Introduction
Hi! If someone has directed you at this document, chances are you've just asked a question, but have not supplied enough information for us to be able to help you. We'd like
to help, but we can't see your computer so we're relying on you
to provide all the information we need to figure out what the problem is. This document will give an overview of the sort of information we typically need. If you're not sure how to get some piece of information, ask.
Much of these suggestions apply (directly or indirectly) to other areas of life, too
Disclaimer: This is a personal document and is not official or endorsed by VMware. Feedback, suggestions, and edits are welcome. Please use the comments below only for things specific to this document; general questions are better off in the discussion section.
So You Have a Question...
Do Some Research
Before you report a problem, be sure that you've read the release notes, the FAQ, the unofficial FAQ, searched the forums, and searched the internet. You might find the answer is readily available - searching first gets you the answer faster and keeps the forums less cluttered, making it easier to find things in the future. If you haven't taken the effort to look for a solution yourself (however briefly), why should we make the effort to help you?
People may assume you're familiar with A Beginner's Guide to VMware Fusion. While you're waiting for a reply, consider reading it (if you haven't done so already) - there's a lot of generally useful information.
Tell Us What's Going On
Once you've done some preliminary searching and determined that it's not an easily-available solution, it's question time. It's important that you give as much information as you can so others can diagnose what's wrong. Remember that what may be obvious to you, sitting in front of your computer, may not be obvious to someone far across the internet.
As an analogy, if you were to walk up to a stranger and say "I went to the store and bought a book but the red button doesn't work", they're probably going to stare at you blankly. Aside from the weirdness of being accosted by a stranger (okay, the analogy's not great), they're probably going to need to know which store you went to, what book you got, what the red button is, and why you think it doesn't work. And why a book has a button. If you can't or won't provide this context, it's doubtful you'll have much success (in our analogy, remember that the person you're asking can't see the book, the store, or anything else except what you're +saying+).
Or if you're into webcomics, Wellington Grey puts it this way: The Trouble With Tech Support
Also keep in mind that there are many (I'd estimate around 100-200) posts per day - it's important to convey your situation clearly and quickly, since this lessens the work that others have to do. Personally, if it takes 17 exchanges to extract necessary information, I'm going to be... less happy.. than if the information had been there upfront. A few exchanges is OK if you forgot some information or don't know how to get it, but please try.
It may also help to say what task you're trying to do in general, rather than what specifically isn't working - someone may be able to point out that you're overlooking a simple alternative.
Information to Include
This is not an exhaustive list of useful information - if you have more details that you think are relevant, be sure to include them too. These lists assume you have a specific question - obviously the ground rules are different if you have a general question.
Unless you have a good reason to believe something is not relevant, always include all of the following information with an initial request for help:
- Build number. You can find this information under VMware Fusion > About
- What sort of Mac you have (e.g. Mac Pro, MacBook, etc.)
- What the problematic behavior is and what causes it
- If there are any conditions where it does work
- How often you see the problem (e.g. all the time, sometimes, rarely, etc.)
- Has it previously worked in the same setup (e.g. same virtual machine, same computer), and if so, what has changed since then
- How experienced with OS X you are, and comfortable you are with the command line (things can go a lot faster if you know what you're doing, but if you don't say, we have to assume you need lots of hand-holding)
If you're having problems with a guest, include:
- Guest operating system e.g. "Windows XP Pro (German)" or "Ubuntu 7.04 64-bit". Be sure to include details (e.g. Home/Pro/Business/Ultimate/etc., 64-bit vs 32-bit, language, etc.) when applicable.
- Whether you have installed VMware Tools, and if so, which version
- Whether this is a Boot Camp virtual machine
- Where the virtual machine came from (created in Fusion, created in some other VMware product and copied over, imported from some other format, etc.)
If you're having problems with an application in a guest, include:
- The application name and version
- If practical (e.g. freeware, shareware, demos), where others can download a copy to reproduce the problem
If you're having display problems (e.g. glitches in 3D), include:
- What graphics card the Mac has
- What version of OS X you're running
If you're seeing an error message, include:
- Where the error message is coming from (e.g. an application in the guest, the guest itself, OS X, etc.)
- The exact text of the error message. A transcription is preferred (to save space, and images aren't included in email notifications), but even a screenshot is better than "it said there was some problem with some file I don't remember"
If you're having network problems, include:
- Network type (e.g. NAT, Bridged, or Host-only)
- Guest network information (Windows: ipconfig /all in a command prompt, Linux/OS X: ifconfig -a in a terminal window)
- Host network information (run ifconfig -a in a Terminal window)
If you're having trouble printing, include:
- What printing method you're using (e.g. direct USB connection, network printing, Thinprint a.k.a. driverless passthrough)
If you're having problems with a USB device, after you make sure the device is connected to the virtual machine and the guest OS recognizes it, include:
- USB debug log as described in Information Gathering for VMware Fusion
For a Fusion UI crash (e.g. if you restart Fusion, open your virtual machine and it comes up instantly), include:
- /Users/${USER}/Library/Logs/VMware Fusion/vmware-vmfusion-0.log (and others, if there are any)
For OS X kernel panics, include:
- /Library/Logs/panic.log
If you're having Boot Camp preprocessing errors, include:
- /Users/${USER}/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/Virtual Machines/Helper/naos-1.0.vmwarevm/vmware.log
If you're having VMware Importer errors, include:
- /Users/${USER}/Library/Logs/VMware Importer/import.log
- /Users/${USER}/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/Virtual Machines/Helper/naos-1.0.vmwarevm/vmware.log
For a guest Blue Screen of Death, include:
- The stop code (or possibly a screenshot). If it flashes by too quickly to see, you need to disable Window's automatic restart - for example, see Re: VMware Fusion 1.0 and sniffers = BSOD ... help? and Re: How to take a screen shot of virtual machines while in in OS X?.
Etiquette and General Notes
Do make the subject of a thread descriptive and concise. A good guideline is: If someone were to read just the subject, would they know roughly what your question is about? Also, since most posts are questions, it's redundant to say "HELP!!!" or similar in the subject (or really, anywhere).
Do be polite. As far as I know, nobody's being paid to hang out on these forums and answer questions - it's all fellow users volunteering their time and experience. (Not that being rude is OK even if this was someone's job...)
Do your best to make your questions easy to understand. Write in complete sentences, avoid 1337-5p34k, and generally use all those pesky things you learned in school. If you're not sure of terminology, say so. If you're a not fluent in English, note it (so that we can be understanding).
Do be generous in your assumptions. Most people are trying to help, and if they keep asking the same question (e.g. "How is your disk formatted") despite your answers, it's possible you're not actually answering the question. If you don't know how to do something, ask!
Don't use ALL CAPS or lots of punctuation!!!1! - this is annoying and makes posts harder to read. Personally, I prefer responding to questions which don't annoy me and are easy to understand.
Don't blindly chime in with just "Same for me!" Sometimes there are multiple causes with the same symptoms, so at best it's not helpful and at worst it confuses the issue. At the very least, specify any differences (for example, Fusion 1.0 vs. 1.1rc, Leopard vs. Tiger, mini vs. Mac Pro, etc.) and possibly do this even if you do have the same setup so that others know you haven't forgotten this. This is especially true if the original problem has been solved -- if you really are seeing the same problem, the same solution should work for you. If it doesn't, chances are you're not actually having the same problem.
Don't post the exact same question in a multiple places. If your question is answered in every place (unlikely), it creates unnecessary clutter and duplication. If it's not answered in every place (likely), it makes it very difficult for later users to determine if your question ever got answered. It also scatters effort of people who are trying to help.
Don't use terminology or abbreviations you're not completely sure of; even then, be aware that context matters. For example, BT might mean "BlueTooth" to you, but to someone else it might mean VMware's "Binary Translation" technique. "VRAM" might make sense to you as "Virtual RAM", but most people would think "Video RAM". Being explicit helps people understand what you're talking about, which is necessary for them to help you. If you're confused about terminology, see Glossary of Virtualization (and Computing) Terms.
Don't upload huge files unless absolutely necessary. For example, if you need to show the contents of a dialog box, take a picture of just the dialog box, not your entire desktop. If you must show the entire desktop, briefly check for smaller formats - for example, for large, complex images, jpg is usually smaller than the default png of Grab or Finder.
Don't say "the latest version" if someone asks you what version you're using. Imagine the confusion that would result if you (or the reader) was not aware that the latest version is 3.4 rather than 1.7! Do take the time to find out the exact version you're using. If you can't determine this (e.g. how do you check or specify the patch level of Windows?), say how you determined that you're using the latest version (e.g. "I went to windowsupdate.com and saw no updates").
After your question is completely answered (not just responded to), it's nice to recognize useful contribution with "correct" or "helpful" points (you can only give one per post). These points affect user rankings, which can be seen as a very rough guide to people who post a lot of answers to a lot of questions. Note this is not a perfect guide - some people with low rankings are very useful/knowledgeable and may contribute in ways that don't generate points, or just don't post as often.
Users with the VMware-three-boxes icon 
are VMware employees, and probably know what they're talking about
Answering Questions
These are some guidelines I go by, and are mostly common sense. They are of course not binding, just what I consider to be good practice.
People may have "silly" questions, but they may only be "silly" because you've done something a thousand times already and it's second nature to you. Remember that this may be someone's first time with virtualization, a Mac, or even computers in general. On the other hand, people may know exactly what they're doing (and/or know more than you) and may have found an obscure bug.
Some people get confused by the "~" abbreviation for the home directory. I've found that spelling out the entire path (i.e. "/Users/${USER}/") causes less confusion than using the abbreviation (i.e. "~/").
If you're repeatedly asking a question and the other person isn't answering (or is answering a different question), perhaps they don't understand the question. Try rephrasing it or giving directions for how to obtain the answer you need.
English is not every person's primary language. Try to be forgiving, especially if someone points out they're a non-native speaker. Corrections are good, though - they help clear up ambiguities and can help the other person learn.
If you can (and have time), explain why things work the way they do, rather than just jotting down a quick fix. Education sets proper expectations, demystifies computers/software, and just generally seems like a good idea. It may also help you understand things better - as the saying goes, you don't fully understand a thing until you teach it to someone else. That said, sometimes all someone wants is a quick answer. Also, a quick answer is probably better than no answer at all.
If you find yourself answering the same question again and again, consider turning the answer into a document (or adding to one of the existing ones). This will save you typing and hopefully make it easier for people to locate answers.
If someone posts the same question in multiple places, try to pick one place to answer it (preferably the place that makes sense, and where other people have answered). If necessary (e.g. it's been a while and this hasn't been fixed), let a moderator know about the duplicates so they can be deleted. The forum software allows moderators to delete threads, but not merge them - if everyone keeps the content in a single thread, the duplicates can be removed, but if useful content is scattered between duplicates, I (at least) would be more hesitant to delete them.
Simply posting a link to this document might be seen as unfriendly. Here's some boilerplate text you could use (modify as appropriate):
Hi, welcome to the forums! We'd like to answer your question, but there just isn't enough information in your post to be able to do this. Please take a look atHOWTO: Ask (and Answer) Questionsand follow up with details about your situation.
OK, I did not do my research well and got distracted by only one item that I accidentally found ("In new virtual machines, the VMware Shared Folders shortcut is not created on certain French or Japanese Windows desktops."). I was without reason supposing there are more of these But I think the way the document asks for this now is great.