Windows 11 ARM 24H2 installation problems - workaround

[Technogeezer]

Updated with new information based on the release of Fusion 13.6.1.

Microsoft has officially released Windows 11 24H2. They have started distributing it in place of Windows 11 23H2 starting around 2024-09-30. This new release is causing some issues with Fusion 13.6.0 and earlier on Apple Silicon Macs for users wanting to create a new virtual machine:  

• Windows 11 24H2 ARM ISOs aren't recognized as Windows 11 VMs if you drag and drop the ISO onto the Fusion "Select an Installation Source" dialog. Instead, they are detected as Windows Server, and the VM will not be created properly.
• The Windows 11 24H2 ARM ISO installer does not work properly. The screen goes black shortly after the WIndows 11 Setup starts. 

(Users that have an existing Windows 11 installation shouldn't see this. It's only users creating a new VM that will see this issue).

Microsoft doesn't seem to provide an easy way to retrieve the Windows 11 23H2 ISO that worked with Fusion's ISO creation tool. So we're stuck with 24H2.

Fusion 13.6.1 fixes the above 2 issues and is the recommended solution.  Download/installation of Windows 11 ARM can be performed using Fusion's documented procedures once Fusion 13.6.1 is installed..

If you are running Fusion 13.6.0 and can't upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1,  here's a procedure to workaround the issues in Fusion 13.6.0 and earlier: 

• Open the Terminal app on your Mac.
• Use the procedure in the Unofficial Fusion for Apple Silicon Companion Guide section 15.7 "Creating the Windows ISO from the command line" to use command line tools to download Windows from Microsoft instead of the Fusion GUI. There is one change however. In step 6 of the procedure, change  the --drivers argument to the vmw_esd2iso command from --drivers "/Volumes/VMware Tools/svga,/Volumes/VMware Tools/vmxnet3" to 

  --drivers "/Volumes/VMware Tools/vmxnet3"

• Once the ISO is created, now create a new VM by going to the Fusion menu bar and selecting "File > New...". The "Select the Installation Source" dialog will appear. 
• Do not drag and drop the ISO you created onto the "Select an Installation Source" dialog. Instead, click on the "Create a custom virtual machine" button.
• Follow the wizard to create a Windows 11 ARM VM.
• At the Finish dialog found at the end of the wizard, click "Customize Settings", not "Finish"
• Name and save the VM
• Change the virtual CD/DVD drive settings to use the ISO you created above. Don't forget to click on the "Connect CD/DVD Drive" check box.
• Power on the VM (don't forget to quickly click in the VM and press any key to boot).
• Run through the Windows 11 Setup and allow the VM to reboot after Setup has transferred files to the virtual hard drive.
• After reboot, you'll be back at the "Is the the right Country or Region" prompt. Continue with Windows setup as you normally would for a newly installed Windows.
• After you've completed the Windows setup process and are signed into the VM, install VMware Tools by returning to the Fusion menu and clicking "Virtual Machine > Install VMware Tools".

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[mark steven]

Thankyou Paul for this work around. Hoping you can help me as I think I have missed a step somewhere. Using a Mac M1 and VMware 13.6.0 I have a Windows11_26100.1742_Professional_en-us_arm64.iso downloaded (via the app not the terminal as I could not get that to work) going through your steps to add cd/image I am able to boot then quickly hit a key. After short screen that briefly shows boot from cd (hit a key) Windows icon then screen showing startup screen. Then black screen.

[Technogeezer]

You can't use the Windows 11 24H2  ISO that was generated therough the Fusion GUI. You have to use the command line procedure and use that ISO.  - the command line  procedure does not inject the VMware video driver into the installer like the GUI process does. The video driver seems to be causing the issue you are seeing.

if you are having difficulties with the command line procedure, please post what you did and I'll help you get it running. You should be able to copy and paste what you did and saw from the Terminal into your reply in this thread. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

Here's a transcript of the procedure that I hope can help you

Last login: Thu Oct  3 10:10:20 on console

me@Upstairs ~ % hdiutil attach /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/isoimages/arm64/windows.iso

/dev/disk13                                       /Volumes/VMware Tools

me@Upstairs ~ % /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmw_esd2iso getesd --edition "Professional" --lang en-us

Edition : Professional

Language : en-us

Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 100.00%

ESD: /Users/me/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

SUCCESS

me@Upstairs ~ % /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmw_esd2iso generateiso --esd ./26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd --drivers "/Volumes/VMware Tools/vmxnet3"

ISO : 26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.iso

SUCCESS

me@Upstairs ~ % hdiutil detach /Volumes/VMware\ Tools
"disk13" ejected.
me@Upstairs ~ % rm -i *.esd

remove 26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd? y

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Cornell Brown]

I'm having problem here's what's in terminal

@MacBook-Air-8 ~ % /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmw_esd2iso generateiso --esd ./26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd --drivers "/Volumes/VMware Tools/vmxnet3"

wimlib error 65: Unexpectedly reached the end of the file

wimlib error 65: Unexpectedly reached the end of the file

ERROR: Failed to generate ISO

[Technogeezer]

Microsoft's servers appear to be a bit flaky - I've had to re-run things at times to get a good download.

Try removing both the .esd file (and the .iso file, if it's there). Then restart the procedure from the beginning.

One thing you might want to do is to use another variant of the vmw_esd2iso command that obtains the SHA1 hash of the ESD file before you start the download again:

% /Applications/VMware\ Fusion.app/Contents/Library/vmw_esd2iso getesdurl --edition "Professional" --lang "en-us"

ESDURL : http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/4ba02417-fa20-4601-8e41-0472b5aed151/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

SHA1 : 4483ca4ad07f42a796d99d6c0820951a8494ec0a

SUCCESS

Then perform the getesd part of the procedure to re-download the ESD. Verify the SHA1 hash before proceeding to the generateiso part of the procedure. 

Also, make sure that if you have a third party AV scanner, make sure it's either disabled or configured not to scan .esd files -- you want to eliminate any false positives.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[mark steven]

Thankyou Paul, That step by step worked perfectly.

[Technogeezer]

Just to let everyone know, Microsofts servers still seem to be having problems. You may find these "unexpected end of file" errors which are entirely their servers not behaving well. Re-trying the download after waiting a bit will probably be necessary to complete the download. 

Thank goodness you only have to do this once...

I'm in the process of building a script that will automate the Fusion command-line workround  to make it a little easier to use. Stay tuned. I'll probably have that up and running long before VMware issues a fix for this mess.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

I just created a script/utility to automate the ISO creation part of the  work-around using the same Fusion command-line utilities. You can find the script (along with instructions on downloading and use) on GitHub here: GitHub - Technogeezer50/24H2_esd2iso: Script to download Windows 11 ARM 24H2 using VMware Fusion built-in tools

GitHub		remove preview
GitHub - Technogeezer50/24H2_esd2iso: Script to download Windows 11 ARM 24H2 using VMware Fusion built-in tools Script to download Windows 11 ARM 24H2 using VMware Fusion built-in tools - Technogeezer50/24H2_esd2iso View this on GitHub >

You will still need to create a custom virtual machine (don't drag/drop this ISO onto the "Select an Installation Source" dialog) to use this ISO until VMware fixes issues that incorrectly recognize Windows 11 24H2 ISO as Windows Server 2025.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[computerbc]

Thanks for the useful post and script.  I am new to the Apple Silicon world so my first task was to try getting W11 working.  I finally found this post and got it running both via CLI and your script.   

[Robert Winters]

Hello, i tried running your script but it never creates an iso file, here is what your script does: 

robertwinters@roberts-air ~ % cd Documents/"Windows ISO"\
robertwinters@roberts-air Windows ISO % ./24H2_esd2iso\
\
Which Edition of Windows 11 ARM do you wish to download?\
Enter 'p' to create a Professional Edition ISO\
          (includes Professional and Home Editions), or\
      'e' to create a Enterprise Edition ISO\
          (includes Professional and Enterprise Editions), or\
      'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: p\
\
\
Select a language for your Windows 11 ARM Professional ISO\
Enter a Windows language tag (example: 'en-us'), or\
     'p' to print the list of available languages, or\
     'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: en-us\
Getting info on ESD from Microsoft\
ESDURL : http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/4ba02417-fa20-4601-8e41-0472b5aed151/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd\
SHA1 : 4483ca4ad07f42a796d99d6c0820951a8494ec0a\
SUCCESS\
Downloading ESD from Microsoft\
tee: ISO/esd2iso_temp.FH3eWP/getesd.out: No such file or directory\
Edition : Professional\
Language : en-us\
Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 100.00%\
ESD: /Users/robertwinters/Documents/Windows ISO/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd\
SUCCESS\
grep: /Users/robertwinters/Documents/Windows ISO/esd2iso_temp.FH3eWP/getesd.out: No such file or directory\
[ERROR] downloadEsd failed, error code 1\
vmw_esd2iso getesd failed\
Program aborting\

[TECH198]

Seems messy with Terminal..  I aways keep backups of ISO images..

Seems that saved the day this time :) May not be the latestest image, but you can run Windows Update afterwards if needed.

[Technogeezer]

Seems messy with Terminal..  I aways keep backups of ISO images.

“Messy” is in the eyes of the beholder. Yes, the Terminal can be "messy" (especially for those that don’t frequent CLIs) but in this case it provides a badly needed workaround until VMware adjusts Fusion to the changes in 24H2. I suspect that the detection of the ISO as Windows Server 2025 is a monkey wrench thrown into the works by Microsoft - IIRC the release preview ISO built from UUPdump was detected as Windows 11. The vmwgfx driver issue with WinPE really needs to be looked into by VMware. 

I save away old installers as well, and that's a good practice. But for those that didn’t save away the ISO or are using Fusion for the first time, this is a showstopper. For those that are comfortable with UNIX shells, the workaround above should work. For those not as comfortable, the script provides an easier to use option to get going.

Note that Microsoft is staging rollout of 24H2 to existing installations - so installing from a 23H2 installer may not update to 24H2 immediately. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Geoffrey84]

Thank you for the workaround - I was finally able to create a new Windows 11 x64 ARM Enterprise Developer Preview Build VM from a macOS Sequoia host.  

However, I cannot activate BitLocker encryption - an error is returned that the data is invalid.  I tried activating BitLocker using a PowerShell command with the same result.  I also tried turning off BitLocker via PowerShell command and then turning it on from the Control Panel but without success.  My company requires BitLocker encryption before registering my Windows VM via Microsoft Company Portal.  In Parallels Desktop 20 I don't have this issue.  

Perhaps a VMware Fusion 13.6.1 update will help?  I noted that this version is now listed on Broadcom's update server but it's not yet available for download.

[Technogeezer]

However, I cannot activate BitLocker encryption - an error is returned that the data is invalid.  I tried activating BitLocker using a PowerShell command with the same result.

I was able to reproduce this "data invalid error". Try clearing the TPM through Windows Security > Device Security > Security Processor Details > Security Processor Troubleshooting. You should find the option there to clear the TPM.  (You'll need to reset Windows Hello PIN on your next login if you do this).

I was able to get Bitlocker to start encrypting once this was done.

Edit: A quicker way to get to the TPM reset function is type Windows(Command)-R and open tpm.msc. That opens the TPM Management MSC plug-in. You'll see the "Clear TPM" option there. 

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

[Geoffrey84]

Thanks Paul - I've since deleted that virtual machine but will try again tomorrow with your solution.  As always, your advice here is much appreciated!

[Technogeezer]

@Geoffrey84 - you are welcome. Please let us know if resetting the TPM fixes your problem. And I'll put a note in the Companion Guide on this.

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

[Geoffrey84]

I created a new Windows 11 x64 ARM Enterprise Developer Preview VM today and resetting the TPM allowed me to encrypt the System drive with BitLocker.  Thanks again!

[Nick DePasquale]

Paul, thanks so much.  I was struggling trying to figure out a problem that turns out I would not be able to figure out.  (-:  Many searches and finally discovered your post and solution.  Worked well!  I had trouble with step #6 - some Dort of syntax issue but I found your other post and copied that line exactly and worked.  Thanks very much!  Nick

[TECH198]

Its not just  driver issue, in my case.. It downloaded x86 version instead claiming "Windows Server"

https://learn.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/release-health/windows11-release-information

For me, i was build 2600.1742 part of the LTC

[Technogeezer]

@TECH198 - That's not an issue with the ISO - it is indeed Windows 11 ARM. It's an issue with Fusion not properly recognizing a Windows 11 24H2 ARM ISO as Windows 11 ARM when you drag/drop the ISO onto the "Select the Installation source" dialog (or manually locate the ISO from the "Create a New Virtual Machine" dialog).

If you somehow got this ISO from the "Get Windows from Microsoft" procedure, it still won't work because of a driver problem. You'll have to delete that ISO and use the command-line procedure I posted to create the ISO. 

To work around the issue you're seeing with the improper detection of the guest OS, In the "Select the Installation Source" dialog, select "Create a custom virtual machine" and go through the wizard (selecting "Windows 11 64-bit Arm" as the guest OS type). When you finish the VM creation, don't power on the VM yet. Modify the CD/DVD settings to point to your ISO. and make sure it's set to connect the CD/DVD drive to the manually downloaded ISO. 

Then power on the VM. 

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

[TECH198]

Ya, the image filename is "arm". but the last screenshot

Under normal circumstances if you try on M1 if you try to power on x86 Windows VM, will not work, thus you'll get that error message.

Are you trying to say this last screenshot is fake?

[Technogeezer]

No, I’m not saying that the screen shot is fake. What I am saying is that Fusion misidentifies a Windows 11 ARM 24H2 ISO as containing Windows Server 2025 x64 when you drag/drop the ISO onto the “Install from disc or image” area of the “Select the Installation Source” dialog ( or if you select that ISO after clicking on the “Use another disc or disc image” button in the “Create a New Virtual Machine” dialog. Because of that Fusion mis-creates the VM with a Windows Server 2025 guest OS type which is Intel only. That’s why you get the error message when you power on the mis-configured VM.

The best way around this until VMware fixes Fusion’s wizards to properly recognize Windows 11 ARM 24H2 is to create a custom virtual machine as I’ve described.

You may also be able to change the VMs guest OS type to Windows 11 64-bit Arm before powering it on, but I haven’t verified that the VM has really been configured properly. Creating the custom VM and selecting the proper Windows guest OS type guarantees that the VM will be configured correctly for Windows 11 ARM.

Sent from my iPad

[Robert Winters]

Hello Paul,

I seem to be getting an error when its trying to create the ESD file, any help would be greatly appreciated!

robertwinters@roberts-air ~ % cd Documents/"Windows ISO"\
robertwinters@roberts-air Windows ISO % ./24H2_esd2iso\
\
Which Edition of Windows 11 ARM do you wish to download?\
Enter 'p' to create a Professional Edition ISO\
          (includes Professional and Home Editions), or\
      'e' to create a Enterprise Edition ISO\
          (includes Professional and Enterprise Editions), or\
      'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: p\
\
\
Select a language for your Windows 11 ARM Professional ISO\
Enter a Windows language tag (example: 'en-us'), or\
     'p' to print the list of available languages, or\
     'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: en-us\
Getting info on ESD from Microsoft\
ESDURL : http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/4ba02417-fa20-4601-8e41-0472b5aed151/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd\
SHA1 : 4483ca4ad07f42a796d99d6c0820951a8494ec0a\
SUCCESS\
Downloading ESD from Microsoft\
tee: ISO/esd2iso_temp.FH3eWP/getesd.out: No such file or directory\
Edition : Professional\
Language : en-us\
Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 100.00%\
ESD: /Users/robertwinters/Documents/Windows ISO/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd\
SUCCESS\
grep: /Users/robertwinters/Documents/Windows ISO/esd2iso_temp.FH3eWP/getesd.out: No such file or directory\
[ERROR] downloadEsd failed, error code 1\
vmw_esd2iso getesd failed\
Program aborting\

[Technogeezer]

Hang on, I'm trying to reproduce this...

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

@Robert Winters - I've found the problem and will be fixing it ASAP. In the mean time as a workaround for your situation, remove the space in your temporary folder name (rename it from "Windows ISO" to "WindowsISO"). Then re-run 24H2_esd2iso.

Apologies for the bug.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

Version 1.0.2 of 24H2_esd2iso has just been published. It contains fixes for failures of the script when the working directory the script is being run from has spaces in its name.

Thanks for reporting this and apologies for the extra work that it's caused you. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Dev Bhatt]

the download from terminal is taking way toooooo long, just wanted to ask if its me or is anyone else also facing the same issue

[Technogeezer]

@Dev Bhatt - what you see has nothing to do with the command line (the GUI procedure uses the same program). It's most likely either your Internet connection or Microsoft's servers -- Microsoft's download servers haven't exactly been stable lately. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Dev Bhatt]

After waiting 6+ hours it failed at 99.99% and I got the same error yesterday 

here is the log, I really appreciate your help and generosity for helping all of us out Paul 

```

    Desktop                                  ✔  base   02:52:51 PM  

╰─ FUSION="/Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library"       680 Mbps  

╭─    Desktop                                  ✔  base   02:53:13 PM  

╰─ hdiutil attach "$FUSION"/isoimages/arm64/windows.iso            720 Mbps  

/dev/disk4                                         /Volumes/VMware Tools

╭─    Desktop                                  ✔  base   02:53:18 PM  

╰─ "$FUSION"/vmw_esd2iso getesd −−edition edition −−lang en-us     680 Mbps  

Edition : Professional

Language : Host language

Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 99.99%Error writing to file: unexpected EOF

ERROR: Failed to download ESD file: http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/4ba02417-fa20-4601-8e41-0472b5aed151/26100.1742.240909-0928.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

ERROR: Failed to get ESD file.
```

[Technogeezer]

@Dev Bhatt I was having the same issue yesterday. Eventually I got an ESD download. I've tried it with different (non-VMware) tools and gotten similar results at times. I've come to the conclusion after seeing this across the different tools that Microsofts's download servers are flaky at times. The only thing I can recommend is to try it again. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Technogeezer]

It appears that these two issues are fixed in Fusion 13.6.1, which was released on 2024-10-10. You should not have to use the workaround procedures for the ISO download of Windows 11 24H2 or for the custom creation of the virtual machine.

Please upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1.

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

[Tajada Coley]

Hey guys I am not very good at using the terminal and tried my best to follow the instructions. Can someone help me please? 

Last login: Thu Oct 10 00:24:59 on ttys000

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro ~ % cd downloads

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro downloads % ls

24H2_esd2iso-1.0.2.zip

VMware-Fusion-13.6.0-24238079_universal.dmg

gg

~$n you tell us about yourself.docx

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro downloads % cd gg

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls

24H2_esd2iso CHANGELOG.md

24H2_esd2iso-1.0.2 README.md

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % chmod +x 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls -l 24H2_esd2iso

-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 tajadacoley  staff  8444 Oct  8 22:19 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % -rwxr-xr-x  1 yourusername  staff  size date time 24H2_esd2iso

zsh: command not found: -rwxr-xr-x

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % v

zsh: command not found: v

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls -l 24H2_esd2iso

-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 tajadacoley  staff  8444 Oct  8 22:19 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ./24H2_esd2iso

Which Edition of Windows 11 ARM do you wish to download?

Enter 'p' to create a Professional Edition ISO

          (includes Professional and Home Editions), or

      'e' to create a Enterprise Edition ISO

          (includes Professional and Enterprise Editions), or

      'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: p

Select a language for your Windows 11 ARM Professional ISO

Enter a Windows language tag (example: 'en-us'), or

     'p' to print the list of available languages, or

     'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: en-us

Getting info on ESD from Microsoft

ESDURL : http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/a0a4e466-0094-4903-9d46-6421eb4b1e83/26100.2033.241004-2336.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

SHA1 : 6e37f71fecf4a74e5c37cd49316c874f061a2fb6

SUCCESS

Downloading ESD from Microsoft

Edition : Professional

Language : en-us

Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 100.00%Error writing to file: unexpected EOF

ERROR: Failed to download ESD file: http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/a0a4e466-0094-4903-9d46-6421eb4b1e83/26100.2033.241004-2336.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

ERROR: Failed to get ESD file.

[ERROR] downloadEsd failed, error code 1

vmw_esd2iso getesd failed

Program aborting

[Technogeezer]

First, upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1 as this fixes the issues that required the workaround in the first place. You can use the procedures in the Fusion documentation to download and install Windows -- including "Get Windows from Microsoft".

Second, Microsoft's servers are not exactly stable for downloads -- they seem to disconnect before the download is complete. You may need to run the download more than once. 

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

[Vay Ung]

I've gotten up to the point where I need to create the iso from the ESD file downloaded in terminal. This is what I am inputting:

"$FUSION"/vmw_esd2iso generateiso −−esd 26100.2033.241004-2336.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-gb.esd --drivers "/Volumes/VMware Tools/vmxnet3"

After I press enter, I get the following:

Usage: 

  -drivers string

    List of drivers path separated with comma

  -esd string

    ESD file path

There is no ISO file on the desktop. What have I done wrong here?

[Technogeezer]

Did you type in the commands in the procedure above to mount the Tools ISO? 

Why not just install Fusion 13.6.1 which fixes the issues that made this workaround necessary? You can  then use "Get Windows from Microsoft" without having to use the Terminal. 

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

[Vay Ung]

Sorry I only just got round to responding now. After I made this post I downloaded your github auto code thing and it worked perfectly. You're a legend thank you.

[Tajada Coley]

Hey guys, this is what happens when I try. I am not very good at using terminal. Can someone please help me?

Last login: Thu Oct 10 00:24:59 on ttys000

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro ~ % cd downloads

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro downloads % ls

24H2_esd2iso-1.0.2.zip

VMware-Fusion-13.6.0-24238079_universal.dmg

gg

~$n you tell us about yourself.docx

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro downloads % cd gg

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls

24H2_esd2iso CHANGELOG.md

24H2_esd2iso-1.0.2 README.md

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % chmod +x 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls -l 24H2_esd2iso

-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 tajadacoley  staff  8444 Oct  8 22:19 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % -rwxr-xr-x  1 yourusername  staff  size date time 24H2_esd2iso

zsh: command not found: -rwxr-xr-x

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % v

zsh: command not found: v

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ls -l 24H2_esd2iso

-rwxr-xr-x@ 1 tajadacoley  staff  8444 Oct  8 22:19 24H2_esd2iso

tajadacoley@Tajadas-MacBook-Pro gg % ./24H2_esd2iso

Which Edition of Windows 11 ARM do you wish to download?

Enter 'p' to create a Professional Edition ISO

          (includes Professional and Home Editions), or

      'e' to create a Enterprise Edition ISO

          (includes Professional and Enterprise Editions), or

      'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: p

Select a language for your Windows 11 ARM Professional ISO

Enter a Windows language tag (example: 'en-us'), or

     'p' to print the list of available languages, or

     'q' to exit the program without creating an ISO: en-us

Getting info on ESD from Microsoft

ESDURL : http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/a0a4e466-0094-4903-9d46-6421eb4b1e83/26100.2033.241004-2336.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

SHA1 : 6e37f71fecf4a74e5c37cd49316c874f061a2fb6

SUCCESS

Downloading ESD from Microsoft

Edition : Professional

Language : en-us

Downloading Windows 11 Professional_en-us ESD file : 100.00%Error writing to file: unexpected EOF

ERROR: Failed to download ESD file: http://dl.delivery.mp.microsoft.com/filestreamingservice/files/a0a4e466-0094-4903-9d46-6421eb4b1e83/26100.2033.241004-2336.ge_release_svc_refresh_CLIENTCONSUMER_RET_A64FRE_en-us.esd

ERROR: Failed to get ESD file.

[ERROR] downloadEsd failed, error code 1

vmw_esd2iso getesd failed

Program aborting

[Jinseop Hyeon]

I could confirm that the problem is fixed in 13.6.1. I could boot into Windows setup without any terminal, or direct iso download by using built-in Windows image download. Check it out

[gringley]

When I went to download the x64 24H2 iso there was a message line that said the ARM iso would be "available in a few weeks" so maybe we will have a normal iso before Christmas?

[Technogeezer]

I saw that teaser from Microsoft as well. In general that's good news. However until VMware gets Microsoft to bundle their drivers for Win 11 ARM video and network like they do for Windows x64, it's nice to have the option to "Get Windows from Microsoft" where at a minimum the network driver is installed for you. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[TECH198]

Why would you say "if you can't upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1", that would mean allot of people would just be doing this Terminal stuff anyway .. now its pubic.

By the way,, that's true, you can't upgrade in some cases, i found the error in log causing this "pending core" issue

See my other post

Solution is to uninstall Fusion and download 13.6.1 from Broadcom portal, and everything ok

[Technogeezer]

Why would you say "if you can't upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1", that would mean allot of people would just be doing this Terminal stuff anyway .. now its pubic.

Most users should absolutely upgrade to Fusion 13.6.1. However there are cases where the upgrade may not be possible - which is why I said what I did:

• If you're running macOS Monterey, you can't upgrade to Fusion 13.6 or 13.6.1.  Fusion 13.6 dropped support for Monterey. 13.5.2 is the last Fusion version that supports Monterey - and you will encounter this issue on Monterey. If you want to build a Windows 11 ARM VM on Fusion 13.5.2, you'll need the workaround. 
• Some corporate environments restrict users from upgrading software until it's approved by IT/Security/Compliance departments. In those cases, until the OK is given to upgrade, the workaround will be needed.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Glen Parker]

I'm running MacOS Sequoia (15.0.1) on an M2 macbook pro and using a freshly downloaded VMWare Fusion 13.6.1, and I'm getting the error. The process spends a good 15-20 minutes aparently downloading something, then gives the error at the end.
When I look in Virtual Machines, I see a 4Gb file that was downloaded
     Windows11_26100.2033_Professional_en-us_arm64.esd

Not sure where to go next.4

I'll try again periodically hoping it's a temporary error

[Technogeezer]

I've seen this kind of error too way too often. It's seen when downloading from Microsoft with Fusion and other tools. The underlying error seem to be that Microsoft's servers time out or disconnect during a download session. The only recourse is to try again. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[TECH198]

If that's the same "temporary error i get

"Something went wrong"

Yes, try again.. it should download ok next time... but it a known problem i reckon... Mac doesn't go to sleep, but the VMware thinks there is no network connection sometimes.. I've even had it happen while downloading and switching apps back and fourth causes the same error..

It does need to be fixed, but it works for the most part.

[Technogeezer]

I'm reading some articles on-line that are reporting that there may be an issue with Apple's firewall in macOS 15.0.1 that can cause network connections to be dropped. I can't confirm whether this is true or not. If it is, it could potentially be a reason why we're seeing more issues than usual with downloading Windows from Microsoft. 

If you are experiencing problems with "Get Windows from Microsoft" it might be worth running an experiment with the WIndows 11 download::

• Turn off the macOS Firewall in System Settings. This will be temporary as we perform the next steps.
• Attempt the download of the Windows 11 ARM ISO - either through Fusion 13.6.1's GUI "Get Windows from Microsoft", using the vmw_esd2iso command sequence, or using the 24H2_esd2iso script from GitHub.
• Let us know if disabling the firewall works for you or not.
• Turn the firewall back on after running this experiment. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[TECH198]

It might be true, however i don't have MacOS on... at all... 

[Glen Parker]

Finally got it to download and install.    It was (probably) an issue with microsoft servers as originally thought.   Each time I'd retry the download it would spend time downloading and randomly stopping.   I'd see a download .esd file anywhere from 500Mb to 4Gb.  

Eventually, after about 30 retries over two days, one finally got through completely and I'm in business.    

[Jones Janet]

THANKS

[TECH198]

No firewall on here.... as far as i'm convinced its not true. I can see why people would think that when in "ON" but not in my case.

True could also potentially be extended to the issue of updating as well,  but fails on both accounts from my view...

[Technogeezer]

If this is still happening, consider downloading the "generic, official" Windows 11 ARM GA channel installation ISO from Microsoft's web site. See this forum post Windows 11 ARM ISO now available for download from Microsoft for the download link and instructions on how to use this ISO to install in a Fusion VM 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Dancin Forever]

I'm already on 13.6.1 and trying to install Win11 24H2 arm64 on a M1 MBP (2020)

When the installer for 24H2 proceeds, it doesn't register the network that is already attached to the machine (NAT).

My 23H2 VM has no issues accessing the network.

[Technogeezer]

You have a Windoes 11 ARM 24H2 installation ISO (probably directly downloaded from Microsoft rather than obtained through the Fusion "get Windows from Microsoft " feature). That ISO does not contain the VMware virtual network driver. You need to install the VMware driver at this point for Windows to complete setup.

See either the article  https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/windows-11-arm-iso-now-available-for-download-from-microsoft for instructions on how to install the network driver once you see the screen. (This is the same link in an earlier post in this thread). 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
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[Dancin Forever]

Hi!  Sorry it's taken so long for me to pick up this ball.   The article you've linked is no longer valid.

I've since used OOBE\BYPASSNRO during the setup to force a local user account and successfully able to get to the desktop.

I'd like to install the VMWare virtual network driver that is missing.

I poked around a bit and not clear which one of these drivers I need:

https://www.catalog.update.microsoft.com/Search.aspx?q=vmware%20windows%2024H2

I got this link from this article which seems a bit old (2022):

https://knowledge.broadcom.com/external/article/313779/how-to-manually-installuninstall-vmware.html

[Technogeezer]

I notice that the link was bad - it's now fixed and does point to a valid page. 

None of those drivers will work - the Windows Update Catalog only has VMware drivers for Intel Windows. The drivers you need for Windows 11 ARm are installed when you install VMware Tools. 

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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