How to run Windows 8 on VMWare Fusion 3.1.4?

[ideal.dreams]

So I downloaded the Windows 8 release preview today and wanted to try it out in a virtual machine...however every time I try to run it I'm greeted with an error message saying my "PC has encountered an error and needs to restart"

Has anyone else had an issue like this? Is there any way to fix the problem?

Thanks!

 

[Nermal]

I was never able to get it to run, and had to use VirtualBox instead. On the other hand, you're not missing much!

 

[ideal.dreams]

It's a shame that software you pay for can't do what free software can. Thanks! I'll give VirtualBox a try.

 

[Nermal]

Yeah, it's frustrating, especially since there is no cheaper upgrade price to Fusion 4; you need to buy a "full" version

 

[posguy99]

It's a shame that software you pay for can't do what free software can.

Yes, it's certainly a shame that software released three years ago in October of 2009 can't do what software just released in April of 2012 can do when beta software that hasn't been released yet is run under it.

Do OSS people ever actually think, or is it just a knee-jerk reaction?

 

[ideal.dreams]

Yes, it's certainly a shame that software released three years ago in October of 2009 can't do what software just released in April of 2012 can do when beta software that hasn't been released yet is run under it.

Do OSS people ever actually think, or is it just a knee-jerk reaction?

You're right, what was I thinking? Let me pay another $50 to upgrade the software I've paid for once already to gain more functionality.

 

[LaWally]

I was able to install W8 on VMware, but it ran like a dog. Tried VB and it was a much more pleasant experience.

Don't know what your problem might be with VMware. I upgraded a W7 install to W8. Were you doing the same or a new W8 install?

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It's a shame that software you pay for can't do what free software can. Thanks! I'll give VirtualBox a try.

You'll have to do a 32bit install as VB does not support 64bit W8 install on Mac OSX.

 

[ideal.dreams]

I was able to install W8 on VMware, but it ran like a dog. Tried VB and it was a much more pleasant experience.

Don't know what your problem might be with VMware. I upgraded a W7 install to W8. Were you doing the same or a new W8 install?

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You'll have to do a 32bit install as VB does not support 64bit W8 install on Mac OSX.

I'm doing a fresh install of Windows 8, not an upgrade. I currently have Windows XP Pro in VMWare that I use as a last resort for apps that do not have a Mac version, which is very rare. I figured I'd give Windows 8 a go but it's not proving to be worth the hassle. I'm not going to pay $50 to upgrade to VMWare 4 just to gain that functionality and I'm not going to ditch VMWare altogether since I already paid for it.

I downloaded the 64bit version of Windows 8 and VirtualBox did accept it. I gave it 2GB of memory which was a mistake, because as soon as I powered it on, it consumed all 2GB of my 4GB. What is the recommended memory allocation for it? I had to quit the installation halfway through because Safari, Mail, Calendar and Adium were using up almost the other half of my memory, making the experience miserable.

 

[LaWally]

I'm doing a fresh install of Windows 8, not an upgrade. I currently have Windows XP Pro in VMWare that I use as a last resort for apps that do not have a Mac version, which is very rare. I figured I'd give Windows 8 a go but it's not proving to be worth the hassle. I'm not going to pay $50 to upgrade to VMWare 4 just to gain that functionality and I'm not going to ditch VMWare altogether since I already paid for it.

I downloaded the 64bit version of Windows 8 and VirtualBox did accept it. I gave it 2GB of memory which was a mistake, because as soon as I powered it on, it consumed all 2GB of my 4GB. What is the recommended memory allocation for it? I had to quit the installation halfway through because Safari, Mail, Calendar and Adium were using up almost the other half of my memory, making the experience miserable.

So VB has been updated to do 64bit under OSX. That's good to know.

Microsoft's recommendation for W8 is 1 GB (32bit) and 2GB (64bit). I run W8 (32bit) in a 1GB vm and it works reasonably well. I would have preferred to set up a 2GB vm, but I only have 4GB on my 2008 iMac, so allocating more than 1GB gives a very unpleasant experience ... unless that's the only thing I have running, which is almost never the case.

 

[ideal.dreams]

So VB has been updated to do 64bit under OSX. That's good to know.

Microsoft's recommendation for W8 is 1 GB (32bit) and 2GB (64bit). I run W8 (32bit) in a 1GB vm and it works reasonably well. I would have preferred to set up a 2GB vm, but I only have 4GB on my 2008 iMac, so allocating more than 1GB gives a very unpleasant experience ... unless that's the only thing I have running, which is almost never the case.

I'm in the same boat... I should have downloaded the 32bit version. I gave Windows 8 2GB of my 4GB of RAM and it was miserable. I did order more RAM though so I'll have 8GB total so I'm hoping it'll run a lot better. Thanks!