How To Set Up Shared Folder For Vmware Fusion And Mac What To Share Storage Space

You can set up shared folders for a virtual machine. Shared folders provide an easy way to share files among virtual machines and between virtual machines and the host system.

The directories that you add as shared folders can be located on the host system, or they can be located on network directories that are accessible from the host system. Access to shared folders is governed by permission settings on the host system. For example, if you are running Workstation Player as a user named User, the virtual machine can read and write files in the shared folder only if User has permission to read and write the files.

To use shared folders, the guest operating system must have the current version of VMware Tools and must support shared folders.

With shared folders, you can easily share files among virtual machines and the host computer. To use shared folders, you must have the current version of VMware Tools installed in the guest operating system and you must configure your virtual machine settings to specify which directories are to be shared. To set up one or more shared. Nov 20, 2018 - Installing Windows on a Boot Camp partition with this method effectively. You use a virtualisation program (such as Parallels Desktop or VMware Fusion. You can also allocate extra memory and disk space, and even increase. Interacts with the macOS on your Mac, perhaps sharing specific folders.

Important:

Shared folders expose your files to programs in the virtual machine and might put your data at risk. Only enable shared folders if you trust the virtual machine with your data.

VMware recommends that Mac Time Machine users exclude virtual machines (VMs) from backup operations. VMware notes that any change to a VM's virtual hard disk file results in the entire file having to be backed up again.

Regardless, I back up my Mac manually, using Time Machine, approximately once a week. I choose to include the VM within the Time Machine backup, although I ensure the VM is always inactive and closed when the backup occurs to prevent any issues from arising with the VM. If you've taken the time to set up a VMware Fusion Windows installation, take just a little more time to ensure it's properly protected using Snapshots.

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VMware recommends Mac users use shared and mirrored Folders when using Time Machine. By saving documents and data as files on the host, not in the guest, Time Machine will still back up shared and mirrored folders because they do not reside within the VM. Mac users can enable shared or mirrored folders by following these steps.

1. With VMware Fusion open, click Window from the Menu Bar.
2. Select Virtual Machine Library.
3. Select the VM within the Virtual Machine Library window and click Settings.
4. Within the Systems Settings in the Settings window, click Sharing.
5. Select the Enable Shared Folders check box.

How to use Snapshots to protect VMware Fusion Windows installations

To protect the VM environment, and minimize the odds of having to reinstall and reconfigure Windows, VMware Fusion users can manually create Snapshots or set Fusion to automatically create Snapshots. Note: A Snapshot is not a complete backup of the VM; a Snapshot captures the entire VM state at the time you take the Snapshot, including memory, settings, and virtual disk states.

VMware recommends capturing a Snapshot whenever you're about to take an action with the VM and you're unsure of the consequences. Examples include changing system software, joining an unfamiliar network, upgrading the operating system, and performing major configuration changes.

To manually create a VMware Fusion Snapshot, follow these steps.

1. Open VMware Fusion.
2. Before you start the VM, click Virtual Machine from the Menu Bar.
3. Select Snapshots and click Take Snapshot.

To confirm a Snaphot was created, follow these steps.

1. Open VMware Fusion.
2. Click Virtual Machine from the Menu Bar.
3. Select Snapshots. VMware will list created Snapshots (Figure A).

Figure A

To delete a Snapshot, right-click the Snapshot and select Delete. VMware Fusion will warn you are about to delete the Snapshot. Click Delete to confirm the operation. A progress bar will appear tracking the deletion.

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VMware AutoProtect automatically creates Snapshots. To enable VMware Fusion AutoProtect, follow these steps.

1. Open VMware Fusion.
2. Before you start the VM, click Virtual Machine from the Menu Bar.
3. Select Snapshots, and select Snapshots again.
4. Click the AutoProtect Settings icon.
5. Check the Enable AutoProtect box.
6. Using the provided drop-down menu, specify how often VMware Fusion should capture AutoProtect snapshots. The default is every day.
7. Using the provided spin box, specify the maximum number of snapshots to keep. The default is 3.
8. Click the Done button.

SEE: Power checklist: Managing backups (Tech Pro Research)

To clean up a VMware Fusion installation, which can simplify creating and storing Snapshots, follow these steps.

1. Open VMware Fusion.
2. Click Virtual Machine from the Menu Bar and select Get Info.
3. Fusion will display in yellow the disk space that can be reclaimed. Click the Clean Up Virtual Machine button that appears within the Windows VM window (Figure B).

VMware will display a window showing the progress as Fusion works to reclaim disk space. The clean up action can significantly reduce a VM's size. How to download games on a mac for free. My VMware Windows install shrunk almost in half, from more than 50 GB to just 26.4 GB.

Figure B

Also see

• Three tips for maintaining Windows 10 in a Mac's VMware Fusion-powered VM (TechRepublic)
• Boot Camp vs. VM when running Windows on a Mac: How to select the best option (TechRepublic)
• Gallery: 10 free backup applications to help you prevent disaster (TechRepublic)
• VMware brings Windows 10 support with launch of Fusion 8, Workstation 12 (ZDNet)
• Virtualization Policy (Tech Pro Research)
• Quick glossary: Virtualization (Tech Pro Research)

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