|
|
VMWare Fusion won't run on my Macbook Air?I have no idea what happened, but I had Microsoft Windows XP running just fine within the VMWare Fusion application, as you documented (see installing Vista in VMWare Fusion) and now it crashes without an error when I try to run it. Help! I need to get this working! You're lucky. Just a few days ago I went through the same problem and was glad to have the email address for Peter Kazanjy, the product marketing director for VMWare Fusion, in my address book because I emailed him directly to ask what was going on. The bug that you and I have both encountered is unique to the Macbook Air and is one that I'm sure will be fixed in the next update from VMWare, somehow: if the program looks for a CD/DVD drive and there is none (which is the case uniquely on the Macbook Air) then it crashes. The solution is quite literally to hook up a CD/DVD drive, but that's not really a long-term solution because I know that when I want to run Vista, I don't want to worry about my external drive! Fortunately, you can make one tweak to the configuration of your virtual OS and solve the problem forever. But it's not quite that easy either. What you need to do is uncheck "Connected" on the Settings window, but if you just click on "Settings" within your VM, you'll find that it's grayed out: ![]() How do you get it so you can unselect it? Easy, you need to hook up an external drive. Do that, quit VMWare Fusion, start it up again, and now you will find that the very same config window lets you uncheck "Connected" and change the settings appropriately: ![]() Make that change, save your changes, and you should be able to disconnect the external drive and never worry about it again. Clunky, but think of this as a workaround more than a solution. The solution is, I'm sure, forthcoming from VMware in the guise of a simple patch. By the way, Peter explained to me how they've managed to reproduce the problem without having a Macbook Air in the office: "We were able to reproduce in house by opening up a Mac Pro and attaching and detaching the cables to the back of the DVD drives in the casing. Sure enough, it shows up there too." Good solution, and you can bet a patch will be out quite soon! Disclaimer: The link to VMWare Fusion is an affiliate link. Your cost for the product is identical but they pay me a commission that helps us keep the lights on. Thanks!
More Useful Mac OS X Help Articles:
✔ Audacity can't find LAME library, I can't save Mp3?
Hey Dave. I read your article Audacity can't save mp3 audio files and am still puzzled because I downloaded the LAME Mp3 converter...
✔ How to remove Dashboard as a "space" in Mac OS X Spaces?I'm a big fan of the Spaces utility in Mac OS X that lets me have multiple virtual screens [see Set Up Mac...
✔ Best place to buy a cheap MacBook laptop?Hi Dave. I am looking for two gently used MacBook laptops for my teen daughters. Personal computers would greatly facilitate their studies as...
✔ File too big error copying to USB flash drive on my Mac?I'm baffled. I have a 16GB Kingston USB flash drive that I use on my Mac system and I'm trying to copy a...
✔ Stealth image capture photo from webcam on my Mac?Someone sneaks into my cubicle while I'm at lunch and takes candy out of my desk. Petty, but stupid too. I want to...
Let's stay in touch!
Sign up for my weekly AskDaveTaylor Newsletter and you'll receive even more tech and gadget help
right to your inbox, along with exclusive news and industry updates. It's good stuff. I promise!
Categorized:
Mac OS X Help
(Article 7929,
Written by Dave Taylor)
Tagged: mac os x, microsoft vista, microsoft windows, virtualization, vmware, windows xp Previous: How do I install Apple Developer Tools on my Mac? Next: Can Windows Vista show multiple clocks / time zones? Reader Comments To Date: 2Keri said, on November 12, 2009 4:50 PM:
Hi Im wondering can you help me. I have a iBook G4 and recently its not working properly. Applications wont open and things wont download for me! can you help me?
I do have a comment, now that you mention it!Check This Out Too... |
Recent Entries
Look for Answers
Recommended
All Our Categories
Apple iPad Help
Articles and Reviews Auctions and Online Shopping Blogs and Blogging Building Web Site Traffic Business and Management Computer and Internet Basics d) None of the Above Facebook Help Google Gmail Help Google Plus Help HTML, JavaScript and Web Site Programming Industry News and Trade Shows iPhone and Cell Phone Help iPod, Sony PSP and MP3 Player Help Kindle Fire Help Mac OS X Help Pay Per Click (PPC) Advertising Pinterest Help Search Engine Optimization (SEO) Shell Script Programming Tech Support Video Help The Writing Business Twitter, LinkedIn and Social Network Help Unix and Linux Help Video Game Tips and Help Windows PC Help Find Me on Google+ ADT on G+ |
How come I can’t install Windows to a MacBook Air using the borrowed network CD drive?
The CD/DVD sharing features does not support the necessary requirements needed to install Windows over the network. You need to create a CD/DVD image of your Windows installation media to install Windows on your MacBook Air. To create a CD/DVD image of Windows installation media, do the following:
Launch the Apple’s Disk Utility by going to Applications/Utilities/Disk Utility on your Mac.
Insert the Windows installation CD/DVD, select the CD/DVD disk and click New Image.
In the Image Format pop-up menu, choose DVD/CD Master, In the Encryption pop-up menu, choose None.
Save the Windows installation CD/DVD image to the MacBook Air or to a network location available to the MacBook Air.