macbook pro upgraded to an M1 processor, and now I cant get my windows vm to start

[pfitz1138]

My macbook pro was upgraded to one with an M1 processor, and now I can't get my windows vm to work.  My setup is nothing crazy, I just need to run VMware fusion so I can have a windows instance to leverage some MS office functionality that doesn't exist Office for Mac.  Please Help

[RDPetruska]

That is correct.  First off, if you have a Mac with Apple Silicon, you MUST use the Fusion Tech Preview, not the regular Fusion 12.x.  Second, you can ONLY run virtual machines with OS's for ARM processors.  Your existing Windows VM is using the standard x86 version of Windows, and will NOT run on your M1 Mac.  See the Tech Preview forum for more details and conversations.

[Technogeezer]

You might also want to take a look at the following article from the Documents section of this forum, which explains the situation and lets you know what your options are: Running Fusion on an Intel Mac and upgrading to an M1/M2 Mac? Read this first.