Fusion and Mac Pro EFI update

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Level 1

145 points

Fusion and Mac Pro EFI update

My early 2009 Mac Pro which is a 2.93 gig QuadCore will not run Fusion 3.01.

I receive an error that states: VMware Fusion cannot connect to the virtual machine.
Make sure you have rights to run the program and to access all directories it uses and rights to access all directories for temporary files.

I have looked up this error and have done what advice I could find which was to uninstall and re-install Fusion. I even did a new install on a different drive on a fresh install of Snow Leopard 10.6.2, on the same Mac Pro and I still receive this error. Everything worked fine until I updated the Mac Pro with the version 1.4 of the EFI Firmware update.
http://support.apple.com/kb/DL989

Is there anyone else that has this problem or has a possible solution? I am considering downgrading the firmware update but don't know if it is possible or if I should go a different route.

2009 Quad-Core 2.93 Nehalem Mac Pro, Mac OS X (10.6.2)

Posted on Jan 23, 2010 12:50 PM

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Answer 1

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Jan 23, 2010 1:55 PM in response to Paul Veronin

And is VMware silent on this issue? perhaps firmware update really broke, even as it improves hardware virtualization, whatever Fusion was coded to look for, and an update is needed. Which is rather a common occurrence with Apple updates.

Improves compatibility with virtualization products utilizing VT-d

http://communities.vmware.com/community/vmtn/desktop/fusion

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Answer 2

Paul Veronin Author

Level 1

145 points

Jan 23, 2010 3:07 PM in response to Paul Veronin

I reported it recently and am waiting for a response but have not heard yet. I haven't been able to find any other info from google or the Vmware user forums either. The error seems to be mentioned a lot but not directly linked to a firmware update.

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Answer 3

The hatter

Level 9

61,031 points

Jan 23, 2010 3:33 PM in response to Paul Veronin

I went through most of the threads (since 2006) and came up almost empty handed! And it was working properly up until this update...

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/30653

http://www.linux-kvm.org/page/EnableVT-X_on_Mac_Pro_%28Early2008%29

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=9976811&#9976811

A pair of mis-matched processors -
http://communities.vmware.com/message/1074205#1074205

And this real old early Parallels thread:
http://forum.parallels.com/showthread.php?t=577

I wonder if some simply switch or setting in Fusion just has to be re-enabled that was affected....??

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Answer 4

Paul Veronin Author

Level 1

145 points

Jan 23, 2010 4:03 PM in response to Paul Veronin

Thanks for your help.
It ran well prior to the update so I really think that is what the problem is, at least with my particular Mac Pro. Rather than downgrade my firmware, if that is even possible, I will probably wait to hear from vmware support and if no problem is aknowledged, I may switch to a different product. Maybe even the free solution from Sun.

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Answer 5

Jan 26, 2010 12:56 PM in response to Paul Veronin

It's probably not helpful - but fusion 3.01 runs great here with the Firmware-Update. Try reopening the VM (CMD-O, then navigate to the VM). Or maybe reinstalling VMWare will help.

Good luck,
Chris

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