03-24-2011, 02:57 PM

Hello - having some issues migrating a Win 7 PC over to VM Fusion on Mac mini... it gets about 70% through the process then reports:

Unable to find the system volume, reconfiguration is not possible.

I have tried twice.

I haven't took a detailed look at the logs yet, but intend to do so. I happy to troubleshoot the problem, but I have a bigger concern that I can't solve...

After attempting the migration twice, I've filled up about 240 GB of disk space! VM Fusion has apparantly not deleted whatever it wrote. I have searched, restarted, searched again... no luck.

So before I try to troubleshoot the migration, I need to clear some disk space! Any ideas where these files may be?

03-24-2011, 06:36 PM

VMWare fusion stores its documents here:

/Users/your name/Documents/Virtual Machines.localized/

You probably have multiple folders listed below this main folder. Just go ahead and delete them one by one. Each attempted install will create a folder with numerous files that take up hard drive space.

After you successfully remove all the unwanted stuff, get back to the thread and we'll see what gives with the migration problem.

BTW, I highly recommend making a backup before even messing with VMWare Fusion or any other VM software.

03-24-2011, 07:37 PM

Thank you - found the VM files... not an easy KB article to find:
VMware KB: Finding files leftover after a failed migration in Fusion

As for migrating - like I said, I tried twice with pretty much the same result. I am attempting to migrate an OEM installation of Windows 7... after some reading, I see that this could be a problem... not sure though as I've read mixed results in this area.

As for backup - meh, its a brand new Mac mini, so nothing to lose just yet. But thanks for the reminder... do need to set up external drive for time machine. This is my first Mac in like 20 years (think Mac SE) - so lots and lots to learn.

Thanks for your help so far.

03-24-2011, 10:55 PM

I am attempting to migrate an OEM installation of Windows 7

That's probably not going to work. As a matter of fact, I wouldn't try migrating anything less than a full install MS boxed copy, or a full install OEM System Builders version.

03-24-2011, 11:16 PM

thanks...

if I'm going to do what I really want, sounds like I have to actually buy a retail copy of Windows...the last thing anyone wants to do when moving to OS X...

Sadly, all I'm trying to run is Quicken... Quicken Essentials seems like crap, and Wine doesn't seem to do it very well...so, for now, VNC to existing windows machine... grrrr......

do you think i'd see an improvement running a VM versus a VNC to an existing machine? is a retail W7 worth the investment?

crap crap...time for cocktails... I really appreciate your insight... thanks!

03-25-2011, 02:43 AM

do you think i'd see an improvement running a VM versus a VNC to an existing machine? is a retail W7 worth the investment?

No question. Running from a VM is almost as fast as running in Windows itself. Fusion does a nice job with speed. The only drawback is no accelerated graphics or 3D support.

And yes, Windows 7 is worthwhile. I purchased the Home Premium version and run it from a Boot Camp partition. Also running XP Home using Fusion.

03-25-2011, 05:48 PM

I really appreciate your insight.

I was able to create a fresh VM install of XP from my old Dell OEM CD (it activated without a problem). Now I'm running Windows 7 Upgrade against that. Perfect.

Thanks again!