migrated partition question

[TyBo2014]

just updated to a newer computer/OS. Because it needs to support some older soft/hardware high sierra is as far forward as I could come, and therefore fusion 11.5. I migrated everything over from the previous mac with os10.7, fusion 6, and the partition with windows 7.

After the migration I installed fusion 11.5. It all starts up, and some things work, some don’t, but the initial larger problem is that windows shows “this copy of windows not genuine”.

I realize this is probably not a fusion problem, but there are a lot of knowledgeable people here…

Can I assume this alert is because, due to the migration, this is essentially a “copied” version? I’ll have to look into what to do about it, but I’m wondering if that is indeed the basic initial problem, the migrated windows. Thanks for any input.

[Technogeezer]

Some thoughts...

It's possible that you're running into Windows activation issues due to changed physical hardware. While the virtual hardware hasn't changed, the CPU has changed in a newer Mac model. That's exposed to a VM and the "fingerprint" that Windows Genuine Advantage may not match any more. 

You also said "partition with Windows 7". Are you using Boot Camp or pure virtual machine?

If a VM, after you moved that VM to new hardware, how did you answer the question of whether you moved or copied the VM?

• If you answered Copied, that could trigger the Windows hardware check as you've changed the network adapter MAC address.
• If you answered Moved, it's conceivable that the differing CPU hardware in your Mac could have also triggered the Windows hardware check. 

[TyBo2014]

thank you for your reply. The "partition" (my nomenclature may be off) was VM, I never ran bootcamp, the windows partition or drive was created with my initial fusion install some years back.

Pretty sure I selected "copied" with the new fusion install. 

Windows does start up, but there's that alert lower right. Some simple stuff seems to work, for example the printer utility opened normally and let me run a nozzle check to the usb connected printer. But it doesn't seem to like my usb hardware dongle for my RIP software... So there are other problems to address, I'm assuming I should make windows happy first.

[TyBo2014]

might a solution be-

trash the current "copied" virtual machine on the new Mac. Go back to the old machine, open fusion and turn off any shared folders there.

Copy it to the new machine.

Then, I presume when I open fusion on the new machine it will ask me for the virtual machine again, and I can select "moved".

Worth trying?

thank you

[Technogeezer]

It's worth giving it a try to see if that changes the situation. Before copying it to the new machine ,

• Shut down (do not suspend) the virtual machine, and exit Fusion.
• Make a copy of the complete virtual machine bundle. Just for safe keeping - because what I'm going to recommend next is:
• Start Fusion, then delete all snapshots on the virtual machine.
• Stop Fusion.
• Copy the VM bundle to the new machine. 
• Save a copy of the VM bundle on the new machine so if you want to try something else, you won't have to copy the VM from the old system over and over again.

Then, when you start it on the new Mac, if asked about "moved or copied", say "moved". That will preserve the virtual network adapter MAC address. Also, don't upgrade the virtual hardware version.

If you still get the "not genuine" after that then my best guess is the processor change is triggering Windows, and that you'll have to work with Microsoft to reactivate Windows as if this was a physical hardware change (assuming that your intent is to transfer the Windows license to the new Mac).

[TyBo2014]

sorry just one more question, I want to make sure I do this right. By "VM bundle" I assume you mean the "Virtual Machines" folder?. 

Also, I leave the new install upgraded version of fusion app on the new machine alone right? It'll ask me the move/copy question again as it'll have to look for the newly moved machine, I assume..

I really appreciate this, I'll answer with results, if I solve the problem hopefully it will be here for anyone else with the same obstacles. I'd think migrating over to a new Mac would be fairly common.

Thanks, so much

[Technogeezer]

The "virtual machine bundle" is what you would see if you right clicked on the virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Library and chose "Show in Finder"

For example here are my VMs in my Virtual Machines folder. Each one of those with an icon with FUSION is a virtual machine.

And here are details of one of them (right click - Get Info on one of the VMs). Note that the "Kind" is VMbundle, and the filename extension is .vmwarevm:

So you don't need to copy the entire folder containing your VMs, just the bundles you want to move. Under the hood the VMs are actually a special kind of folder containing the virtual machine configuration and virtual disks, but the .vmwarevm extension flags it as a bundle and makes it a lot easier to identify and move around. It just gets to be a pain if you need to directly access the innards of the bundle, but that's able to be done by right clicking on the VM bundle and selecting "Show Package Contents":

You do not need to do anything with the version of Fusion that you already have installed on the new machine. After you move the VM bundle to the new machine

• Make a copy before touching it further.
• From Fusion,  File > Open... (not FIle> Open and Run...) and navigate to the VM bundle you want to work with. That will put it in the Virtual Machine Library

You can start it from there (and answer the question about moved/copied).

if you really wanted to get fancy, take a snapshot before starting the VM up. 

[TyBo2014]

success!

I suspect a straight migration that requires no fusion reinstall and existing bundle won't be a problem. 

I deleting the "copied" bundle, opening the old on the old machine and deleting shares, snapshots, and cleaning up, then moving over. All as suggested. Starting the new fusion on the new machine, selecting "moved", did the trick. Then when Windows started up, there was a fast driver update with no option, a "wait while windows configures Vmware tools", a "removing older versions of this application"... none of which was optional, some reboots, the all was fine, no "not genuine" alerts, everything works as before. Very relieved.

Sorry about the "bundle" conclusion, it was just a nomenclature thing, I knew where it was all along, just considered it a faux "drive", or partition, disk.. whatever. Thanks so much for detailing it all for me, it also turns out the same instructions are on the site, just wouldn't have know to search for "bundle".

All the effort you put into helping me is greatly appreciated, and it all worked.

Bottom line- moving over to a new computer with a new fusion instal, use moved not copied.

Thanks again, bullet dodged

[Technogeezer]

Glad that it worked out for you. That "moved vs copied" question if not answered "correctly" can cause "interesting" things to happen, especially when dealing with the Windows activation system.

I personally have run into answering that question wrong when moving virtual machines around between hosts when the networking configuration in the guest has "hard-coded" the network adapter MAC address. Answering that question as "copied" resulted in me having to go back and manually futz around with network configuration files....