ipod crashes Windows in vmware

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burdavis Author

Level 1

17 points

ipod crashes Windows in vmware

I just migrated to a new MacBook Pro 15" Retina. I am running iTunes 12.3.2.35 in Windows 7 in VMWare Fusion 8.0.0.

I used to be able to connect my trusty old 120Gb iPod to Windows, but now I can't.

a) it does not mount: I can not see the iPod as a volume in Windows Explorer, nor does it show up in iTunes

- although I *can* see an "Apple iPod USB Device" in the Devices and Printers control panel

b) it crashes Windows: after a minute or so VMWare reports that "VMWare Fusion has encountered and error and has shut down Windows."

The iPod mounts no problem in MacOS and appears in iTunes Mac.

- Has anyone encountered this behavior (or something similar)?

- Anyone have any suggestions for resolving it?

MacBook Pro with Retina display, OS X El Capitan (10.11.2), running Windows 7 in VMWare 8.0.0

Posted on Jan 11, 2016 6:57 PM

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Answer 1

Jan 12, 2016 3:50 AM in response to burdavis

If you connect the iPod while VMware Fusion is running the Windows virtual machine, does a dialog come up asking if you want to connect the iPod to the Mac or to Windows?

Did this work before, with iPod connected to the Windows virtual machine running iTunes for Windows? Or does "I used to be able to connect my trusty old 120Gb iPod to Windows" refer to connecting the iPod when you were using a "real" Windows PC?

Did you use VMware Fusion to migrate your existing Windows PC system into a virtual machine? Or is the virtual machine a new Windows 7 installation?

Ultimately, if your current iTunes library data is on the Windows virtual machine, you should move it over to the "Mac side" and have iTunes on your Mac use that iTunes library. It will look like the same iTunes library, with all songs (and other media) and other supporting data such as playlists, play count, and ratings. And the iPod will treat it as the same iTunes library (because it is the same). Please post back for more info on how you can do that, in your situation.

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Answer 2

burdavis Author

Level 1

17 points

Jan 12, 2016 3:09 PM in response to Kenichi Watanabe

1. Re "If you connect the iPod while VMware Fusion is running the Windows virtual machine, does a dialog come up asking if you want to connect the iPod to the Mac or to Windows?" Yes, it does. I select "Connect to Windows".

2. Re "Did you use VMware Fusion to migrate your existing Windows PC system into a virtual machine? Or is the virtual machine a new Windows 7 installation?" I first set up this Windows 7 VM on my previous MacBook Pro Retina (a model from 2012), in an older version of VMWare. When I bought this latest MBP last month, I then a) installed the latest version of VMWare Fusion and b) transferred the Windows 7 VM from the previous machine by copying all the data to an external drive, then copying it to the new machine. Apart from a few minor configuration hiccups (and this iPod connectivity issue), the VM is running like a champ in the new version of VMWare Fusion on the new MBP.

3. So more data (and yes, this is very screwy but hey, it's software): I actually do have my iTunes library on the Mac side. The only reason I ever connect the iPod to Windows is to use OverDrive for Windows to transfer audiobooks in their old proprietary format (whose name currently escapes me). The workflow is: download data to Overdrive for Windows, run iTunes for Windows, connect iPod to Windows, then use the "Transfer" function in Overdrive to transfer the data to the iPod. I believe Overdrive is calling some iTunes API to perform a conversion and copy in the background.

Net net: If I could never connect my iPod again to this Windows 7 VM, I wouldn't be able to transfer some small subset of Overdrive audiobooks to my iPod. Not the end of the world. Still, I hate to lose functionality.

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Answer 3

Jan 12, 2016 6:07 PM in response to burdavis

I understand. I occasionally connect one of my old iPods to iTunes for Windows (using VMware Fusion), for an oddly specific reason. But I sync that iPod using iTunes on the "Mac side." My version of VMware Fusion is 6.0.6. Didn't see a reason to upgrade, since my virtual machine is old Window XP (and I don't use it that much).

Since your Windows 7 virtual machine is the same one you used on your previous Mac, it's odd that it does not work with your iPod on the new Mac. The key difference is your version of WMware Fusion. Plus the new Mac, but since the iPod works fine with iTunes (for Mac), that is less likely to be a factor. Did you look in the Settings (in WMware Fusion) for your Window 7 virtual machine, specifically for USB devices? Is there's an option to make the ports USB 2.0?

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