Why I'm getting a refund and switching back to Parallels

[junkshow]

I am so bummed. I was really excited about this release...what a letdown. None of the bugs (um...I mean "known issues") I reported was fixed. The performance is worse than beta 4 or RC1. To me, it feels like you had a release date, and you were going to hit it no matter what.

Right now, Parallels works better for me, which is incredibly disappointing. I don't like Parallels. I feel like it is a hack on the Windows side. But, I can get more done with it, because the Mac OS user interface isn't a half-baked beta that they decided to release anyway.

On the plus side, having competition seems to have gotten Parallels to step up their game AND I'm convinced that someday Fusion will be the best virtualization app for the Mac.

I just can't stomach paying for a beta quality solution.

[aliasme]

I agree Parallels 2D seems faster and generally is less of a distraction. However, VMware has made amazing improvements since the early betas and the difference isn't nearly as great. And when you factor in the performance gains and smoothness from dual cpu on a quad system it's no match-up. Parallels lags and hiccups when you start doing serious multi-tasking. Fusion does not. Fusion wins!

[Stevamundo]

Personally for me, Fusion is fantastic, performance

in Vista in particular (even though that area of

support/drivers is incomplete i.e. unity and 3d

acceleration support). it still runs nicer than it

does in parallels.

Um, wouldn't I give for a Vista compatible converter right now!

[vishtumu]

I switched back to Paralles for a couple of reasons: (a) the documentation, if any, is non-existent. Why dont you provide a PDF rather than a HTML online version of a user manual? (b) Contrary to the loud buzz surrounding how VMWare has better support for USB devices, I had a heck of time figuring out how to make my USB and Bluetooth devices work - the documentation of help really sucks here - I had no clue as to how to make the iSight works - zero comment from Fusion. Likewise for the Bluetooth devices - in frustration, I installed Bootcamp and hey! it installed without hitch. But it disabled my Bluetooth in my Mac completely. There is not a single clue anywhere in the documentation about Drivers and where to obtain them (the question is why do I need to search the internet for these drivers and why does VM Ware not include these in the product?) (c) my CD burning experience was a disaster in Fustion and I created half a dozen coasters in the process - I installed Nero and it did nothing but make CDs that are not recognized. (d) I often need to run the PC in 1024 x 768 and when I switch to this mode, the screen shrinks in size and becomes so small that I can barely see the action - there is black space around the screen where it shrunk in size. I dont like this at all - in Bootcamp and in Parallels, the screen zooms up and this is what I want. To replicate this effect, I am forced to first change the resolution in the Mac to 1024 x 768 before I change the resolution in the PC and then it is okay. (e) the coherence feature in Parallels is much better compared to the klunky window that Fusion puts on screen - when I hide the window, the key commands for full screen and so on, do not work. So, I have to pull up the hidden screen again. VM Ware has a lot of potential but at the moment, it is nothing more than a beta product that has been foisted on users. My advise to VM Ware is as follows: please provide the complete set of drivers in the installation package (if these cannot be included, at least provide some written documentation as to where to obtain these, although, I strongly object to this method). For heaven's sake, provide a PDF of the user manual which I can sit down and read before I operate the product. Please ensure that the CD writing works and please make sure I can switch to a resolutions such as 1024 x 768 AND not have black space surrounding my window and an active window that does not shrink in size and make reading it impossible. When you do these, I could consider switching back to Fusion. Otherwise, I am quite happy with Parallels, inspite of the horrible customer support they have.

[Andreas_Masur]

Well...you know that there is a key named 'Enter' that - if pressed once in a while - makes longer text more readable...

Other than that...I am not sure what I should read out of your post. You seem to have some issues with Fusion which is unpleasant but at the same time it seems a little bit too much for my taste since I haven't seen them reported by others (yet). Nonetheless, what makes me wonder is why you never reported them before in the forums?

There is only one issue stated in your first post and Eric (etung) actually provided an answer that is worth a try. Did you actually try it? Did it work? Did it not?

Don't get me wrong....I certainly don't want keeping you from using the virtualization solution you prefer or that actually works better for you. I just cannot take these kind of (first or second) posts that are nothing more than outlining how bad the software is etc. overly serious - at least when most of these issues have never been heard or seen by others so far. And I hope you can at least partly admit that this is indeed some kind of strange.

I think if you willing to work with the forum (and more important its members) you probably would be surprised how well the software can run if these issues are sorted out.

Just my $0.02 cents though...

Ciao, Andreas

[wdeboer]

It's sad you are experiencing issues with using Bluetooth devices and the integrated devices of the Mac. Only I am curious didn't you got any message the first time you activated the Bluetooth or iSight USB device? Because when I activate the USB devices via the buttons on the right bottom corner of the virtual machine window. I am getting messages that I need to have the Apple Bootcamp drivers installed before the Apple iSight will work.

The message I am getting is:

"The Apple Built-in iSight device requires that you install Apple's Bootcamp driver disc in the virtual machine."

Sounds like clear enough? You are correct it's not part of the documentation, and that it all can be more clear. In the Parallels copy I have iSight didn't even work, and Coherence was really dodgy. Now I don't really use that much anyways, same with Coverflow.

[Oben]

How does one go about getting a refund?

I'm having continued problems with networking and now a new symptom which has left me with the need to hard reset the machine twice.

When I quit VMWare without turning off the machine the VM starts to suspend but Fusion becomes unresponsive and hangs.

Progressively the whole machine becomes unresponsive leading to a need for a hard reset.

After restarting the VM is unusable due to "Insufficient Permissions" or sometimes the "vmem" file is unreadable etc requiring deleting of files manually to get the VM to work again etc.

The VM is on a volume that has FileVault by Apple active so this slows the performance which I can live with, but there appears to be some sort of incompatibility with the FileVault encryption that is leading to hangups.

The network side is also still buggy and unfortunately I've decided that I will go back to the Bootcamp option for when I need Windows. I've also had bad luck with Parallels so I'm going to have to wait till both products mature a bit more.

So where's the refund page?

[hajimehajime]

I switched from Paralles to VMWare because I hate their customer services. I was really looking forward to the latest release of Fusion. However, I am disappointed. First, I cannot burn CD on my santa rosa MBP. I posted my problem few days ago but there is no answer. Second, there is no sound. If you (VMWare team) can solve my problems, I will give it a chance again. Otherwise, I will ask for a refund.

[admin]

There is a known problem[/url] with FileVault, see link for workaround.

Pat's probably the best person to talk to about a refund; you really want someone in Sales but I don't know who to direct you to.

[admin]

Sorry for not answering you earlier - there are a lot of posts and it's easy to slip through. You're using XP, right? It doesn't support CD burning natively, and I'm not familiar with the burning software you have. Are there any logs which might indicate what's wrong?

I see from your other posts that you imported this VM from Parallels - did you delete and recreate the sound device as described in Brian's conversion process[/url]?

[tirmidi]

Sorry for not answering you earlier - there are a lot

of posts and it's easy to slip through. You're using

XP, right? It doesn't support CD burning natively,

and I'm not familiar with the burning software you

have. Are there any logs which might indicate what's

wrong?

I see from your other posts that you imported this VM

from Parallels - did you delete and recreate the

sound device as described in

[url=http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messa

geID=715393򮪁]Brian's conversion

process[/url]?

Three observations here:

1) XP does have native CD burning, and it works just fine under Fusion on my Mac Pro

2) Parallels users are apparently have the same problem. See this link: http://forums.parallels.com/thread14130.html

3) If this forum is the primary means where customers get support, might it not be sensible to have a separate thread in which support requests can be registered, with specific instructions about what information would be required, e.g. type of hardware, type and origin of VM, version of software, etc.? If I were a team member, I would be hard pressed to respond to a question like "CD burning doesn't work. Why?"

Message was edited by:

tirmidi

[DeLellis]

Pat,

I'm glad to see how active you are in the VMware forums. That is encouraging. I've been posting in the thread you started titled "Please review if you are having bridged wireless network issues". For me, that problem is HUGE. I need to run bridged mode to have access to printers and other data on our network. I only seem to be able to use VMware for about 5-10 minutes and often get the message "The wireless network appears to have been compromised and will be disabled for about a minute". Sometimes, stopping a restarting Airport will fix it. Other times I've had to restart my MacBook Pro 17. I've been using Microsoft RDC with a PC since I bought my MB last year, and I can sit tight for a bit while you guys try to fix this, but if my 30-days comes close to expiring I'll have to exercise the return option. So far, I really like VMware over both RDC and Parallels. Any word on this problem? Is it a wide-spread issue? Is there a fix in site?

Thanks for your help.

Bob

[Oben]

I am continuing to have issues albeit not as bad as before after the firewall fix.

There are still random network outages that occur only when Fusion is started and running that make me want to use the VM less and less; whereas I'd want it to just idle in the background for quick switching to it if it were playing nicely.

I'm in two minds about the refund.

I appreciate VMWare's dedication to this product and would like to see it proceed.

What I don't want however is to accept using 1.0 (which I still consider as a release candidate beta since there are so many unresolved issues still) and then be faced with a cheeky upgrade fee. I'd want to know that I got all updates free till there was a consensus that all major usability problems like the networking were ironed out and mysterious hangups weren't occuring.

I'd want to know the roadmap towards 2.0 and know that all point updates would be free and arrive in a timely manner to fix issues. Also that the upgrade to 2.0 when it arrives would be generous to the early adopters who have had to in effect test the prouduct and put it through its paces.

If that were a given I'd be prepared to continue supporting VMWare with this product. Otherwise I'd just get the refund and wait till all the problems were fixed and buy in at whatever price it was in the future.

[hajimehajime]

Hi tirmidi, the Brian's conversion process link is broken. Could you please provide a working one? I posted something like "CD burning doesn't work". A lot of people read it but there is no answer yet. Also, if you know how to get sounds working, please let me know as well. Thanks.

[Andreas_Masur]

Hi tirmidi, the Brian's conversion process link is

broken. Could you please provide a working one?

Importing a Parallels VM or Physical PC into VMware Fusion[/url]...

Ciao, Andreas

[tirmidi]

I posted something like "CD burning doesn't work". A

lot of people read it but there is no answer yet.

Also, if you know how to get sounds working, please

let me know as well. Thanks.

I wish I could be of more help, because I am sure that these problems are very frustrating. Like you, I converted my Parallels VM to Fusion. But I did so a long time ago, before Brian published his elegant instructions. Although it ultimately succeeded, my method was exceedingly tedious and round about. I do not recommend it to anyone. -)

However, I run a MacPro, and have had no problems with sound or with CD burning, nor have I seen many posts reporting such problems on any platform. This could mean that it is not, in fact, a Fusion issue but has to do with your XP setup, or with a problem in the conversion process. Presumably, someone with more experience decoding Fusion logs and XP error messages could help you tell the difference.

Despite my lack of qualification, I would hesitantly offer you the following suggestions:

1) You might start a new topic in the forum, entitled something like: Need help with sound and CD burning on converted Parallels VM. Posing this kind of question in a topic about asking for a refund is not perhaps the most appropriate location to get help. It feels a bit like blackmail.

Start off by describing your system, including the amount of memory (both in your machine and allocated to Fusion), the version of Fusion, the version of Parallels from which you converted, and the version of XP you are running. Then describe precisely the symptoms you have experienced, and any error messages you have seen. There does appear to be a special procedure for sound with a Paralells conversion. Ask for specific references, and for any tips about using it.

2) You might check carefully that the CD device is attaching correctly to the VM, and that it is capable of reading disks. Also, check the Windows Device Manager, and look for any errors that come up there.

3) You might try uninstalling and reinstalling VMWare Tools. I would do this from the "Install VMWare Tools" menu item on the host side, under "Virtual Machine." Make sure to reboot following the uninstallation. Then reinstall from the same menu item, selecting the "complete" option and reboot yet again. It wouldn't hurt to reboot the host following installation.

4) You might build a fresh VM from your XP CD. This will not only test your CD, but will tell you if the problem is with your converted XP installation.

That's about all I could suggest. I hope it proves helpful

[whuff]

I am still waiting for refund instructions for Fusion. They were due to be posted within one week of the general release, but they are still not there.

After trying both Parallels and Fusion there was no question that Parallels was a better product at this point in time for my needs. My needs are limited, compared to many users in this forum. All I need to do is run Quicken for windows and be able to network with my wireless home network and print to a network printer. I was unable to do either using Fusion. It was very frustrating trying to use Fusion since there was limited documentation. After several days of trying, I just could not get the Windows XP VM to find my printer or even to see my network.

With Parallels, the network and printer installation was a breeze. No problems at all, worked just like it does with a PC and joining a network or adding a printer.

I find Parallels to be very responsive, fast and doesn't impact MAC or PC performance. I really like it. I wanted to like Fusion because I own EMC stock, but also because at first glance it seemed like a winner.

But at this point, I just want to claim a refund and would like the instructions to be posted as was promised!

Thanks

[Andreas_Masur]

I am still waiting for refund instructions for

Fusion. They were due to be posted within one week

of the general release, but they are still not

there.

Keep an eye on the following thread[/url]...

Ciao, Andreas

[Pat_Lee]

Sorry it took longer than expected, but the 30-day money back guarantee form is now available online at:

http://www.vmware.com/products/fusion/fusionguarantee.html

Sorry for the delay in getting this online, we had some backend issues we had to resolve.

Best,

Pat Lee

Senior Product Manager - Mac Products

VMware

[Eski]

Just add my bit.. I've got Parallels and VMware.. It's simple for me, VMware wins because it works fine on our Novell network at Uni. I have a secure wireless login in OSX. Parallels just doesn't let me login. With VMware I can login using the Novell client into the network, see my network drives and login into the Groupwise client all in XP. At home it just works with my wireless network. The only compromise is to turn off the XP firewall, but as the Uni network has one and the OSX one is on, I presume all is well. Great stuff!

Richard

[dkwehe]

I have both Brand X and Fusion 1.0. I run Dragon Naturally Speaking 9 to dictate into Mac applications. It runs much snappier using Brand X, so that's my daily virtual machine.

If Fusion could be quicker and more responsive, I'd switch.

dkw.