VMWare 1.1.3 Tools Bootcamp and Vista Premium 32

[foto2010]

I have Version 1.1.3 of Fusion running Leopard 10.53 and I'm running Fusion from a BootCamp partition. The problem I have is VMWare Tools. Everytime I go into Fusion from Leopard I'm asked for my Leopard password and then I have to re-install VMWare tools. This resolves the problem for a day and then the next day when I go into VMWare from Leopard I have to repeat the process.

Here's what I did to get the program installed.

Installed Leopard - made sure I had the latest updates to Leopard. I'm running 10.53

Installed Bootcamp

Installed Vista Premium 32 with SP1 (and did all the updates from Microsoft)

Installed the Tools from my Leopard install disk

Installed VMWare Fusion 1.1.3 and am using the BootCamp partition to launch

Installed VMWare Tools

Then every subsequent time I go into Fusion from Leopard I have to put in my Leopard password and reinstall VMWare Tools.

I have uninstalled the tools, modified, and tried repair and nothing seems to resolve the problem. The activation seems to stay intact so I don't think its an issue with getting Vista to stay activated.

I know a couple other programs that run under Vista need to have programs installed running as an Administrator under Vista. I do this by right clicking on the program and choose Run as Administrator. But I don't know how to launch the VMWare tools in this mode because the only way I know to install it is by clicking on the Install VMWare Tools from the Fusion menu bar under Leopard.

I'm having this problem on 3 machines - 2 iMacs and 1 Macbook Pro - all with 4 gigs of memory.

I really like Fusion - but unless I can get this problem resolved I will be forced to go back to Parallels - ugh...

What can I do to resolve my problem?

Thanks,

[WoodyZ]

First of all every time Fusion runs the Boot Camp partition as a Virtual Machine it is normal and required to ask for the Name and Password because the Boot Camp partition has to be unmounted from the Host in order to run in the Guest. So this behavior is normal and expected.

How explicitly and specifically and the exact wording are you being told you need to install VMware Tools every time? A screenshot of the message would be nice.

Is the software configuration identical on all 3 systems as far a Host OS version, Fusion version, Windows version and SP level?

Built-in Mac Screenshot Commands

Key Combination - Result

CommandShift3 - Capture entire screen and save as a file.

CommandControlShift+3 - Capture entire screen and copy to the clipboard.

CommandShift4 - Capture dragged area and save as a file.

CommandControlShift+4 - Capture dragged area and copy to the clipboard.

CommandShift4 then Space bar - Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and save as a file.

CommandControlShift+4 then Space bar - Capture a window, menu, desktop icon, or the menu bar and copy to the clipboard.

Note: When you do a Screenshot that saves to a file it's placed on your Desktop as "Picture n.png" (Where "n" is a number.)

[foto2010]

I did not realize you would need to type in your Leopard password each time you launch Fusion from Leopard running on a boot camp partition. I guess the only way around it would be to install a separate copy of Vista in its own partition? But with some training and understanding I may be able to live with this.

The other issue with the tools remains unchanged. I have attached a screen shot of the message that I get. Basically it thinks that the tools aren't installed - but when I do try and install them I'm given the menu that says repair, modify, or remove.

The other thing that I don't understand is why it tells me that the VM needs to be running when it clearly is. Even after waiting for a few minutes for everything to finish loading before trying to run the install program.

The machine configurations are all the same. Leopard 10.53, Fusion 1.1.3, and Vista Ultimate 32 with SP1 - and all 3 machines display the same behavior.

Thanks for your insight. I look forward to understanding more about the tools issue.

See attached screen shot.

[foto2010]

Where does the VMWare Tools file live? Perhaps the file that I have is corrupt and if I could launch it from Vista I could install it as an administrator and perhaps that would resolve my issue.

I know that I have installed the tools - but the mouse behaves erratically and I can't drag and drop files from Leopard to Vista without the tools being installed properly.

Thanks for your help.

[asatoran]

...

The other issue with the tools remains unchanged. I have attached a screen shot of the message that I get. Basically it thinks that the tools aren't installed - but when I do try and install them I'm given the menu that says repair, modify, or remove.

Try removing (uninstalling) Tools, let the system reboot, then reinstall Tools.

The other thing that I don't understand is why it tells me that the VM needs to be running when it clearly is. Even after waiting for a few minutes for everything to finish loading before trying to run the install program.

That's just the normal warning message. You got the the normal Tools setup so you can ignore this warning.

(Edit: This is just a suggestion. After you take a screen shot, open the PNG file in Preview and save as a JPEG. The file size is much smaller, usually half. If you reduce the quality, it can be even smaller. This makes uploading and viewing the screen shots quicker. )

[foto2010]

I have uninstalled the tools then rebooted and reinstalled the tools several times. In fact I just did it and the issue remains the same for me.

Any other suggestions?

Again - the issue remains on two 24" imacs and one Macbook Pro - all with the same software configuration. Until I get the issue figured out I'm only using the iMac to run Fusion/Vista.

Thanks,

[asatoran]

...Then every subsequent time I go into Fusion from Leopard I have to put in my Leopard password and reinstall VMWare Tools....

I'm re-reading the entire thread again, and I'm wondering, why you're reinstalling VMWare Tools. The screen shot in the message after the Tools setup.exe has already started. Is that message appearing automatically? Is there a Fusion message saying you need to install Tools again or that your Tools is out of date? The Virtual Machine menu will still say "Install VMWare Tools" even if your Tools are up to date. There's no need to manually install Tools again, unless you're prompted or have some other issue and need to reinstall Tools.

Or do you have the VMWare Tools ISO mounted in the Virtual Machine settings? So Autorun would keep trying to run SETUP.EXE and install Tools?

[foto2010]

The reason why I have to reinstall the tools is the computer acts like the tools aren't installed. By this I mean I can't drag files from Leopard and drop them onto the Vista desktop and sometimes it doesn't connect to the Internet - again unless I reinstall the tools each time I go into it. It seems that the combination of mounting Vista under Fusion from a Bootcamp partition is causing this quirk.

Do you know where the tools file install lives? I suspect it has something to do with the permissions under Vista. If I could access the setup file right from Vista I could run it as an Administrator - even though my user account has admin access. I have had to do this with a couple other programs to get them to install properly.

I have searched for the tools setup.exe file but can not locate it under Vista or Leopard. Is it possible to download just the VMware tools file so I can access it as a standalone program rather than just launching it from the Fusion menu?

Thanks for your help.

[asatoran]

The reason why I have to reinstall the tools is the computer acts like the tools aren't installed. By this I mean I can't drag files from Leopard and drop them onto the Vista desktop and sometimes it doesn't connect to the Internet - again unless I reinstall the tools each time I go into it. It seems that the combination of mounting Vista under Fusion from a Bootcamp partition is causing this quirk.

Ok, that's different than what I thought the problem you were having. I (and I think the others as well,) thought you were having a problem with VMWare Tools in general, not specifically with drag and drop.

Do you know where the tools file install lives? I suspect it has something to do with the permissions under Vista. If I could access the setup file right from Vista I could run it as an Administrator - even though my user account has admin access. I have had to do this with a couple other programs to get them to install properly.

I have searched for the tools setup.exe file but can not locate it under Vista or Leopard. Is it possible to download just the VMware tools file so I can access it as a standalone program rather than just launching it from the Fusion menu?

Setup.exe is located on the Tools ISO located in Library/Application Support/VMWare Fusion/isoimages. There is a separate ISO images for each type of OS. Mount the Windows.iso in your Vista virtual machine's CD drive.

However try this first. Uninstall Tools, reboot TWICE. Then install Tools. Seems like there's something that Windows has to "clean up" after the first reboot. If you search the forums, you'll find that WoodyZ always recommends a double reboot and that seems to work many times. I usually also login on the second reboot (if you do not auto logon.) I don't know if that's necessary, but I like to check Windows over before I do the second reboot.