Uninstalling Fusion 3.x AND Windows

[fmh]

When I double clicked on the uninstall fusion icon I received a message that said that the virtual machines would not be uninstalled. Now, I don't have all the vernacular down pat, but to me that sounds as if uninstalling Fusion will not uninstall Windows. I want to uninstall everything, Windows AND Fusion, and then re-install Windows via Boot Camp. How can I uninstall the whole kit and kaboodle?

[gbullman]

If you have not uninstalled Fusion yet, start Fusion without starting any VM. If it doesn't appear on its' own bring up the Virtual Machine Library from the Window menu. Pretty sure if you select your Virtual Machine and right click there is a Show in Finder option. You should see in finder a Your_virtual_machine_name.vmwarevm icon. If you delete that and empty trash that gets rid of your virtual machine.

Then you can uninstall Fusion to get rid of it.

If you have already uninstalled Fusion then you can search for your Virtual Machine name with Finder. I don't know the default location they are stored in off the top of my head, but perhaps someone else can narrow your search.

Once you locate the VM just delete it via Finder.

It should go without saying that you must get all the data you want to keep off of the VM before deleting it. Once deleted it is gone.

Sorry Fusion didn't work out for you. You do know that you can run either Mac OS or Windows at a time with Boot Camp, but not both as you can with Fusion.

[fmh]

Thanks for that info. Right clicking didn't produce the "show in finder" option that you mentioned, but I was able simply to click on the Windows virtual machine and hit the delete button. That seems to take out the whole thing instantaneously. Don't know how, though, because in Windows it would have taken much longer to delete all those files and programs. Then I uninstalled Fusion. So do I now need to do something to reclaim the amount of disk space that previously had been allocated to Windows? Disk Utility doesn't show a partition, but I remember using a utility of some sort to make sure that 75MB or so (maybe 100?) of space was available to Windows. I don't remember what that utility was now, but it was something free that I got off the Internet.

Fusion was okay, I guess, but Windows really did not perform quite like itself when running as a virtual machine. There were still keystrokes that worked on the Mac OS that I intended to work in the Windows OS, and sometimes it seemed slow and jumpy in doing things. I'm getting ready to put a program on my computer that is related to what I do for a living that comes only in a Windows version. It involves using the USB ports or sound card to record sound, and because these sound files are crucial and I can't risk mishaps, I really didn't feel confident that the program would run flawlessly and record perfectly in Windows running as a virtual machine. So that's why I've taken Fusion off of my MacBook Pro, though it remains installed on my desktop, and I will install Windows instead through Boot Camp. I have Windows XP here and could use it, but I've read that Windows 7 is a pretty good operating system, so It think I'm going to buy Windows 7 and install it instead. That's a pain, though, because I'll have to install antivirus software and a firewall, and they tend to create a drag on performance. I'm not sure how well my Macbook Pro will run Windows 7 because it has only a 2.66 Duo Core chip in it. I may yet wind up to buying a Windows laptop.

BTW, how much of my 320 GB hard drive should I tell BootCamp to reserve for Windows?

[WoodyZ]

Normal default file based Virtual Machines are jusy disk files on the Host's filesystem and if you delete the Virtual Machine Package containing the files that comprise the Virtual Machine and then empty the Trash you will have gained back any disk space that had been use by the Virtual Machine with the exception of any files saved from the Virtual Machine to a VMware Shared Folder. Files saved in the manner are not deleted when the Virtual Machine is and would have to be handled as needed/wanted just like any other file, as an example, in your Document folder.

As to how big a partition you should create with the Boot Camp Assistant that is up to you in relationship to your needs/wants and requirements for the OS and Applications you intend to install and use. So you'll have to do the math however with a 320 GB HDD how much free space you currently have will be a factor if you want to make a large Boot Camp partition.