VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

[kevinb23]

I am running VMWare Fusion Player Version 13.0.2 with Windows 11 on Apple MacBook Air M2.

When I ran an earlier version on my Intel Mac, I was able to set up a folder that was shared by Mac and Windows 10. I was also able to copy and paste between Mac and Windows.

I think I had to use VMTools to accomplish this. But I can't find VMTools for V13!

Does VMTools13 exist? Is it coming? If not, will VMTools 12 work?

Or, can I meet my requirements without VMTools? 

With thanks,
Kevin

[Technogeezer]

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@kevinb23 wrote:

I am running VMWare Fusion Player Version 13.0.2 with Windows 11 on Apple MacBook Air M2.

But I can't find VMTools for V13!

Does VMTools13 exist? Is it coming? If not, will VMTools 12 work?

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Other than the network and 2D graphics driver, full VMware Tools do not exist for Windows 11 ARM. That means copy/paste/drag/drop and Fusion shared folders are not available. This is documented as a current restriction.

VMware Tools for 32- or 64- bit Intel Windows (distributed with Fusion 12 and 13) won’t work on Windows 11 ARM. 

VMware has stated that they’re working on Tools for Windows 11 ARM, but as usual they have not stated when they will be delivered.

A work-around to shared folders is to configure the folders you want to share with Windows files sharing on your Mac, then access them using standard Windows SMB network access in the VM.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Strongly recommend reading both the official release notes and the unofficial guide posted in the documents section.  There's a lot of nuances to running win 11 ARM (and the unofficial guidance on how to build it is much better than the official VHDX conversion ones).

[kevinb23]

Thank you very much! You've saved me a lot of searching.

[CallistoJag]

Step 1: Click the Windows Start menu and type PowerShell in the search box. Click Run as Administrator, and click Yes on the User Access Control prompt. (If you don’t see Run as Administrator, right click on PowerShell and select Run as Administrator).

Step 2: Type the following inside the PowerShell prompt:

Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
Press Return on your keyboard to execute the command, and then type ‘Y’ and press Return to confirm the change to the execution policy. Type Exit and press Return to close the PowerShell.

Step 3: In the menu bar click Virtual Machine → Reinstall VMware Tools and click the Install button on the prompt that appears.

Step 4: Open Windows Explorer, navigate to the DVD drive, and ensure that VMware Tools setup is mounted. You should see a Setup.ps1 PowerShell script in the root of the DVD drive.

Step 5: Right click on the Setup PowerShell Script and click Run with PowerShell. Click Yes on the User Account Control pop-up.

VMware Tools will now install, along with the necessary VMXNet3 network drivers and SVGA display driver. After a short countdown, the PowerShell window will automatically close.

Network functionality should now be operational, and you will also be able to configure display settings via Start → Settings → Display. There should be no need to restart in order to enable this functionality.

[kevinb23]

Can you confirm from your own experience that this will work on Apple Silicon (not Intel)?

[CallistoJag]

100% yes, running on my M1 macbook air

[CallistoJag]

Not sure if it is relevant, but I am using the win11 arm64 image from the parallels installation (just install parallels trial period, start the win11 install and close before it starts installation, the .iso file will be in your downloads folder can now use in fusion 13 )

[ravida1234]

Hey Kevin! Your Windows 11 virtual machine should already contain the VMTools installed through VMWare Fusion Player 13, however if they cannot be located then try reinstalling them by going into Virtual Machine, selecting "Install VMWare Tools," and following the installation steps. If VMTools 13 does not seem compatible, try switching back to version 12; alternatively you could experiment with other ways of sharing folders and enabling copy-and-paste between Mac OSX and Windows 11 virtual machines such as cloud storage solutions or shared folders. Hope it helped! We wish for all your success and wish that this information helps!

[RDPetruska]

It does... but as stated earlier in the thread, it is NOT a complete set of Tools like earlier products, or Intel-based Macs.  Currently the Tools ONLY have the video and network drivers, but not folder sharing or time sync, or a handful of other parts.

[kevinb23]

I actualIy tried quite a few things before posting here. 'Install VMWare Tools' is greyed out. And V12 will not run on my machine (Apple Silicon M2).

The reply from Technogeezer probably covers it.

Thanks everyone for your contributions.

[CallistoJag]

This will come with time, this is still early days of ARM64 windows 11 VMs on MAC

[ravida1234]

Kevin, I apologize for any confusion this has caused you. VMTools for Apple Silicon-based Macs and VMWare Fusion Player 13 currently only include video and network drivers; other features like folder sharing or time synchronization do not currently work.

VMWare recognizes this limitation and has begun developing an extensive set of virtualization tools specifically tailored for Macs utilizing Apple Silicon technology, though no timeline has been provided as to when these will become available for general consumption.

As an interim solution, consider alternative means for sharing folders and syncing time, such as cloud storage solutions or creating a network share between Mac and Windows 11 virtual machines.

Again, let me apologize for any confusion caused and hope this information helps!

[CallistoJag]

See my post above, you need to Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned in PowerShell before tools will install

[ColoradoMarmot]

Best option is to follow the instructions in the unofficial guide specifically, in order, while creating the vm.  It's finicky to get working right.

Hopefully we'll get real tools soon.