Announcing - The Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion

[Technogeezer]

In the time honored tradition (well, at least for the last year) of the unofficial Tips/Techniques for Fusion Tech Preview documents. I proudly present:

 

The Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion

The document that VMware didn't publish, and you didn't know that you needed. Until you do.

The document may be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon-Companion/ta-p/2939907

The Companion document is a collection of tips and techniques that were provided by the broader Fusion community while running the Tech Preview releases on Apple Silicon Macs. It can save you searching the forum for frequently encountered issues. 

The Companion may answer many questions that aren't covered by reading the VMware Fusion 13 documentation. Take a look at it before you start creating VMs on Apple Silicon Macs - you might find something that will make your life easier. If you have a question that you're thinking about posting in the forum, check out the Companion first - it may already contain an answer to your question.

Of particular interest to Windows users is the section on Windows 11 on ARM. This section is chock full of information, procedures, and screen shots that should help you be successful in the installation of Windows 11 on ARM on Fusion 13.

For you Linux arm64 users, you haven't been left out. There is plenty of content to help you as well, especially if you use Ubuntu or Fedora.

This document will be updated as the community experience with Fusion 13 grows and is discussed in the forums. 

Enjoy and please post any comments or questions about the Companion to the Fusion forums.

[palter]

[Edited to correct pricing on UTM]

Excellent work as usual!

I'd like to mention another alternative for virtualization of macOS on Apple silicon -- UTM which is only $9.99 and available on the Mac App Store.

The latest version also allows virtualization of Linux with support for Rosetta 2 in Linux. (Unfortunately, Linux VMs are highly unstable on base M1 systems, apparently an Apple and/or Linux problem.) When I finally upgrade my mini, I hope to use that feature to run my Alpha VMs faster than my Intel NUC can today.

[Technogeezer]

Thanks for the reminder on UTM's virtualization capabilities. It was a little off-topic of my original intent for the document, but I'll see if I can find an appropriate home for it in the document since I did mention VirtualBuddy as an alternative for macOS virtualization.

UTM can also be downloaded for free from its website https://mac.getutm.app - but buying through the App Store helps funds future development.

[tallLeRoy]

I made two Windows 11 Pro .iso files from uupdump.net. I used the same source but built one using a Windows VM and the other using the HomeBrew method in MacOS.

The Windows built .iso was complete except for the Microsoft Store. The HomeBrew build was not complete. Microsoft.SecHealthUI was not included in the .iso; and it is not easily available to complete the Security system. 

Bottom line: USE WINDOWS TO BUILD YOUR WINDOWS 11 .ISO.

You could use the incomplete Windows VM from the HomeBrew .iso to build the Windows version of the .iso to get a more complete security system as well as other things not included with the HomeBrew build.

[Technogeezer]

 - thanks for the update.  Question for you. What build did you use from uupdump.net?

I have a sneaky suspicion that the 22H2 builds might not build as well as the 21H2 versions on macOS. I wonder if the situation is any better if you start with a 21H2 ISO, then let it update to 22H2 via Windows Update?

Additionally,  how did you determine that Microsoft.SecHealthUI was not installed? I'd like to focus some testing on making sure that I can verify how well procedures are working.

I want to confirm this before updating the Companion.

[Technogeezer]

First test on macOS on Apple Silicon.

I selected the latest 21H2 build 22000.1281 (labelled as an Insider Preview channel release) in uupdump and de-selected apply updates from the final page (because it won't be done anyway since I'm building on macOS). Then ran the macOS scripts.

The resulting ISO was build 22000.1. I used that to install Windows 11 Pro in a fresh VM. I used the instructions in the Companion to install from the ISO (inserting the drivers at the point described in the Companion).

The system updated itself during install to 22000.318. I did run Windows Update after that and a few more updates installed. Not unexpected.

After install, the Microsoft Store was visible in the system tray, but wouldn't start. I dropped into a command prompt as administrator and used "wsreset.exe -i' to fully install the Microsoft Store. After install of Store Experience Host and Microsoft Store, the store would now execute.

I did not have any issue with starting Windows Security from the Privacy & Security section of Settings.

The VM was updated via Windows Update to Windows 11 21H2 22000.1281. It then offered to update itself to Windows 11 22H2 (as expected). The update finished with 22H2 22621.819 installed. Microsoft Store and Windows Security works.

So far so good.

Now on to trying installation from 22H2 (22621.xxx) built on macOS...

[Technogeezer]

Second test by building the ISO from uudump on macOS

I selected the Latest Public Release build from uupdump - 22621.819. Like the last test, on the final page, I deselected apply updates.

Then built the ISO on macOS. The resulting build was 22621.1. Like the prior test, I installed using the procedure in the Companion doc.

After install, winver reported Windows 22H2 22621.1

Performed Windows Update. Offered to update Security Intelligence, .NET framework, and the 2022-11 Cumulative Update for Windows 11 22H2, and I updated all 3. Rebooted to complete installation of the updates.

Winver now reports 22621.819. A second check for updates after installation reports that there is an update for Microsoft Defender.

Windows Store not present, so I dropped into a command prompt (run as administrator), and executed wsreset.exe -i. As before, the Store Experience Host and Microsoft Store downloaded and installed.

At this point, Windows Security would not open - said it needed another app.

I re-checked Windows Update, and it said that there is an.update for the Microsoft Defender platform. I installed it. Still says that I need another app to open Windows Security.

It appears too complex of a process to install from the 22H2 Windows 11 builds from uupdump. I'm going to reinstate in the Companion my prior recommendation (that I had in the Tech Preview Tips and Techniques guide to build the 21H2 release from uupdum. Then it will update to 22H2 and all should be working well.

I do thank you for catching this, and I apologize to the community for not testing this out as thoroughly as I should have before including it in the Companion. It will be fixed and a new version released as soon as possible.

[Technogeezer]

An update to the community:

Version 2 of the Companion has just been published. It can be found using the link in the first post of this thread.

Thanks go out to  for pointing out a serious issue with the document's procedures for building ISO media for Windows 11 on macOS. This version corrects those issues.

------

Updated content in Version 2:

URGENT: Version 2 of the Companion has been updated because of a significant issue discovered with Windows 11 ISO media built on macOS using the procedures in Version 1.. Guidance and procedures on how to successfully build ISO installation media for Windows has changed in Version 2 based on these discoveries. 

Users wishing to use Windows 11 are strongly urged to use the procedures in Version 2 of the Companion (and later), especially if you are going to build ISO installation media on macOS.

A glossary of terms that may be unfamiliar to some users has been included in Version 2.

------

(with apologies to The Treasure of The Sierra Madre)

Videos? We ain't got no videos. We don't need no videos! I don't have to show you any stinkin' videos!

 

[tallLeRoy]

Thanks  ,

Your response in v2 of the Unofficial guide seems to be right on. 

You might mention that you can do the Windows build on the 22H2 MacOS install then install the Windows build and delete the MacOs built VM. Time drain, but may be shorter than waiting for Microsoft to update from 21H2 to 22H2.

 

[Technogeezer]

I thought about that. It's certainly an option since the 22H2 ISO will build the "correct" ISO even on the broken Windows VM. I just wanted to keep the procedure for installation as simple as possible. I'll make a note in the next version.

Sometimes, though, less is more. People have a tough enough time with this process, and even something you and I might find simple can cause other peoples' heads to spin.

In my haste, I forgot to acknowledge you in the V2 document. That's fixed and you will be properly cited in the next version. 

Thanks!

[treee]

I have some corrections for the document:

In the acknowledgements at page 1 it is says "running multiple hypervisors". On page 10 the title for 2.6 also mentions "multiple hypervisors" as well as the link that is mentioned there. I would refrain from using that terminology as it is no longer accurate. Due to recent changes in macOS the only hypervisor you can only (or have to) use the in-built one that is generally known as hypervisor.framework. It is best to use more general wording like "virtualization product". This is what is used in the body of chapter 2.6. Perhaps expanding chapter 2.6 with this info would also suffice.

Then there is also the definition of "hypervisor" on page 4. Not sure if that is entirely correct as in general the definition only mentions the creation and running of virtual machines. Lots of hypervisors have outsourced the management part to a different type of tooling (sometimes an app, sometimes a management server). As explained above it remains to be seen whether the mentioned examples are using their own hypervisor or that of macOS itself. They are no longer good examples to use, I feel that ESXi would be a better one.

In chapter 2.1 on page 6 you should also mention that running (docker) containers with vctl is (currently) not possible. The vctl tool is indeed part of the package but it is x86_64 and as a result runs via Rosetta2. When you want to use containers you have to use vctl to start a linux vm with a container runtime. This seems to not work because vctl runs via Rosetta2 and will try to fire up an x86_64 vm. Rosetta 2 does not support virtual machines so starting a vm won't work. Trying to run containers with vctl will result in an error that the vm isn't started. The Fusion manual does mention vctl being Intel-only, you can only find that in the title.

Chapter  2.1 also mentions nested virtualization. The reasoning why that isn't supported is described as if it were facts while in reality they are no more than speculation. There is no official word that nested virtualization isn't supported, let alone that the hardware and software doesn't allow it. We only have some pieces of the puzzle but not the entire puzzle. I think it is best to remove it since the other bullet points also have no explanation as to why they aren't working on Apple Silicon; it is something that simply doesn't matter.

In the next chapter (2.2) it is mentioned that VirtualBox doesn't run on Apple Silicon. This is outdated info as VirtualBox now has a developer preview that runs on Apple Silicon. Could you update that part?

The next chapter is 2.3 after which chapter 2.4 follows except that it doesn't The numbering goes back to 2.2 (see page 8). That needs fixing.

Speaking of the second chapter 2.2 (the one on page 8): can that first sentence on page 5 for the definition of open-vm-tools also be used in chapter on page? It is a more accurate description of what open-vm-tools is than what is currently on page 8 and brings that chapter in line with the definition of open-vm-tools.

I also noticed that some distributions have shared issues such as having to blacklist vmwgfx. Would it be an idea to generalise the Linux part of the document and only add a few chapters mentioning specific issues of a Linux distro (an example would be the page size used by RHEL 8.x which is also used by all distros based on RHEL)?

Lastly kudos for noting that OpenSUSE Tumbleweed still has to be created the custom way. The bug I mentioned during the tech preview is still there: when using the easy setup wizard it will use the suse template but unfortunately that template is still x86_64 (this is not a biggy, I think the lack of vctl is a bigger issue). And of course big kudos for making the document in the first place

[Technogeezer]

---

 wrote:

I have some corrections for the document:

In the acknowledgements at page 1 it is says "running multiple hypervisors". On page 10 the title for 2.6 also mentions "multiple hypervisors" as well as the link that is mentioned there. I would refrain from using that terminology as it is no longer accurate. Due to recent changes in macOS the only hypervisor you can only (or have to) use the in-built one that is generally known as hypervisor.framework. It is best to use more general wording like "virtualization product". This is what is used in the body of chapter 2.6. Perhaps expanding chapter 2.6 with this info would also suffice.

---

I agree with you on this. Done.

Then there is also the definition of "hypervisor" on page 4. Not sure if that is entirely correct as in general the definition only mentions the creation and running of virtual machines. Lots of hypervisors have outsourced the management part to a different type of tooling (sometimes an app, sometimes a management server). As explained above it remains to be seen whether the mentioned examples are using their own hypervisor or that of macOS itself. They are no longer good examples to use, I feel that ESXi would be a better one.

It's still software that's partitioning and abstracting hardware resources to run multiple operating systems, whether it's implemented by the software itself or outsourced to APIs such as Hyper-V. I do agree that the definition may need to be clarified. 

Chapter  2.1 also mentions nested virtualization. ...   I think it is best to remove it since the other bullet points also have no explanation as to why they aren't working on Apple Silicon; it is something that simply doesn't matter.

Agreed. 

In the next chapter (2.2) it is mentioned that VirtualBox doesn't run on Apple Silicon. This is outdated info as VirtualBox now has a developer preview that runs on Apple Silicon. Could you update that part?

I had not heard that the developer preview of Virtual Box was available for Apple Silicon. Thanks for straightening me out on that!

The next chapter is 2.3 after which chapter 2.4 follows except that it doesn't The numbering goes back to 2.2 (see page 8). That needs fixing.

Oops. That's what happens when you proofread your own documents.

Speaking of the second chapter 2.2 (the one on page 8): can that first sentence on page 5 for the definition of open-vm-tools also be used in chapter on page? It is a more accurate description of what open-vm-tools is than what is currently on page 8 and brings that chapter in line with the definition of open-vm-tools.

Not a bad idea. Consistency does count.

I also noticed that some distributions have shared issues such as having to blacklist vmwgfx. Would it be an idea to generalise the Linux part of the document and only add a few chapters mentioning specific issues of a Linux distro (an example would be the page size used by RHEL 8.x which is also used by all distros based on RHEL)? 

I struggled with this one. Let me think about it some more as you have a good point.

Lastly kudos for noting that OpenSUSE Tumbleweed still has to be created the custom way. The bug I mentioned during the tech preview is still there: when using the easy setup wizard it will use the suse template but unfortunately that template is still x86_64.

Now that you mention it. I should make the point a bit clearer that the drag/drop method won't work for Tumbleweed as well as Leap.

Thanks for the feedback. The goal is to make the document as useful to Fusion users as possible, and you've certainly helped.  

 

[Technogeezer]

Hello and welcome to December 2022. It's time for another update to the Companion. Version 3 can be found in the link posted at the start of this thread.

------

Updated content in Version 3:

The wording of some content has been modified from community feedback to improve its accuracy.

Creation of a new Archived Topics section to preserve workarounds for issues that have been fixed by newer releases of Fusion and/or Linux/Windows versions.

Updating of the RHEL section to reflect the release of RHEL 9.1 and fixing of several issues.

Addition of recommendations for the creation of an OpenSUSE Tumbleweed virtual machine.

Addition of URLs for download of Ubuntu daily releases, some of which were formerly found in the Tech Preview Testing Guide.

Better quality screen shot images in the procedure for building Windows 11 ISO images on the Mac.

Additional items in the glossary.

------

[slither2007]

Thanks for the guide!

I've been running Fedora 37 without issues on my MBP 14. I have noticed that despite 3d acceleration being enabled in its fusion vm settings, I can't actually see Fedora confirming acceleration is enabled. Is this normal?

The experience is still smooth and fluid, window auto-resizing and retina resolution support works great, just thought I'd share this

The output of glxinfo shows it's not accelerated and misreport the dedicated 8GB vram.

name of display: :0
display: :0 screen: 0
direct rendering: Yes
Extended renderer info (GLX_MESA_query_renderer):
Vendor: VMware, Inc. (0x15ad)
Device: SVGA3D; build: RELEASE; LLVM; (0x406)
Version: 22.2.3
Accelerated: no
Video memory: 1MB
Unified memory: no
Preferred profile: core (0x1)
Max core profile version: 4.3
Max compat profile version: 4.3
Max GLES1 profile version: 1.1
Max GLES[23] profile version: 3.1
OpenGL vendor string: VMware, Inc.
OpenGL renderer string: SVGA3D; build: RELEASE; LLVM;
OpenGL core profile version string: 4.3 (Core Profile) Mesa 22.2.3
OpenGL core profile shading language version string: 4.30
OpenGL core profile context flags: (none)
OpenGL core profile profile mask: core profile

OpenGL version string: 4.3 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 22.2.3
OpenGL shading language version string: 4.30
OpenGL context flags: (none)
OpenGL profile mask: compatibility profile

OpenGL ES profile version string: OpenGL ES 3.1 Mesa 22.2.3
OpenGL ES profile shading language version string: OpenGL ES GLSL ES 3.10

 

I also see this in Chrome when checking gpu support in chrome://gpu

Graphics Feature Status
Canvas: Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable
Canvas out-of-process rasterization: Disabled
Direct Rendering Display Compositor: Disabled
Compositing: Software only. Hardware acceleration disabled
Multiple Raster Threads: Enabled
OpenGL: Disabled
Rasterization: Software only. Hardware acceleration disabled
Raw Draw: Disabled
Video Decode: Software only. Hardware acceleration disabled
Video Encode: Software only. Hardware acceleration disabled
Vulkan: Disabled
WebGL: Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable
WebGL2: Software only, hardware acceleration unavailable
WebGPU: Disabled
Problems Detected
WebGPU has been disabled via blocklist or the command line.
Disabled Features: webgpu
Accelerated video encode has been disabled, either via blocklist, about:flags or the command line.
Disabled Features: video_encode
Accelerated video decode has been disabled, either via blocklist, about:flags or the command line.
Disabled Features: video_decode
Gpu compositing has been disabled, either via blocklist, about:flags or the command line. The browser will fall back to software compositing and hardware acceleration will be unavailable.
Disabled Features: gpu_compositing
...

 

[Technogeezer]

What you are seeing is normal (from what I see) from glxinfo when you enable 3D acceleration for the VM. The extended rendering info is your key - denoting the detection of the VMware SVGA3D device. That device is not detected if you turn off 3D acceleration for the VM.

Also, from what I read on the web, Chrome on Linux is a particularly bad program to judge whether GPU support is enabled in Linux or not. There are articles as recent as earlier this year saying that Google has not and will not enable hardware GPU acceleration for Chrome on Linux. Even if you think you've turned it on within Chrome's preferences, there's still no GPU acceleration.

The excuses given by Google are that 1) Google values stability of the browser over GPU acceleration, 2) they don't have the resources to do it, and 3) that the Linux GPU 3D device drivers are immature. Pick the excuse you wish, but it looks like they all lead to the same destination. No GPU acceleration for you, Linux.

There are supposedly some unofficial patches out there for Chrome that some say work, and others say don't. 

If you want to see if 3D is really there, I like running two programs: glxgears and glmark2.

glxgears will seem to give higher frame rates when when 3D support is disabled for the VM, but you will see that lots of CPU time is being used and the frame rate will drop as you increase the window size.  When 3D support is enabled, glxgears ties its frame rate to the refresh rate of the screen (typically 60Hz) making the frame rate lower than without 3D support. But glxgears uses very little CPU time in the VM, and the frame rate stays pretty constant if you resize its window.

On my Mac mini M1, glmark2 gives a composite score of 350 with 65-80% cpu time when 3D support is disabled. Enable 3D support, and the composite score rises to 2900 with < 15% cpu time in the VM.

 

[Technogeezer]

The Companion has been updated to version 4. It can be found via that link at in the first post in this thread.

This is a minor update that corrects the links for download of Ubuntu installation ISOs, and adds information on the Ubuntu 23.04 development daily builds. 

[Technogeezer]

Happy New Year to everyone (albeit a couple of days early).

The Companion has been updated to version 5. It can still be found via the link in the first post in this thread.

Updated content in Version 5:

Details on the requirements for 3D support on Linux guests has been added, filling in the missing pieces that VMware did not include in the release notes or documentation. Several questions about this have been asked recently in the forums.

The section on the 'Start pxe over IPv4" message has been moved to the General Notes section and enhanced, as it impacts all guests.

Multiple monitors and Unity have been added to the list of features not supported by Fusion 13 on Apple Silicon.

Text mode installation now works for latest versions of the CentOS 9 Stream installer. The former workaround has been moved to the Archived Topics section.

The Glossary has been moved to the end of the document.

Minor formatting issues such as typos, section numbering, and table layout have been corrected.

Request to the community for any info on what works and what doesn't in the Oracle VirtualBox 7 developer preview on Apple Silicon - what really works and what doesn't because it's not clear from any documentation provided by VirtualBox.

------

[Technogeezer]

Version 6 of the Companion has just been published. 

First update of 2023, and an important one if you use OpenSUSE Tumbleweed! See the first link of this thread, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

Updated content in Version 6:

A workaround is included for a bug recently found in OpenSUSE Tumbleweed snapshots 20221219 and later. The bug prevents installation from newly download installer ISOs, and breaks existing VMs updating to the latest Tumbleweed snapshot. This bug is not exclusive to Fusion on Apple Silicon. It impacts any physical and virtual ARM64 architecture installation.

Fixed some typos in the Ubuntu 22.04.1 download links. The links work properly but the descriptive text in the table had some fat-fingered version numbers. 

[Technogeezer]

Version 7 of the Companion Guide has just been published.  See the first post of this thread for the link to the guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

Tumbleweed and Windows users will be happy with this update to the guide. Ubuntu users, well, not so much thanks to Ubuntu.

Updated content in Version 7:

• Addition of a "known good distribution" list earlier in the guide. That may help users new to Fusion 13 to select a distribution.
• Update to the OpenSUSE Tumbleweed installation and upgrade issues noted in version 6 of the guide (short version: they're fixed!).
• Re-verification of Ubuntu download links. Bad news, though. Ubuntu has removed arm64 ISOs for the pre-release 23.04 daily builds. 
• Clarification on how to obtain Ubuntu Desktop on ARM (short version: they don't make it easy).
• Addition of info on Microsoft licensing and activation for Windows 11 ARM.
• Addition of information to the Windows 11 installation from ISO procedure. The procedure has been enhanced with screen shots of of Windows Setup immediately after boot from an installation ISO.
• Update of free disk space requirements when building ISOs from uupdump.net on Windows.

[Technogeezer]

Version 8 of the Companion Guide is now available. See the first post of this thread for the link to the guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

This update contains content will be of interest to those that use MacPorts instead of Homebrew for open source package management.

Changed in version 8:

• Added of OpenSUSE Leap 15.5 alpha as a distro known to work with Fusion.
• Re-branded the Glossary as Appendix A
• Moved instructions for obtaining open source utilities from Homebrew into Appendix B. 
• Added an Appendix C containing instructions for obtaining open source utilities from MacPorts as an alternative to Homebrew.
• Procedures in the Windows 11 ARM section remove references to Homebrew. They now assume that required open source utilities have been installed from either Appendix B (Homebrew) or Appendix C (MacPorts).

[Technogeezer]

Version 9 of the Companion Guide is now available See the first post of this thread for the link to the Guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

This has been a busy week, with two major issues covered in this update. The first issue is Ubuntu is being Ubuntu once again, as they broke the console display in a recent kernel update to 22.10. The second issue is the discovery of failures when building an ISO from uupdump.net on macOS when the open-source tools have been installed from Homebrew. Both issues are discussed (with workarounds) in this update.

Changed in version 9:

• Added information on a newly discovered issue with blank screens on boot of Ubuntu 22.10 VMs. Ubuntu has broken their kernel once again with an update, and procedures have been included to provide a workaround..
• Re-introduction of instructions for building the "mainline" utility for installing alternate kernels in an Ubuntu VM. This was required as part of the workaround to Ubuntu 22.10 recent kernel issues.
• Appendix B now includes instructions for Homebrew users to install an alternate cabextract utility that works around an issue that caused ISO builds from uupdump.net to fail on macOS systems.

[Technogeezer]

Version 10 of the Companion Guide is now available See the first post of this thread for the link to the Guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

The biggest change in Version 10 is guidance on how to "convert" a Ubuntu Server VM into the equivalent of a Ubuntu Desktop. This is useful since Ubuntu doesn't seem to be making Ubuntu Desktop builds available for ARM architecture any more.

Changed in version 10:

• Re-worded section 2.4 to more clearly indicate that Fusion 13 does not run Intel VMs. Added users with existing VMs on Intel Macs as a user base impacted by this.
• Added a procedure to "convert" an Ubuntu Server installation into the equivalent of an Ubuntu Desktop.
• Re-verified links to Ubuntu downloads.
• For Windows 11 ARM, in General Notes re-stated and emphasized a recommendation to install from ISO rather than using Windows Insider VHDX.
• Document restructuring: Separated the sections about obtaining Windows 11 ARM ISOs from the section that discusses how to build and install from ISO.
• Added the discovery that the ISO downloaded by Parallels 18 can be used to install a VM in Fusion 13.
• Added a note to section 12.6 to discourage the installation of a VM from Insider Preview VHDX files.
• Added a warning to the Windows 11 folder sharing workaround to disable file sharing when connected to insecure networks.
• A complete change log is now available as a separate document.

[Technogeezer]

Version 11 of the Companion Guide is now available. See the first post of this thread for the link to the Guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

The authors of cabextract have fixed the issues that prevented builds from uupdump.net to fail on macOS. This version updates the discussion of this to reflect the availability of the new version

Changed in version 11:

• Updated to reflect the availability of cabextract version 1.11 which fixes the issues encountered by Homebrew users when building ISOs from uupdump.net
• Corrected backout instructions for manual installation of cabextract 1.9.1 from sources in Appendix D.

 

[Technogeezer]

Version 12 of the Companion Guide is now available. See the first post of this thread for the link to the Guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

This is a biggie, folks! Version 12 is a major revision that includes a new procedure for building ISOs for Windows 11 ARM. It's faster and more reliable than the uupdump process. It builds an ISO containing the Retail release of Windows 11 ARM 22H2 22621.525 on macOS (the same release that Parallels 18 is using). There is no longer a need to have a Windows system to directly obtain Windows 11 22H2.

The secret to this new process is a newly developed script. The script is available in the VMware Fusion Documents subforum, and a link to it is provided in the Guide. Instructions on how to use it are also included in the Guide.

These processes will remain in the Guide until either Microsoft releases an ISO for Windows 11 ARM like they do for Windows 11 x64, or VMware updates VMware Fusion to do something similar to what Parallels does.

Note that building from ISOs from uupdump.net and installing a VM from Windows 11 ARM Insider Preview VHDX files are now considered deprecated. The instructions have been removed from Version 12 of the Companion Guide. Version 11 still contains these instructions and remains available for download from the page for the Companion Guide if you really want them.

Changes in version 12 02-Mar-2023

• Heavily revised with new recommended procedures for building ISOs for Windows 11 ARM. The new procedures use a newly developed script to download Windows 11 ARM ESDs from Microsoft and build an installation ISO from it. These procedures should make ISO creation easier, faster, and more reliable than the uupdump procedures.

• A link to the script required for the new ISO build process has been included in the Guide.

• Removal of all instructions for building ISOs from uupdump.net These procedures considered obsolete with the introduction of the new script. The procedures are still available in Version 11 of this Guide which remains available on the VMware Fusion Documents forum.

• Removal of all instructions for building VMs using Windows Insider Preview VHDX files. These procedures are considered obsolete due to Microsoft not updating the Insider Preview VHDX files, and the introduction of the new script to build ISO files. These procedures can still be found in Version 11 of this Guide which remains available on the VMware Fusion Documents forum.

• Appendix B and C now include instructions on how to install Homebrew and MacPorts respectively.

[ColoradoMarmot]

Let me chime in with Kudos - I tested the script and not only is it much much easier that either the vhdx or uuddump methods, it's substantially faster (and best of all, it gets you the latest and greatest ISO).

Highly recommended to use this new procedure.

[Technogeezer]

Beware the Ides of March! Version 13 of the Companion Guide has just been published. See the first post of this thread for the link to the Guide, or search the forum for the term "Companion".

Some minor updates in this version:

Version 13 15-Mar-2023

• Removal of Appendix D containing the Windows 11 language tags. This information can now be found using the w11arm_esd2iso tool.
• Addition of Fedora 38 beta to list of known good Linux distributions.
• Removal of references to Fedora 35 as it is considered EOL by the Fedora Project.
• Addition of EOL information for Fedora 36.
• Fixing of minor typos.

Ubuntu 22.10 is still broken - no fix from Canonical yet, so the workaround for the broken kernel still remains in the Companion. (reminds me of Weekend Update from the 1975 season of NBC's Saturday Night where Chevy Chase would state: "This breaking news just in. Generalissimo Francisco Franco is still dead.")

[ColoradoMarmot]

Groundhog day - Ubuntu breaks something.

[qsmgmt]

minor typos in section 11.5

In the commands for step 3 and step 6 to manage system-networkd service, two of the lines have syste<n>ctl, not syste<m>ctl

And I appear to have fumbled something with the 22.10 conversion, after rebooting, all I see is

EFI stub: Booting Linux Kernel...

EFI stub: EFI_RNG_PROTOCOL unavailable

EFI stub: USINGDTB from configuration table

EFI stub: Exiting boot services...

Guess I will try again tomorrow being more careful about following instructions

 

[Technogeezer]

 Thanks for finding the typos, they’ll be fixed in the next version I’m working on. 

Personally, I'd avoid 22.10 like the plague right now because Ubuntu's broken the kernels in their latest updates to that version. That is, unless you use the procedures in the Guide to install an alternate kernel. The released 22.04.2 Server and the 23.04 daily builds still work. 

[Technogeezer]

 - You haven't fumbled anything, IMO. After a fresh install of 22.10 Server, I believe you are hitting the broken Ubuntu kernel issue if you see these

EFI stub: Booting Linux Kernel...
EFI stub: EFI_RNG_PROTOCOL unavailable
EFI stub: USINGDTB from configuration table
EFI stub: Exiting boot services...

and with a blank console. Ubuntu thinks it's doing you a favor by installing updates to your initial installation. In most cases that's exactly what you want it to do. In this case, that brings the problem of their broken kernel to you.

Follow the procedure that's found in the "Blank console display in Ubuntu 22.10 with kernel 5.19.0-31" in the guide to install and boot an Ubuntu kernel that does not exhibit the problem. The easiest kernel to re-install is the 5.19.0-29 version which is the last Ubuntu released kernel known to work before they broke it.

[Technogeezer]

Version 14 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon-Companion-Guide/ta-p/2939907

Changes in this version

• Removal of download link to Ubuntu Desktop 22.10 daily builds. Ubuntu's broken 5.19 kernel now extends to that release.Use 22.10 Server instead and "convert" to Desktop per instructions in the Guide.

• Inclusion of warnings not to use Ubuntu HWE kernels for 22.04.2. Again, that kernel is broken.

• Ubuntu 22.10 latest kernels are still broken.

• Addition of a link to an excellent video documenting the entire Window 11 ARM download and installation process based on the content in the Companion Guide. It's worth a watch.

• Updating of guidance for configuring printers both Windows and Linux VMs when using NAT networking.

[Technogeezer]

Version 15 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

Changes in this version

• Updated to reflect the beta release of Ubuntu 23.04 “Lunar Lobster”.
• Correction to command in step 6B of the procedure to recover from installation of Ubuntu kernel 5.19.0-31.
• Strengthening the warnings that Windows 11 ISOs downloaded directly from Microsoft will not work to build a VM on Apple Silicon.
• Update of URL for walk-through video of Windows 11 installation.
• Addition of warning that the Windows 11 ISO build procedure in section 12.4 works on macOS only.
• And in case you were wondering, Ubuntu updated 22.10 and 22.04.2 HWE kernels are still broken. VMware's analysis linked to in the Guide indicates this is due to Ubuntu not back porting a complete set of kernel patches.

[Technogeezer]

Version 16 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

Changes in this version

• Ubuntu 23.04 "Lunar Lobster" is now released. The Companion is updated to reflect this.
• Fedora 38 is now released. The Companion is updated to reflect this.
• Addition of a section for Oracle Linux.
• The Archived Topics section has been moved to a new Appendix D. 

Good news: Ubuntu has identified the cause of the console display failures in Ubuntu 22.10, and is working on a fix. With the release of Ubuntu 23.04 and the impending EOL of 22.10 in July 2023, you may wish to consider ditching 22.10 altogether and moving to 23.04. 23.04 does not exhibit the problems.

[Technogeezer]

Version 17 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

Big news in this update: The utility to convert Microsoft Windows 11 ARM ESDs to installation ISO has undergone some major enhancements. It no longer requires users to install Homebrew, MacPorts, open-source packages, or Xcode in order to build Windows 11 ARM ISO installation media. The procedures contained in the Companion Guide to obtain Windows 11 ARM ISOs in the Companion Guide have been simplified because of these changes.

Other changes in Version 17:

• Appendix B and Appendix C have been removed since user installation of open-source utilities are no longer required.
• Added section on where to find VMware Fusion product documentation.
• Added section for a VMware KB article that describes guest OS requirements for Fusion on Apple Silicon.
• Removed section that described kernel issues with Tumbleweed updates. This issue has been fixed for some time now, and users are unlikely to encounter it.
• Added section on how to fix errors encountered while installing the iCloud app from Microsoft Store on Windows 11 ARM.
• Procedure for installing Fedora 36 from ISO has been moved to Appendix B as Fedora 36 is now End of Life.
• Minor change to Windows 11 ARM installation procedure, eliminating the reboot of the VM while installing VMware drivers.
• ETA of fix for Ubuntu 22.10 kernel issues. (Yes, Canonical is on the path to fixing this bug. Finally!)

 

[Technogeezer]

A problem has been discovered with the new version of the ESD to ISO conversion utility I posted last week. Until I figure out what the issue is and how to address it, I have reverted both the ESD to ISO conversion utility and the Companion back to version 16.

This has the side effect of still requiring the installation of Homebrew or MacPorts, and the installation of open source packages.

If you have downloaded version 17 of the Companion, please disregard it. Go back to the VMware Fusion Documents forum and download both the w11arm_esd2iso utility  and version 16 of the Companion (both are now available in the forum).

 

 

[Technogeezer]

Version 17 of the Companion Guide has been reposted. The issues found with the conversion utility have been fixed starting with w11arm_esd2iso version 3.0.1, which is now posted and available. 

Again, many apologies for the trouble this may have caused.

[Technogeezer]

It has been almost a month since the Companion was last updated (how time files!), but it's now time for another update. Lots of important updates, -  new Debian and OpenSUSE Leap releases, and especially for you Ubuntu users out there - fixes for some long-standing issues.

Version 18 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

Changes in Version 18

• Inclusion of warning on use of Fusion 13 on beta versions of macOS Sonoma.
• Updated references to Debian 12 and OpenSUSE Leap 15.5 as both are now released versions.
• Added link to a fix for stuttering sound in Linux virtual machines.
• Included discussion on in-place upgrade of Debian 11 to Debian 12.
• Good news from Ubuntu: Canonical has fixed the blank console issues for 22.10 and 20.04 HWE kernels. The workarounds for this issue have been removed as upgrading to the latest kernel will fix the issue.
• Restored links to Ubuntu Desktop 22.04.2 daily builds as Ubuntu has fixed the issues.
• Added Ubuntu 23.10 to list of compatible distributions.
• Added warning that 23.10 Desktop daily builds can not be used as Canonical has a build issue in arm64 distributions that prevents login to the live environment.
• Enhanced instructions for building the Windows 11 ARM ISO from ESD to handle the case where a browser may automatically extract the w11arm_esd2iso zip file.
• Enhanced instructions for Windows 11 ARM installation. Clarified that the mount of the VMware Tools ISO will not display any confirmations in the VM that the mount has occurred.
• Removed document from the web site that contained deprecated instructions for building Windows 11 ARM ISOs from uupdump.net to eliminate confusion.
• Miscellaneous rewording of some topics to make them clearer.

[Technogeezer]

Version 19 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

If you're looking to install Windows 11 ARM, you will want to use the updated procedures in this version of the Companion document. There is also good news for users wanting to use Gentoo, but not so good news for users wanting to use Arch Linux ARM. 

Changes in Version 19:

• Addition of topics discussing Arch Linux and Gentoo.
• The instructions contained in the Companion to build ISOs from Microsoft ESDs have been updated to reflect the the newly released version 4.0 of the w11arm_esd2iso utility. This new version should simplify the creation of the ISO by interactively asking the user for the desired ISO type and Windows language.
• Moved the topic for KDE resolution resizing to Archived Topics, as the KDE version that fixes the issue has been available for quite some time now.
• Added a procedure provided by the community for manually converting a Parallels Linux VM to Fusion.

Note that the issues described in the topics found in Appendix B - Archived Topics have been fixed for some time now in Linux distributions.These topics may be removed from future versions of the Companion document.

[Technogeezer]

Version 20 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

The biggest change in this version is the addition of instructions on how to obtain and use CrystalFetch to download Windows 11 ARM ISO installation media. CrystalFetch is a new macOS application (yes, with a GUI) by the authors of UTM that uses methods to create Windows 11 ARM media similar to what the w11arm_esd2iso command line utility uses. CrystalFetch is a recommended alternative to the w11arm_esd2iso utility

CrystalFetch is available for free from the Mac App Store. Kudos and thanks to the UTM authors for providing this. 

Changes in version 20 include:

• Updated to reflect release of Ubuntu 22.04.3
• Addition of instructions for use of CrystalFetch (from the makers of UTM) for download of Windows 11 ARM ISO media.
• Re-introduction of instructions for use of Windows Insider VHDX files at the request of the community.
• Added a reminder that Fusion does not supply guest operating system installation media.

 

[Technogeezer]

Version 21 of the Companion Guide has just been published. It can be found at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Fusion-Documents/The-Unofficial-Fusion-13-for-Apple-Silicon...

Ubuntu users rejoice! Canonical has fixed the issues in Ubuntu Desktop 23.10 (Mantic Minotaur) arm64 daily development builds that prevented them from running on any arm64 system (including Fusion). Download links to those builds have been returned to the Companion in v21, and content that warned against using them has also been removed. 

[Jan Andersson]

What is the new link to The Unofficial Fusion 13 for Apple Silicon Companion (Version 21)?

[Technogeezer]

Broadcom borked the import of the Documents section of the old Fusion forums, so they lost it.  Not sure if they'll be able to get it back, but even so I initially thought it had been lost, but seems that it wasn't easy to find in the new forum hierarchy, but is there. But it contains outdated weblinks that need to be updated due to the assimilation of the VMTN Communities into the Broadcom Borg.

Version 21 is 5 revisions back. I'm trying to get an updated version 27 (with some new content to reflect some fresh-off-the-presses Linux releases) completed this weekend and uploaded (it'll probably reside in the Library section of the forum). If you are in dire need of it, message me with an email address and I'll send you a draft copy.

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
------------------------------

[Technogeezer]

A kind soul from the Broadcom Water Cooler (thanks @Jason McClellan) provided the link to version 26 of the document

https://community.broadcom.com/viewdocument/the-unofficial-fusion-for-apple-sil?CommunityKey=0c3a2021-5113-4ad1-af9e-018f5da40bc0&tab=librarydocuments

------------------------------
- Paul (technogeezer)
------------------------------

[Michael Roy]

Yah Jason is great... He's the main 'admin' for the community tech... We wouldn't be in this forum without him!