Can't open Fusion

[Ron Gregory]

Can't open Fusion

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Ron Gregory
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[Technogeezer]

Can you give us some more information about what you’re seeing? Also, what Fusion version, Mac that you’re running on and what macOS version? That will help us help you.

Sent from my iPhone

[Ron Gregory]

Yesterday I was unable to launch Fusion from the icon on the tray. I called VMware. They had me install the latest version; I believe 13.6.3. Still can’t launch. I’m running Sequoia 15.4.1 on a Macbook Pro; Windows 10.

[Technogeezer]

Can you open Fusion by opening a Finder window, opening the Applications folder, and double clicking on the VMware Fusion application?

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Ron Gregory]

No, that doesn’t work either.

The icon on the tray looks different so I know the new version is loaded.

When I click the icon the dot below it appears indicating it’s open, but nothing is displayed. I can close it at the icon and the dot disappears.

[Technogeezer]

The icon on the tray looks different so I know the new version is loaded.

Can you explain?

Let's see if we have a failure of the Fusion GUI to launch and display, or a virtual machine that failed to power on. 

Is the Fusion menu bar active when you see the app is open via the Dock icon? If so, can you click on Window > Virtual Machine Library and will the virtual machine library display?

Can you think of anything that happened between the time that it worked and the time that it stopped working? (Fusion just doesn't stop working for no reason).

You may wish to perform a clean uninstall of Fusion per KB article  https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/307074/how-to-uninstall-vmware-fusion-manually.html making sure you delete all the support files noted in the article in both the /Library folder and the "hidden" ~/Library folder in your user's home folder.  (you can use the script found at https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/viewdocument/script-to-check-if-all-remnants-of?CommunityKey=0c3a2021-5113-4ad1-af9e-018f5da40bc0&tab=librarydocuments to make sure you got all the files). Your virtual machine will not be touched when using this procedure. 

Then reboot your Mac and reinstall Fusion. When Fusion starts, you will see a clear Virtual Machine Library. Use File > Open to find your VM  and add it to the Virtual Machine Library. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Ron Gregory]

No, the Fusion menu bar is greyed out. I can’t think of anything that happened that could have caused the problem. If I do an uninstall/reinstall will my data be retained?

[Technogeezer]

An uninstall and reinstall of Fusion will not touch your virtual machine. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Ron Gregory]

So Windows 10, application programs and data will not be affected, correct?

[Technogeezer]

Correct. A virtual machine is like a Microsoft Word document. Uninstalling and re-installing Word does not impact any document you created with it. Same thing with a Fusion virtual machine.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Ron Gregory]

I found that Fusion was opening on the macbook, not on my larger display. Switched it to the larger display. Didn’t have to uninstall/reinstall Fusion. But now the Fusion window is blank (greyed out). The title of my VM shows at the top but blank screen.

[Ron Gregory]

My VM is Windows 10 x 64. Is it compatible with Fusion version 13.6.3 which I recently downloaded and I suspect is causing my problem?

[Technogeezer]

I cant see any reason why your Windows 10 x64 VM would not be compatible with Fusion 13.6.3. It's still on the Broadcom/VMware guest operating system compatibility list: 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Technogeezer]

Could you post a screen shot of what you're seeing? I think I understand what you're seeing, but the screen shot (using the macOS built-in screen snapshot accessed via command-shift-5) may give a bit more of a clue.

If you go to the Fusion menu bar, and select Virtual Machine, what does the first line of the drop down menu say? Does it say that Windows is running, Windows is off, or Windows is suspended (the text is the very first line and may be grayed). 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Mr Chata]

I've reached out for support for a similar issue with Fusion 12 Pro and VMware is no help at all. It's been almost 2 years now and the software I PAID FOR will not allow me to enter my license key. I paste it in and it shows the green checkmark, but when i click DONE nothing happens and it stays in evaluation mode. I even did a Fusion 13 upgrade recently since updating my macOS and the same problem continues. I ended up having to download from a torrent site, inputted the provided key, and what do you know? THAT one actually worked. It's pretty sad and pathetic, really...

[Technogeezer]

I even did a Fusion 13 upgrade recently since updating my macOS and the same problem continues. I ended up having to download from a torrent site, inputted the provided key, and what do you know? THAT one actually worked.

What you're describing looks to be a different problem than what the OP is talking about. It looks like you have some kind of licensing file conflict. I'd remove all the licensing files in /Library/Preferences/VMware Fusion/license-fusion-* and try to re-install Fusion 13.5.2 or later (choosing the personal use option for 13.5.2-13.6.1). Permanent license keys are no longer being sold for Fusion 13 and are no longer needed. 

It's interesting that obtaining Fusion from a torrent site works where the official installer from Broadcom does not. Which means the two applications are not the same. I'd be concerned from a security standpoint that the software has been modified in some way. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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