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VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

VMware Community Member

VMware Community MemberMar 27, 2024 02:39 AM

  • 1.  VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 08, 2023 10:19 AM

    I am running VMWare Fusion Player Version 13.0.2 with Windows 11 on Apple MacBook Air M2.

    When I ran an earlier version on my Intel Mac, I was able to set up a folder that was shared by Mac and Windows 10. I was also able to copy and paste between Mac and Windows.

    I think I had to use VMTools to accomplish this. But I can't find VMTools for V13!

    Does VMTools13 exist? Is it coming? If not, will VMTools 12 work?

    Or, can I meet my requirements without VMTools? 

    With thanks,
    Kevin



  • 2.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 08, 2023 01:26 PM

     wrote:

    I am running VMWare Fusion Player Version 13.0.2 with Windows 11 on Apple MacBook Air M2.

    But I can't find VMTools for V13!

    Does VMTools13 exist? Is it coming? If not, will VMTools 12 work?


    Other than the network and 2D graphics driver, full VMware Tools do not exist for Windows 11 ARM. That means copy/paste/drag/drop and Fusion shared folders are not available. This is documented as a current restriction.

    VMware Tools for 32- or 64- bit Intel Windows (distributed with Fusion 12 and 13) won’t work on Windows 11 ARM. 

    VMware has stated that they’re working on Tools for Windows 11 ARM, but as usual they have not stated when they will be delivered.

    A work-around to shared folders is to configure the folders you want to share with Windows files sharing on your Mac, then access them using standard Windows SMB network access in the VM.



  • 3.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 10:53 AM

    Thank you very much! You've saved me a lot of searching.



  • 4.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:17 AM
    Step 1: Click the Windows Start menu and type PowerShell in the search box. Click Run as Administrator, and click Yes on the User Access Control prompt. (If you don’t see Run as Administrator, right click on PowerShell and select Run as Administrator).

    Step 2: Type the following inside the PowerShell prompt:

    Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned
    Press Return on your keyboard to execute the command, and then type ‘Y’ and press Return to confirm the change to the execution policy. Type Exit and press Return to close the PowerShell.

    Step 3: In the menu bar click Virtual Machine → Reinstall VMware Tools and click the Install button on the prompt that appears.

    Step 4: Open Windows Explorer, navigate to the DVD drive, and ensure that VMware Tools setup is mounted. You should see a Setup.ps1 PowerShell script in the root of the DVD drive.

    Step 5: Right click on the Setup PowerShell Script and click Run with PowerShell. Click Yes on the User Account Control pop-up.

    VMware Tools will now install, along with the necessary VMXNet3 network drivers and SVGA display driver. After a short countdown, the PowerShell window will automatically close.

    Network functionality should now be operational, and you will also be able to configure display settings via Start → Settings → Display. There should be no need to restart in order to enable this functionality.


  • 5.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:27 AM

    Can you confirm from your own experience that this will work on Apple Silicon (not Intel)?



  • 6.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:28 AM
    100% yes, running on my M1 macbook air


  • 7.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:31 AM
    Not sure if it is relevant, but I am using the win11 arm64 image from the parallels installation (just install parallels trial period, start the win11 install and close before it starts installation, the .iso file will be in your downloads folder can now use in fusion 13 )


  • 8.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:32 AM

    It does... but as stated earlier in the thread, it is NOT a complete set of Tools like earlier products, or Intel-based Macs.  Currently the Tools ONLY have the video and network drivers, but not folder sharing or time sync, or a handful of other parts.



  • 9.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:36 AM
    This will come with time, this is still early days of ARM64 windows 11 VMs on MAC


  • 10.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:36 AM

    Kevin, I apologize for any confusion this has caused you. VMTools for Apple Silicon-based Macs and VMWare Fusion Player 13 currently only include video and network drivers; other features like folder sharing or time synchronization do not currently work.

    VMWare recognizes this limitation and has begun developing an extensive set of virtualization tools specifically tailored for Macs utilizing Apple Silicon technology, though no timeline has been provided as to when these will become available for general consumption.

    As an interim solution, consider alternative means for sharing folders and syncing time, such as cloud storage solutions or creating a network share between Mac and Windows 11 virtual machines.

    Again, let me apologize for any confusion caused and hope this information helps!



  • 11.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 08, 2023 03:22 PM

    Strongly recommend reading both the official release notes and the unofficial guide posted in the documents section.  There's a lot of nuances to running win 11 ARM (and the unofficial guidance on how to build it is much better than the official VHDX conversion ones).



  • 12.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:32 AM

    Hey Kevin! Your Windows 11 virtual machine should already contain the VMTools installed through VMWare Fusion Player 13, however if they cannot be located then try reinstalling them by going into Virtual Machine, selecting "Install VMWare Tools," and following the installation steps. If VMTools 13 does not seem compatible, try switching back to version 12; alternatively you could experiment with other ways of sharing folders and enabling copy-and-paste between Mac OSX and Windows 11 virtual machines such as cloud storage solutions or shared folders. Hope it helped! We wish for all your success and wish that this information helps!



  • 13.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:35 AM

    I actualIy tried quite a few things before posting here. 'Install VMWare Tools' is greyed out. And V12 will not run on my machine (Apple Silicon M2).

    The reply from Technogeezer probably covers it.

     

    Thanks everyone for your contributions.

     



  • 14.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 11:37 AM
    See my post above, you need to Set-ExecutionPolicy RemoteSigned in PowerShell before tools will install


  • 15.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted May 16, 2023 05:03 PM

    Best option is to follow the instructions in the unofficial guide specifically, in order, while creating the vm.  It's finicky to get working right.

     

    Hopefully we'll get real tools soon.



  • 16.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted Mar 27, 2024 02:39 AM

    How do you install guest additions in Debian in Fusion



  • 17.  RE: VMWare Fusion Player 13 - where are VMTools?

    Posted Mar 27, 2024 01:56 PM

     wrote:

    How do you install guest additions in Debian in Fusion


    The “guest additions” to use on recent Linux versions  are provided through open-vm-tools in distribution's repositories.

    For Debian, you can install them with:

    sudo apt install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

     (Edited to clarify where open-vm-tools are found on Linux)