or windows ME....Well, I have Windows 98...followed by an upgrade to Windows XP. Why can't I install VMware tools into a machine powered by XP?

Why does this forum show that my query may be answered? It is not even close to being answered.

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

Same here I get the following error

Okay, so have you tried rebooting the Mac and see if that makes and difference? (It has for others that have received that error message.)

Have you tried uninstalling/reinstalling VMware Fusion and rebooting the Mac?

FWIW Just saying something like "Same here I get the following error" and saying nothing else like what have you tried to correct the issue if anything etc... well just have a look at .

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

Yes. You can rest assured that...during the five hours I have spent on this project today...that I have tried rebooting...many many times. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling as well. Thanks. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

Yes. You can rest assured that...during the five hours I have spent on this project today...that I have tried rebooting...many many times. I have tried uninstalling and reinstalling as well. Thanks. Any other ideas would be much appreciated.

JSYK My reply while in the thread you started was specifically addressing what posted as notated by the fact I quoted what he said and it is linked to his post in this thread not yours. Anyway I'll assume you're still having problems installing Fusion and if you'd like to read and provide the in information requested in the linked document I will review it and offer whatever I can. Also have a look at and provide the .log files as mentioned in the document.

BTW you do not need to install Windows 98 first to install Windows XP from a Upgrade CD. It a waste of time and it make for a problematic build

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

Thank you very much. Yes, I am still having problems. My machine is a Intel based iMac. I am trying to run Windows XP. I read the attached link. Well, a long document. Honestly, I am not sure what info is missing from my request that would be required here. If anything jumps out at you, please let me know. I would be sure to answer you...but I just don't know what else you need...i'll try to get those log files...coming right up...

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

I am still unable to intall VMware tools. It says I must have windows 98 or windows ME....Well, I have Windows 98...followed by an upgrade to Windows XP. Why can't I install VMware tools into a machine powered by XP?

We have different Tools images for Windows prior to 2000 and after 2000. If you upgraded from Win98 to WinXP but didn't tell Fusion about this change, Fusion will use the wrong Tools image. You can change what Fusion thinks is in the guest by the dropdown in the Virtual Machine Library.

Why does this forum show that my query may be answered? It is not even close to being answered.

Normally you (the thread creator) click on a button indicating the question has been answered. Not saying this is necessarily what happened (the forum software has annoying quirks), but I'm not aware of any other way for it to happen.

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

Eric's reply should solve your issue if the Virtual Machine is still set as Windows 98 and which is why I wanted the log files to see as that is what I suspected. As far as addition information don't worry about it unless Eric's suggestion isn't applicable but I believe he's right on target.

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

I'm 11 hours into this project at this point. Ughh!

When I created this virtual machine, I did not know that I could just use the upgrade disk (a note in the instruction manual calling this point to my attention would have been helpful). So, I installed Windows 98 first. Then, I upgraded it to XP. So, my operating system is XP. Why would I change the OS back to Windows 98, from Windows XP, in the drop down menu? Anyway, I tried this after I read your post, and it did not work. It still crashes before it boots up.

Don't I need to start windows before I can install the tools? The problem is, the system crashes before I can install the tools.

OK. So, I created a new virtual machine again from the upgrade disk. Using this approach, for that machine, I was able to install the tools. Is it possible, without starting it up (since I can't do that), to simply copy the files and software programs (e.g., Adobe, MS Office, Bloomberg Software, etc.) from my old virtual machine onto my new machine. Then, I can just dump my original virtual machine. How would I go about doing that?

Thanks,

Mark

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

Now, my original virtual machine is saying it needs the file: NewXPdisk.vmdk to open. I can see where this file is...and point to it. Then, it says it needs another similar file (slightly different name). An endless cycle it seems.

I never moved this file...at least I never intended to.

What is this file? How can I find it and place it where it needs to be placed?

I really need some help here...

Anybody out there?

This virtual machine could be irrecoverable. I had most of my key files in a seperate hard drive that I added on. How could I add or transfer the contents of this drive to my new, functional virtual machine?

Thanks,

Mark

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

I really need some help here...

Check your private messages.

PaulWood
Contributor
Contributor

Hi mark573,

The vmdk is your virtual hard disk in flat file format. On your new VM that you have created you could add the vmdk file from your old machine and copy the data that way to your new VM.

You add the vmdk by editing the settings of your new VM and adding a hard disk. You can the select using an existing disk(vmdk file) and point it to the one you want to copy the data from. Then start the VM that works and copy the data.

I hope this helps you get the data back and if it does then please give me some points.

Paul

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mark573
Contributor
Contributor

Problem solved. I really appreciate the help I recieved from Woody. Thanks to the other posters as well. The solution ended up being more complex than I would be able to explain, but, for the benefit of others, I can share three key mistakes I made:

initially installing via Win98 and then upgrading to XP...I did not know I could just use my XP upgrade disk. A more significant problem than I had realized. My system crashed too often (which, arguably, contribued to my problems) and was limited in size to 8G...I ended up having to keep some program files in expansion disks.

More importantly, I was too impatient and tried to solve this problem on my own rather than asking for help. As a result, I crashed the machine several times follwoing the upgrade, eventually making my virtual machine unusable. Fortunately, Woody helped me recover most of my lost data and program files.

Obviously, not having a recent backup was another error.

All the best,

Mark

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

For anyone reading this thread in the end the final out come can down to Mark doing a clean build of Windows XP by itself (not an upgrade on top of 98) and then to recover Data from the corrupted original Virtual Machine I had to manually edit the .vmdk's Disk Descriptor File to repair the Disk Data Base section in order to be able to mount it out side of the original Virtual Machine's Package and after seeing it was mountable then added it as a second virtual hard drive to the new Windows XP Virtual Machine while moving the split disk .vmdk files inside the XP Virtual Machine's Package. This was a Primary Data Disk with no OS or Programs installed on it so it made sense to add it to the new Virtual Machine to continue to be used vs just coping the data to the new disk. There were still files on the original hard drive that once had been enlarged and dual partitioned previously so the second partition contained additional data and other files to be saved and was mounted using VMDKMounter and transfered to the XP Virtual Machine via DnD.

Mark it was nice talking with you and thanks for letting me do a remote access and as you saw this would have been a pain in the a-- to clean up any other way. Smiley Happy

Woody

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