VMware Fustion 13.0.2 cannot install MacOS Ventura (M1 processor)

[tjrob]

I just upgraded to VMware Fusion 13.0.2 and installed it on my Mac Studio (2022) running MacOS Monterey (12.6.7). I downloaded InstallMacOSVentura.app from the Mac Store. When I create a new VM, it accepts that app (but with ridiculously small defaults, so I gave it 4 cores, 8GB memory, and 100GB disk).

When I start the VM, it should install Ventura. Instead it says:
    >>Start PXE over IPv4.
    PXE-E16: No valid offer received.
    >>Start PXE over IPv4.

At that point I gave up and shut down the VM. I tried rebooting, same. I reinstalled Fusion, same.

How do I get VMware Fusion to install and run MacOS Ventura?

[palter]

You don't. Fusion doesn't support virtualizing macOS on Apple silicon (M1 or M2).

Parallels only allows it by using Apple's high-level framework but numerous features are missing (snapshots, split disks, suspend/resume, copy/paste, etc.)

If you really need it, I'd suggest using one of the free alternatives -- UTM or Virtual Buddy -- which provide the same features as Parallels for virtualizing macOS. (In the case of UTM, you can also buy it from the Mac App Store here. Doing so will give you automatic updates as they're published and provides the developers support so they can keep working on it.)

[tjrob]

OK, vmware Fusion cannot have macOS as a client on an M1 processor. Strange, and disappointing, but I guess that is a limitation .

I discovered my 2013 (Intel) MacPro is too old to run Ventura .

I installed vmware Fusion on my (intel) MacBookPro that is recent enough to run Ventura, but Fusion would not create a client from "Install macOS Ventura.app" (it accepted it as a boot disk, but failed to create the VM) .

So I ended up updating that MacBookPro to Ventura. Now, at last, I can test installing my app on Ventura,with its greatly increased security requirements.

[Technogeezer]

FYI - trying to install macOS using the instructions in the Fusion documentation (by directly using the "install macOS xxxx.app" installer don't work. There's a bug in Fusion that doesn't create the usable bootable installer - that bug at least impacts Monterey and Ventura installers.

If you need to install a macOS VM on Intel Macs from the "Install macOS xxxxxxx.app", use the following instructions provided by @msschmitt :

• In terminal create an empty disk image: 

hdiutil create -o "Installer.dmg” -size 15g -layout SPUD -fs "HFS+J”

• Open the .dmg to mount it. It probably will mount as "untitled".
• Follow the instructions at https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT201372 to create installer media, aiming it at /Volumes/untitiled.
• Eject the new installer. Also use Disk Utility to eject the Shared Support image; there's a bug in macOS installers that leaves it mounted.
• In Fusion, create a new VM.
• At "Select the Installation Method", drag the .dmg file to "Install from disc or image".
• Continue through the New VM dialogs as normal.

[msschmitt]

you dropped the closing quote in the hdiutil command

[Technogeezer]

Sorry about that and thanks for the catch. I fixed it. 

[tjrob]

I wish I had known this earlier.

I will still create a VM with Ventura, because I want to test on a bare-minimum system, not my working system with XCode and a lot of other stuff installed.

For me personally it's annoying that I have to do this on my laptop, and not my usual development machines (a 2013 Intel MacPro, and a 2022 M1 MacStudio). I hope that in the near future VMware Fusion will be fixed, and able to run a macOS VM on an M1 host.

[ColoradoMarmot]

As far as the 2013 MacPro, that machine's been depreciated.  If Ventura isn't supported on it, getting it to run as a guest is going to be hit or miss.  And of course, Fusion has depreciated MacOS VMWare tools, so there's no updates or fixes coming.  

They did hint that they're working on something for ARM virtualization, but it's likely to just be the same thing that you can get for free.  Apple only supports it using the high-level hypervisor framework, which is really limited.

The wild card is VMWare tools.  They've been depreciated on Intel (so no fixes coming), and the Fusion team would have to port them themselves to ARM (versus using the common tools across the company).  That's a huge cost, for limited functionality and a niche use case.  Not saying never, but until we have full Windows support, I wouldn't hold out hope.