ColinLaney's Posts

I own a bought and paid-for 12.0 version of VM-Ware Fusion for my Intel-based Mac.  I already have Windows 7 installed, with software that I need.  But when I try to start Fusion, it asks for a license key!  I thought I already had this install licensed - why is it asking for that number again?  How do I recover my license key?  I do NOT want to have to reinstall Fusion because I'll lose not only my installed OS, but also my installed software.   Assistance, please?

I have a 2012 Apple MacBook Pro with a VMWare Fusion install.  Windows 7 is installed on the virtual machine.  On the Windows 7 machine, I have a $5,000 business program that I want to migrate to a new MacBook Pro. The business program, however, has a (&^(*&(_T! security program that requires a "key."  The key is installed at a specific location on the virtual hard drive.  Every time that the program starts, it looks for that key file at that specific HDD location.  If the key is not there, the program will not start.  The program is now old enough that the manufacturer (now a different company) no longer supports the software. I have tried installing a current version of VMWare Fusion on my new machine and then importing the virtual machine (multiple times & ways).  But the "new" virtual hard drive does not retain the exact file locations of the "old" virtual hard drive.  Thus when I try to start the program on the new machine, the program no longer finds its key at the expected location, and the program refuses to start. Had I any expectation of using the program for another decade, I'd just buy a new $5K copy of the program, but I expect to retire within a year, and want to use the existing program on the new machine (the old machine is becoming flaky). To summarize, the new machine runs the latest OS X, the VMWare Fusion version is different from the old version, Windows on the new machine is a different version than the Win-7 install on the old machine.  Is there ANY credible way to transfer the old virtual drive with file locations intact to a current version of Fusion without losing the exact virtual location of the key file? This is a $5,000 question to me.   Glenn Young

I have an ancient version of VM-Ware Fusion running on a 17" MacBook Pro.  The virtual machine is a Windows 7 install.  There is a single program from that virtual machine that I need to transfer to my new 16" MBP running VM-Ware Fusion 12.  That program has the world's most vexing protection.  It has written a key code to a specific address on the virtual HDD.  Each time that the program starts, it checks that location, and if the code isn't there, the program won't start. I've contacted the program vendor.  They say that the version of the program I'm using is no longer supported, and if I want to use the program on the new machine, I'll need to pay them $5k for a new copy of the program.   Since I already own the existing program, and it is still doing what I need it to do, paying an additional $5,000 is not an attractive option. So far, I've tried copying the virtual machine file to an external HDD, copying that file to the new MBP, and running it with VM-Ware Fusion 12.  The Fusion program gives an error message about being unable to access the HDD, but then starts, opening the Windows 7 machine.  Whatever Fusion is doing to the virtual HDD, however, apparently moves the key code and my program won't open. HELP!  Is there any other way to get my virtual machine transferred without disturbing the virtual HDD? Glenn Young

I'm trying to backup a virtual machine from my 2009 MacBook Pro.  I've been Googling all afternoon, but all the "how to do it" articles that I've found are for later versions of Mac and later versions of Fusion.   Background information:  I'm running a mid-2009 MacBook Pro 17".  The machine is running the latest version of OS-X that the hardware is capable of (Ver. 10.11.6 - El Capitan).   I'm currently running a Windows 7 virtual machine via VMWare Fusion Version 7.1.3.  I need to back up the VMWare Windows virtual machine (in its entirety) because I'm getting a new MacBook Pro that will run the latest OS-X.  I will use the current version of VMWare Fusion and reinstall the virtual machine. It is critical that I reinstall the entire virtual machine with its virtual hard drive intact.  I have a piece of business software installed on the virtual machine that is only replaceable at a cost of >$5,000.  The program is mine, bought and paid for in 2009, and I don't want to have to buy it again.  The program starts using a security key that is at a fixed location on its HDD.  If the program does not find that key, it will not start.  Therefore, I need to copy the entire virtual machine hard drive (including the program and its key) to keep the program active. I've navigated to the "virtual machines" drive from within VMWare Fusion.  The Fusion window displays two files: "Windows 7.vmwarevm" and "Windows 7.vmware.vmsd" I can copy the first to an external drive via Finder, but the second file cannot be selected.  Do I need the .vmsd file?  If so, how do I copy it? I'm also of the impression that once I've gotten my new computer, I need to install VMWare Fusion, copy the virtual machine file(s) to the new HDD, and then open Fusion and ask it to open the virtual machine.  Is this correct? Thanks kindly - Glenn Young

I'm running an older MacBook Pro (OS X 10.11.6 - El Capitan).  This is the newest OS that the laptop will support.  I'm running VMWare Fusion 7.1.3 with a Windows 7 install.  I'm having problems doing file transfers from the Mac drives to the Windows 7 drives in the virtual machine.  I thought that an upgrade to the VMWare Fusion program might enable better functionality.  But when I try to update, the VMWare site says my Fusion key isn't recognized. So my questions are: 1.  Would updating the version of VMWare Fusion solve my file transfer problems?  If not, then my questions stop here. 2.  If a newer Fusion version WOULD assist in file transfers, what's keeping me from updating my existing Fusion to the latest? 3.  If I need the latest Fusion version, and can't update, should I delete my existing Fusion files prior to downloading and installing the latest Fusion version? Additional (possibly unhelpful) information: The two drives I'm trying to transfer data between are an Apple OS-X formatted EXFAT drive  connected to the Mac (can't be read by Windows) and a MBR/EXFAT drive connected to the Windows virtual machine (can't be read by OS-X).  When I copy folders (many of which have nested folders) from the OS-X drive and try to paste them into the Windows drive, I often get a message saying that the virtual machine can't be written to and the copy has failed.  Other times, the folders copy fine. Things I've done so far to enhance file transfer capability: Used the "Security and Privacy" settings in OS-X to give VMWare Fusion control of the machine Used the "Sharing" setting in OS-X to share all drives Googled my tail off looking for other solutions All help appreciated - Glenn

I'm currently running VMWare Fusion 7.0.0 on a OS-X Yosemite 10.10.1 Macbook Pro.  I have a piece of software on my Windows 7 virtual machine that can't be replaced.  To sell the Macbook Pro, I need to get my Windows OS & programs off of the machine.  The new (destination) machine won't have VMWare Fusion on it, but will use a boot camp partition instead. I've tried using the "create system disc" option from within Windows 7 virtual machine, but it seems to copy ALL of Drive C: onto the external USB drive.  Then when I try to install it on a boot camp partition (smaller than the actual C: drive of the source machine), it won't fit. What I think I need to do is to have Windows 7 copy only the 9 or so gigs of the actual virtual machine folder and make THAT into the bootable system image.  How do I do that? If that isn't the correct way to achieve this, what other options do I have? Thanks - and Happy Thanksgiving!

I upgraded to Yosemite - My VMWare 6 installations refused to work.  I paid $100 this morning to download VMWare 7 for my two computers.  It won't install ("invalid serial number").  I called VMWare support this afternoon; they say problems on their end will take 24 to 48 hours to fix. Now I'm without my business software, which I need to teach a seminar stating tomorrow! As soon as I get VMWare working again, I'm recovering my software, deleting VMWare for good, and clearing my drive for a Boot Camp partition.  I just don't need this grief. AMF VMWare.