Does Fusion support x64 guests on a Mac Pro? I only have a Core Duo machine so I can't try it.
The Release Notes mention x64 capable OS's (Vista, Red Hat, etc) but do not qualify the x64 bit versions either way.
Are there any plans for a Processor Check or is this moot with documentation?
64-bit Mac Pro and 64-bit iMac hardware (the latest Intel iMacs are actually 64-bit) is fully supported in Fusion.
We believe 64-bit guests will work on this hardware, but we haven't fully tested them. Please try out 64-bit VMs you have from other platforms and let us know how it works!
Note that there is a known issue with Apple hardware where VT is not reliably enabled on all cores of all processors. If you run into issues, try putting your computer to sleep and waking it back up; that seems to reset the VT state, and once in a while it ends up enabled.
64-bit Mac Pro and 64-bit iMac hardware (the latest Intel iMacs are actually 64-bit) is fully supported in Fusion.
We believe 64-bit guests will work on this hardware, but we haven't fully tested them. Please try out 64-bit VMs you have from other platforms and let us know how it works!
Note that there is a known issue with Apple hardware where VT is not reliably enabled on all cores of all processors. If you run into issues, try putting your computer to sleep and waking it back up; that seems to reset the VT state, and once in a while it ends up enabled.
You probably don't need a processor check utility since all the Intel CPUs used by Apple are VT capable, and so all the 64-bit (that is, Core 2) Macs are capable of running 64-bit guests.
The trick, as Ben says, is to make sure VT is enabled -- rumor has it that this week's EFI updates help with that.
These screenshots are post the EFI update (v1.2) on a Macbook Pro. What's the processor feature flag for VT-x? I'm not finding VT in the list shown above. It is VMX?
Yes, IIRC the VMX flag corresponds to the virtualization extensions.
Scott
What about core duo machines such as MacBook MA255LL/A and MacBook Pro MA600LL/A? I am very tempted to buy one of these on sale but would be a bit bummed if I find myself next year in need of hosting a 64 bit guest VM and could not.
Thanks,
Eirik
Those models above can not run 64-bit guest VMs. At a minimum you need a Core 2 Duo machine such as MacBook models MA699LL/A, MA700LL/A or MA701LL/A or MacBook Pros: MA609LL/A, MA610LL/A or MA611LL/A.
Exact,
You need a Core 2 Duo machine. See the following post for exact CPU support: http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=532145򁺱
I had a Core Duo MBP last year and sold it after realizing that in Windows (BootCamp), the VMware CPU checker told me I could not run 64-bit VMs... It was a big deception then...