"otherwise this is really not a Fusion issue and it is between you and Microsoft or any other manufacturer's product needing activation."
Ya know, Woody, as much as I agree with you on this point, and I certainly see how it isn't, and shouldn't, and actually CAN'T be VMware's problem to fix, I do need to state that this seems to be becoming VERY VERY MUCH A FUSION ISSUE, from the standpoint of Fusion simply not being able to handle, in a reasonably painless way, running a "normal" version of Windows legally, inside and outside a VM.
Agreed: Microsoft did this, they wrote all the funky WGA and Activation nonsense; VMware / Fusion did not, and they must "Play by the MS Rules"
Agreed: Fusion Emulates Hardware: this trips up WGA and Activation mechanisms
Fact: Many, many, MANY posts here are centered on trying to get legal, licensed, proper copies of Windows to work, licensing/activation wise, inside a VM or BootCamp partition.
Fact: Not everyone is as fortunate as to have a VLK copy of Windows, so this is a problem MOST users MAY encounter
So, as easy as it is to say "Sorry, that's between You and Microsoft", IMHO, it needs to be addressed, even if "all that can be done" is to make the sequence of required events more clear, and consistent, and VERIFY that whatever Mechanism within Fusion is "keeping tabs" on Activation actually WORKS.
Perhaps I'm just too optimistic, but I find it "weak" to assume that a program as wonderful as Fusion can be so easily broken and rendered an unfixable user nightmare simply because it cannot handle Windows licensing Mechanisms adeptly. Even prohibiting "dual use" of a Bootcamp partition as a VM would be a solution... a feature that causes this much grief isn't really a feature.
So, sure, "It's not a Fusion Issue", but when a customer can't use Fusion because of it, it doesn't come across as "Windows doesn't activate properly because their mechanism is a pain", it becomes "Windows runs FINE on my Mac, until I use Fusion, then it doesn't"... If I'm in Marketing at VMware, I don't like that selling point.
I guess my rambling comes down to: If it's harming the User Experience within Fusion, it's a Fusion Issue. Regardless of "fault" or "blame", it's not isolated, it's a known source of problems, and a potential source of trouble for a large current and potential user base.
If it CAN'T be fixed, so be it... but it should be crystal clear as such, or the ability to cause the problem should be disabled. (e.g. BC partition snapshots) The continual "Can't help you, take it up with them" support line happens to be why a large number of Fusion customers bought Macs in the first place.
