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skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

4 edits

skeechan to not

Premium Member

to not

Re: Fusion VMs constantly hosed

There is no problem with the image as reported by the vdisk manager and I have followed the troubleshooting steps for verifying the integrity of the parent image files and as far as I see there is no "rebuild" in Fusion like there is in WS. All of the necessary image components are there and function.

While the image isn't native Fusion, permanent conversion of a Parallels image is a long supported feature of Fusion and an automated process.

not
@comcast.net

not

Anon

I'm not talking about "rebuild" as a function of the VM tools. I'm talking in terms of recreating the VM. When you switch VM'ing platforms it's ALWAYS a good idea to redo your VM, just in case the previous platform's drivers and tools subsystem crapped it out. Sure, it's supposed to work without issues to convert stuff over from one platform to another, but that's not what always happens. Do yourself a favor and just build a new VM (reload the OS, apps, etc.) as a test. If you want, just build a new VM with at least the OS reloaded on it and run it as a test for a few days and see if it corrupts. If it doesn't, then it's the VM. If it does, then it's hardware or Fusion related... something unique that you've stumbled across.

What have you got to lose at this point? You're not solving your issues now. This is the one thing you haven't done yet... something that should have been obvious to try from the get go. The one thing that you haven't ever changed is your VM (be it the snapshots or the original VM state). That's what you need to change as your next test. Rebuild it from the OS level up and see if it's stable for longer than your current borked VM is/stays before it corrupts.

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

Ah, I was too lazy to "start over" with installing Winderz, having to call India to get activated, then call India again to get Office activated, fight with AutoDesk with getting ACAD activated (this take days as you have to email receipts and everything, it sucks). The VM, once running does so without any issues at all.

The weird thing is that auto-protect snapshots don't work for fixing the borked VM while the manual ones do. I don't know what the difference could possibly be between a manual and auto-protect snapshot unless the VM is getting borked while it is running, but there is no problem with the VM while it is running and when suspended or shutdown, does so without any issues at all. You simply come back and try and reopen it and it says the VM is borked (some vmdk file which checks good in vdiskmanager) and there are no snapshots to repair it. And then I can simply open the snapshots window, pick the snap before the autosave and it fixes it in about 7 seconds. And it isn't the SSD since it has been swapped for a new one.

Before conversion I followed the instructions to remove the old drivers and Parallels tools and had the VM is a good neutral state. Then VMware's converter tool converts the image and once booted Fusion proceeds installs its own drivers. No problems at all, nothing weird, no devices missing...nada. And since, it has updated those drivers many times as VMWare pushes Fusion updates, including upgrading from ver 4 to ver 5.

I guess the next step is to start over as you say, it's just a PITA, especially now during the holiday when AutoDesk is no where to be found.

not
@comcast.net

not

Anon

Umm, if you have legit copies of these software packages, you don't need to call India to get activated. I have legit copies of Windows and Office (no AutoDesk, ok, but still) and the electronic activation works fine on them.

Also, as a quick question, when you shut down the VM, how are you shutting it down? Are you actually doing a Windows based shutdown from it's Start Menu or are you suspending and shitting down the VM via the VM menu tools? If you're doing it via the menu tools, let me suggest that you make a habit of shutting it down via the Windows functions themselves. Do that for a few times as a test... shut Windows down (don't suspend) via its one controls and let the VM close on its own as the VM'd OS calls for it. See if that still corrupts it. If it doesn't then it's a problem with Fusion definitely and the next step would be to try a rebuild of the VM as I said above.

skeechan
Ai Otsukaholic
Premium Member
join:2012-01-26
AA169|170

skeechan

Premium Member

I do have to call India if I reinstall. MS internet activation will claim they're already activated and tell me to call or buy another license. Normal hardware signatures that would simply permit reactivation never work for my VMs, probably because attempts have been used up through Fusion updates which may have changed the underlying hardware in the view of the Windows VM. If I go without any underlying VM changes for 6mos or a year, then MS would probably let me reactivate without calling. Autodesk requires calling and email along with jumping through fire hoops on a pogo stick no matter what. Once the software is activated, you are toast, even if reinstalling on identical hardware. It simply won't do 2 activations for any reason. I have to call and then email explaining what happened. I've done it three times now and each time I have had to scan and email them my purchase receipts. Then a few days later I am told that isn't good enough and they a photo of my license keys. It always takes about a week to get through the Autodesk gauntlet, during which they suggest I simply upgrade my software to their latest overpriced version.

I shut down the XP VM down using a Windows based shutdown, just as if it were a stand alone machine. Once completely shut down, I close the VM window and exit fusion. Alternatively I select suspend within fusion, wait for it do do its thing and then quit. Suspend in Fusion has been more reliable for me than the Windows shutdown.

I haven't been able to duplicate the cause of corruption. I could do the exact same process 5 times in a row in terms of suspending or shutdown and when I open it the 6th time, I find it is hosed.

not
@comcast.net

not

Anon

Build a new VM with Windows on it. You'll have 30 days to activate once it's loaded. Run that VM through the hoops with shutdowns, restarts, suspends, etc. See what happens. If it's stable, then go though activating the OS and installing your other apps. Go through the same shutdowns, restarts, etc. tests after that. See where you are. If still stable, then move your data over and stop using the old VM.