VMware Fusion 1.1.1 does not see my boot camp partition

[JoelMKatz]

I'm doing an evaluation of VMware Fusion trying to get it to work with an existing Boot Camp partition so that I can do embedded software development. (Parallels doesn't support some USB hardware that I am using, but it seems to work in VMware.) I'm running leopard on a 15" macbook pro. My boot camp partition is running Vista and I've been using it successfully for about 6 months.

When I run VMware Fusion, my boot camp partition does not show up in the VMware library. Following recommendations from an earlier post in this forum, I tried running vmware-rawdiskCreator print /dev/disk0, my boot drive, and I'm getting an error message "Unable to scan the partition table of /dev/disk0". (vmware-rawdiskCreator works fine on my external drive, so it's something different about my boot drive.) I've repaired permissions from within disk utility and I've rebooted the computer in safe mode and repaired the disk, but I've had no luck. I'm assuming that there is either corruption of or something non-standard about my disk configuration.

In the past, I was running MacFUSE and NTFS-3g, but I have un-installed both of them.

I'd really appreciate any advice that anyone can give me, or suggestions as to what I might try to get this working. It would really be a big improvement to my work processes.

[MandarMS]

1. Quit all applications in Host Mac OS X

2. Open Terminal utility from Macintosh HD  Applications  Utilities folder.

3. Key-in the following command

$ sudo fdisk /dev/rdisk0

4. Preferrably take the screenshot of the output or Note down the output (for restoring MBR).

5. Key-in the following command

$ sudo fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0

setpid 3

Choose 07 (as the partition type)

write

Y

Restart your Mac System

For more details please check the example shown below:

$ sudo fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0 (this will help to change the MBR)

$ fdisk: could not open MBR file /usr/standalone/i386/boot0: No such file or directory

Enter 'help' for information

fdisk: 1> setpid 3 (Enter "setpid 3" press enter key)

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec

-

---

*3: 0B 1023 254 63 - 1023 254 63 Win95 FAT32L

Partition id ('0' to disable) : (? for help) 07 (Enter 07 Partition table)

fdisk:*1> write (enter "write" press enter key, This will change the MBR)

Device could not be accessed exclusively.

A reboot will be needed for changes to take effect. OK? Y (Press Y to modify changes)

Writing MBR at offset 0.

$ fdisk: 1> exit (enter "exit", press enter key)

6. Restart your Mac System

check you can see the Boot camp entry in Virtual machine Library

[JoelMKatz]

I went through the procedure as described. First, I should mention that partition 3, my boot camp partition was already type 7. The results of my initial fdisk are as follows:

sudo fdisk /dev/rdisk0

Password:

Disk: /dev/rdisk0 geometry: 19457/255/63

Signature: 0xAA55

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec

-

---

1: EE 0 0 2 - 25 127 14

2: 0F 26 0 1 - 1023 254 63 Extended LBA

*3: 07 1023 155 21 - 1023 80 23 HPFS/QNX/AUX

4: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

Signature: 0x0

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec

-

---

1: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

2: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

3: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

4: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

This was unchanged, after performing the fdisk edit.

vmware-rawdiskCreate still gives the message:

sudo ./vmware-rawdiskCreator print /dev/disk0

Unable to scan the partition table of "/dev/disk0".

Any thoughts as to what to try next? It seems like the problem is with the partition table itself, not with the NTFS partition, or am I misunderstanding what the message is saying?

[MandarMS]

>>sudo fdisk /dev/rdisk0

command is sudo fdisk -e /dev/rdisk0

[JoelMKatz]

I did the sudo fdisk /dev/disk0 to show you the output rather than attaching a screen capture. I did do sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0 to make the changes and walked through it as you described and rebooted. (I actually did it twice, just in case I typed something incorrectly. Your example shows changing from disk type 0x0b(fat) to 0x07 (ntfs). In my case, it was ntfs at the beginning and at the end. My boot camp partition has always been an ntfs partition, unlike some of the other people who have run into this problem that I've seen in the listings that I've tracked here.

[MandarMS]

1. Create a new folder in Mac HDD named "Boot camp"

2. Open the Terminal from /Application/Utilities

3. Run the following command shown below in Terminal

/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ camp/Bootcamp ide

Please verify if there are two .vmdk files created in the following folder Macintosh HD/Boot camp

If the two .vmdk files are found in the path referenced above, please create new virtual machine pointing to .vmdk file

[JoelMKatz]

Ok. So I've done what you described as follows:

cassis:VMware Fusion jmk$ (line feed for readability)

/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ Camp ide

Unable to scan the partition table of "/dev/disk0".

Just in case it matters, my Windows Partition is named BootCampWindows. I mention it since there seems to be an assumption that the main drive is called Macintosh HD, and many users change the name of their boot drive.

When I check the /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ Camp directory, it is still empty.

Does anyone have any other thoughts for me. I have this feeling that there is something about permissions on my main hard drive or on my dev directory that might be the source of the problem. I wonder if someone could give me a long directory listing of a /dev/disk* and /dev/rdisk* with a working boot camp partition in fusion, in case there is a problem there. I'm also wondering if I could see an fdisk output from a drive that works with fusion and boot camp.

MandarMS. I really appreciate all the help that you've given me so far. Any other ideas?

[MandarMS]

Hello

/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ Camp ide

in above command name for the vmdk is missing

/Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-rawdiskCreator

create /dev/disk0 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ camp/Bootcamp ide

[JoelMKatz]

OOps. Sorry about that.

cassis:VMware Fusion jmk$ /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 3 /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ Camp/Bootcamp ide

Unable to scan the partition table of "/dev/disk0".

I added in the virtual machine name, but still the same thing. Still no files created in the /Volumes/Macintosh\ HD/Boot\ Camp directory.

I guess I'm hung up on the error message. Is there someone on this board that has access to the source code for vmware-rawdiskCreator to see what causes the 'Unable to scan the partition table of "/dev/disk0"' message. It seems to me like that is the key to solving my problem, or at least peeling back the onion. Are there man pages for vmware-rawdiskCreator?

[JoelMKatz]

I just downloaded a copy of rEFIt and ran partition manager to look at the partition table on my hard drive. Here is the report:

• Report for internal hard disk ***

Current GPT partition table:

1. Start LBA End LBA Type

1 40 409639 EFI System (FAT)

2 409640 216416295 Mac OS X HFS+

3 216678440 312581767 Basic Data

Current MBR partition table:

1. A Start LBA End LBA Type

1 1 409639 ee EFI Protective

2 417690 216668654 0f Extended (LBA)

3 * 216678440 312581767 07 NTFS/HPFS

MBR contents:

Boot Code: Unknown, but bootable

Partition at LBA 40:

Boot Code: None (Non-system disk message)

File System: FAT32

Listed in GPT as partition 1, type EFI System (FAT)

Partition at LBA 409640:

Boot Code: None

File System: HFS Extended (HFS+)

Listed in GPT as partition 2, type Mac OS X HFS+

Partition at LBA 216678440:

Boot Code: Windows BOOTMGR (Vista)

File System: NTFS

Listed in GPT as partition 3, type Basic Data

Listed in MBR as partition 3, type 07 NTFS/HPFS, active

Partition at LBA 417690:

Boot Code: None

File System: Unknown

Listed in MBR as partition 2, type 0f Extended (LBA)

One thing that struck me as odd is that the partition table is showing two partition 2's:

Partition at LBA 409640, a GPT partition 2

and

Partition at LBA 417960, an MBR partition of type Extended LBA

All of a sudden I'm remembering that I had a disaster in which I was trying to format an external usb drive from Windows and accidentally overwrote my MacOSX partition. I'm wondering if this Extended LBA partition is an artifact of that screw up. Is it something that should be there, or is this perhaps the source of my problem. Having 2 partition 2's on the disk. Any thoughts?

I don't want to screw my disk up further, but I'd really like to get this working.

[JoelMKatz]

SUCCESS!!!!!

The problem appears to be that my MBR partition 2 was screwed up and thought it was extended LBA rather than HFS. I used fdisk in edit mode to change partition 2 to HFS with the following commands:

sudo fdisk -e /dev/disk0

setpid 2

AF (enter for the identifier. the extent is wrong as the start location is incorrect, but since MacOS doesn't boot from MBR, I'm hoping this isn't a problem)

write

exit.

After I did this and rebooted, fdisk shows that I have an HFS+ partition rather than an extended LBA partition.

cassis:VMware Fusion jmk$ sudo fdisk /dev/disk0

Password:

Disk: /dev/disk0 geometry: 19457/255/63

Signature: 0xAA55

Starting Ending

#: id cyl hd sec - cyl hd sec

-

---

1: EE 0 0 2 - 25 127 14

2: AF 26 0 1 - 1023 254 63 HFS+

*3: 07 1023 155 21 - 1023 80 23 HPFS/QNX/AUX

4: 00 0 0 0 - 0 0 0 unused

Now vmware-rawdiskCreator print /dev/disk0 shows the following:

cassis:VMware Fusion jmk$ ./vmware-rawdiskCreator print /dev/disk0

Nr Start Size Type Id Sytem

-- -

---

-

---

-

---

-- -

---

1 1 409639 BIOS EE Unknown

2 417690 216250965 BIOS AF HFS+

3 216678440 95903328 BIOS 7 HPFS/NTFS

rather than complaining that it can't read the partition table.

When I type:

cassis:VMware Fusion jmk$ ./vmware-rawdiskCreator create /dev/disk0 3 ~/Documents/Virtual\ Machines/Boot\ Camp/BootCamp ide

it creates Bootcamp.vmdk and Bootcamp-pt.vmdk, vmware fusion finds it, and I'm running my Boot Camp partition.

And the best part is, the USB debug adapter that wouldn't work in Parallels appears to be working. Vista feels much slower than running Boot Camp, and despite what the reviews say, I think that for what I'm doing, it may be a little slower than running in Parallels. But, my debug adapter works in VMware and I'm almost a happy camper.

I really want to thank MandarMS for his patience and getting me pointed in this direction. I can now go off and complete my evaluation before my evaluation license expires tomorrow.

[admin]

Vista feels much slower than running Boot Camp

What is your config - how much RAM total, and how much for the guest? One or two virtual processors? What type of Mac? Is there anything specific that feels slow, and by how much?

[MandarMS]

Hello

It is good to know that your Boot camp partition is working in VMware Fusion, Thanks for the update

[JoelMKatz]

Hi,

I am running Vista on a 15 inch, 2.4 GHz Macbook Pro with Intel Core 2 Duo(Santa Rosa, I believe) processor.

I have 2 GB of physical memory. I have allocated 1350 MByte to Vista and the remainder to OS-X.

I have configured Fusion to use 2 virtual processors.

The hard drive is a 160 GB fujitsu serial ATA drive. I think it's a 5400 rpm drive, but I'm not positive. 45.9 GB is set up for the boot camp partition.

Boot Time is dramatically slower as is log in time.

Menu response is sluggish.

I'm running the Keil 8051 Development tools and the time required to build my current application is about 3 times longer than it takes when I run native.

Sometimes, mouse tracking is quite sluggish.

I just finished installing VMWare Tools, and if you are interested I'll pass on more responses when I get time.

[admin]

I have 2 GB of physical memory. I have allocated 1350 MByte to Vista and the remainder to OS-X.

I have configured Fusion to use 2 virtual processors.

I would try using only one virtual processor, and perhaps reduce the allocation to Vista to 1 GB. Try these separately to see if either or both help.