@ColoradoMarmot wrote:
Are you trying to install Windows directly on the drive, as a bootcamp install, or as a virtual machine where the files live on the drive?
The first one requires raw disk mode, which is a PITA to setup and unless you have very specific needs, I'd avoid it at all costs and do one of the other options.
The best and easiest way is to format that drive as APFS, then create a normal virtual machine with the files hosted on it.
Agreed that raw disk mode is a PITA. It requires use of a poorly documented command line utility (at least for Fusion it's poorly documented) and enabling a Fusion component for full disk access (also not well documented). The big problem is that macOS does not persistently name disk devices at the OS level. Each time the OS boots it's a crap shoot as to what device name will be chosen for your non-boot disk (it's somewhat but not entirely dependent on when the device is recognized by macOS). When that happens, you're performing the raw disk setup again before powering on the VM.
- Paul (Technogeezer)
Editor of the Unofficial Fusion Companion Guides
