Shared Folders

[olivier Ferial]

Dear community members,

after having successfully installed Windows11 ARM on my MacMini M2 and installed the VMWare Tools, i can't see any shared folder between the VM and the Mac.

and when i open the VM settings, there is no "Sharing" option showing up.

Did I miss some step in the Install Process?

And is there a way to have this option showing up?

Any help appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

best.

fefe

[Technogeezer]

The Folder Sharing option is not available for a Windows 11 ARM VM. Consider one of the following workarounds to share files between the Mac host and a Windows 11 ARM VM:

• Configure macOS Windows file sharing.

Consult macOS Help – found in the Finder's Help menu bar – or Internet resources for instructions on how to configure macOS Windows file sharing. Enable file sharing for the folders you wish to access in your VM. This will allow the Windows VM to access the host via standard Windows SMB file sharing.

This workaround should only be used when connected to a trusted network such as a home network. The use of macOS file sharing when connected to an untrusted network – such as public or hotel Wi-Fi – is a security risk. To mitigate this risk, disable file sharing in macOS when connected to an untrusted network.

• Use Drag and Drop.

For simple file transfers between host and guest, consider dragging and dropping files between the Mac host and Windows 11 ARM guests. The speed of drag/drop has been noticeably increased over prior versions of Fusion (even on Intel) and may meet your needs if they don't include syncing folders with the host.

• Use a Remote Desktop client.

If using Windows 11 Pro or Enterprise, you can access the VM with a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) client such as Microsoft Remote Desktop on the Mac and utilize its folder redirection capabilities. Consult Windows documentation on how to configure Windows for remote console access, and your RDP client documentation on how to enable folder redirection.

• Install Microsoft OneDrive, Dropbox, or a similar cloud file sharing client in both the VM and the Mac.

Using cloud file sharing services in a VM allows content to be shared to Macs and any other platform that supports the service.

• Use a network file transfer utility such as WinSCP to transfer files between the Windows VM and the Mac host.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[olivier Ferial]

Thank you for your comprehensive answer.

in the end, the Cloud option does the job and works like a charm for my needs.

best regards.

fefe

[atj777]

Hi Paul,

I'm using Windows SMB file sharing to get to my host folders. 

It works quite well except for one problem:

• If I update a folder on the Mac host the updates don't show on Windows in the VM. 
• The only workaround I have found is to restart Windows and then the updates show up.

Do you know of a way to solve this?

[Technogeezer]

Hmm, I'm not seeing this in my limited testing of using a folder shared with Windows file sharing on the Mac and accessing it as an SMB share in the Windows VM. 

What are the extent of the changes that you are making on the Mac that aren't being shown in File Explorer on the Windows VM?

How many files/folders do you have in the shared folder? How many are you changing?

If you click on the refresh button in File Explorer in the VM, does Windows refresh the shared folder contents?

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[atj777]

OK... this is actually quite a weird problem as I do more testing.

I have a Windows app that I'm running on the VM.  It creates a singe folder with a file and a few folders in it. Each folder has a single file.

On the Mac host I run another app that takes the file and and folders, massages the data and creates a new folder that has one file and one folder with a file in it.

Back on Windows I then import that newly created file/folder into the app - except the app doesn't see the new folder (and neither does File Explorer).  Hitting Refresh doesn't help.

Now, here comes the weird part...

If I just do the first part in the Windows app, restart Windows, run the Mac app, then the new folder appears (both in the Windows app and File Explorer).  So it must be something weird with the way the Windows app is creating that folder that is preventing it from seeing updates but I have no idea how or why.  I haven't used Windows as my main OS in nearly 10 years, so I am really clueless as what it could be.

The Windows app was last updated in 2010 and is no longer supported (but works for what it needs to do, other than this weird folder issue).  Note that I was doing all of this without issues on a Window 7 VM but can no longer run that since upgrading to a M2 Pro Mac.

[atj777]

Some more testing....

If I do the first part in Windows and then run the second app on the Mac, File Explorer doesn't show the new folder even after refreshing...

but... if I create a new folder within the parent folder in File Explorer, and then refresh, the folder created on the Mac appears.

At the very least I have a much better workaround.

[Stan Hendrix]

WIN11 networking doesn't show any of my mac machines; other Windows machines on my network show up just fine.   I have SMB sharing turned on in all the macs' sharing settings.  Yes, I can workaround this by using a server that WIN11 recognizes but would be more convenient to map shares directly from the macs.  (Ventura 13.6.7 and latest Fusion version on m2 macbook air and m2 pro mac mini).

[Technogeezer]

I've found that the Mac's Windows file shares do not advertise themselves for browsing in the Windows File Explorer - this is an Apple issue and not limited to Windows VMs in Fusion. Access the share defined on the Mac via the Mac's IP address or host name. You can also set up a drive mapping to the share so that it is available "automagically". 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Stan Hendrix]

Thanks, that works just not as convenient but that is ok.  (I posted a new thread about this before I saw your reply so disregard).