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nobe01
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Windows will not start

After upgrading from Fusion 4 to Fusion 5 after starting the application can not open Windows 7.
On the display reads:
"Starting Windows", that there is a very long time and nothing happens.
Fusion 4 was no problem.
What to do?
Thank you
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tracywang
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Force shut down the Win 7, reboot your Mac and retry?

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tracywang
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Force shut down the Win 7, reboot your Mac and retry?

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nobe01
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I already by testing twice.
Is it possible to get back to Fusion 4, before solve the problem?
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tracywang
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If you want to roll back to Fusion 4, first open the vmsettings -> Compatibility -> select Compatible with VMware Fusion 4 or higher (Hardware version 8). Then remove the Fusion 5, and copy the Fusion 4 to the /Applications.

If you want to upgrade to Fusion 5 in future, please shutdown the Windows 7 correctly. AFAIK, some force shutdown will take win 7 to a dead loop in starting up. That's a known windows issue which has been fixed in win 8.

nobe01
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Thank you for your answer. It is possible that Windows 7 makes the problem
I did the procedure, according to your advice: first open the vmsettings -> Compatibility -> select Compatible with VMware Fusion 4 or higher (Hardware version 8),
but this step can not be performed. It says: "Compatibility can not be changed until the virtual machine is shut down."
What to do?
Thank you very much for your answer.
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tracywang
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If your VM is suspended, resume it first and then from Menu, Virtual machine -> Shut down to shut down your VM before change the compatibility. If you cannot shut down, press the option and the shut down menu will change to Force shutdown, then your can force shutdown the VM like power off.

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nobe01
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If I shut down the VM and in vmsettings -> Compatibility -> It writes:

"Compatibility can not be changed until the virtual machine is shut down." While it is on.
If disabled, so vmsettings -> Compatibility -> It writes:
"Compatibility can not be changed until the virtual machine is shut down. Compatibility This change, first resume the virtual machine and then shut it down."
But if you do a resume, is setting again:
"Compatibility can not be changed until the virtual machine is shut down."
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nobe01
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Due to the fact that it still does not run, I would like to solve it completely uninstalling Fusion 5 and re installing. Is it possible to back up data that I have in Windows, for them to come?

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WoodyZ
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If you're suspending the VM you will not be able to make the changes.  You need to properly shutdown the Guest OS in that same manner as it it was a Physical Machine.  In other words in Windows you click the Start button and select the appropriate command to shutdown/turn off Windows and then you should be able to change the Compatibility setting.

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WoodyZ
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Is it possible to back up data that I have in Windows, for them to come?

I have no idea what you mean when you say "for them to come" however you cam always backup User Data in a Virtual Machine then same way as if it was a Physical Machine.  You can also backup the entire Virtual Machine Package itself.  BTW Time Machine backups of Virtual Machines are not the proper way to back up Virtual Machine.

==========

It is a known fact that Time Machine is not 100% reliable backing up/restoring Virtual Machines under all circumstances/conditions.  Also backing up Virtual Machines via Time Machine is disk/time intensive and wastes a tremendous amount of space for something that may be corrupt and worthless come time to restore it.  At a minimum I would exclude Virtual Machines from Time Machine and with the Virtual Machines shutdown, not suspended, and VMware Fusion closed then manually copy the Virtual Machines Package(s) to an alternate location, preferably on to a different physical hard disk.  Then keep the User Data that is stored within the Virtual Machine backed up off of the Virtual Machine on a regular basis so as to always have a current User Data Backup.  If you have to restore a properly backed up Virtual Machine that is not as current at least you'll have a working Virtual Machine and current User Data to go forward with when you find out your Time Machine Backup of the Virtual Machine fails.

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nobe01
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As I wrote, I can not shut down Windows, if it is not open (Windows will not start)

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WoodyZ
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If you cannot shutdown the Guest properly you can do a forced shutdown from the Virtual Machine menu pressing the Option key when selecting Force Shutdown.  If that doesn't work then you'll have to kill the vmware-vmx process from Activity Monitor.  Once done then go into the Virtual Machine's Package and delete the .vmss file if it exists.  Then restart VMware Fusion and run the Virtual Machine and shut it down properly from within the Guest OS.  You should then be able to make setting changes that require the Virtual Machine to be shutdown. not suspended in order to make the change.

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