VM Fusion - Viewing Windows folders FROM Mac
I have a new iMac and have installed VM Fusion 3 and Windows 7 x64.
Wish I didn't, but I need Windows 7 to run software for work. The software writes to output directories in the Windows partition.
On the Mac side, I have Office for Mac. I'd like to be able to save documents opened or created in Office in the Windows directories, specific to the projects they are associated with.
Is this possible? I can set up Mac folders that are accessible from Windows, but can't seem to set up the reverse. And the reverse is what I need! That is, I need to write FROM Mac applications TO Windows folders.
If this is not possible with VM Fusion, do you know if it is possible with Parallels?
Thanks
Wish I didn't, but I need Windows 7 to run software for work. The software writes to output directories in the Windows partition.
On the Mac side, I have Office for Mac. I'd like to be able to save documents opened or created in Office in the Windows directories, specific to the projects they are associated with.
Is this possible? I can set up Mac folders that are accessible from Windows, but can't seem to set up the reverse. And the reverse is what I need! That is, I need to write FROM Mac applications TO Windows folders.
If this is not possible with VM Fusion, do you know if it is possible with Parallels?
Thanks
Comments
ifconfig -a
it tells you the IP address of the vmnet daemons that VMWare gets its IP address from so you can use that to address the VM directly. This is also handy if you need to test websites as you can use this IP in your Mac hosts file to setup virtual hosts.
Another thing you may be able to do is to use a folder alias in your VM to your VMWare shared folder where you need that folder to be. I suspect the smb folder option will be more reliable as far as the VM is concerned though as there's no chance of a settings change affecting the location.
I should also say that I'm no computer expert, so please pardon my ignorance.
Firstly, what is "smb"?
When I run the ifconfig -a command, it returns several items. The two that seem the most appropriate are "vmnet1" and "vmnet8". Do I just try both IP addresses until I find the one that works?
And do I use the "inet" IP address or the "broadcast" IP address (they're different).
Firstly, what is "smb"?
When I run the ifconfig -a command, it returns several items. The two that seem the most appropriate are "vmnet1" and "vmnet8". Do I just try both IP addresses until I find the one that works?
It seems you don't need to do this manually. SMB is short for Samba - it's a network filesystem, which is a platform independent protocol for reading and writing files.
To set it up, you would enable folder sharing in your VM by going to the tools menu in the Windows file manager then folder options > view and check simple file sharing if it isn't already.
Then create a folder you want to share, right-click and choose sharing and security. Then go through the wizard and restart the VM at the end. Right-click a folder and enable sharing read/write. On the Mac side go into shared in the Finder and choose the shared folder.
I have tried several things, but have still not had any luck. Again, this is Windows 7 which is totally new to me. I've been using XP for years and am still trying to find how to access certain settings, etc.
On the Windows side, I have a folder C
I right-click the folder again and look at "Properties".
* Under the "Sharing" tab, it shows the folder as "Shared" and if I further look at sharing properties, it shows the same dialog as the "Share with" option above. It also shows the Network Path to the folder:
\\\\Win-4mo7hrurrc0\\Output_Data
* Under the "Security" tab, it shows "SYSTEM" "ME (owner)" "Home Users" and "Administrators". For the sake of getting this to work, I have granted everyone "Full Control" read/write/modify, etc.
Power down Windows. Power down VM.
(by the way, in the Windows Folder Options, I didn't see an option for "simple file sharing". This mostly seems to be options for display, file extensions, etc. Under Advanced Settings, the only "sharing" reference I found was "Use Sharing Wizard", which is checked --- but I've yet to encounter a wizard during all my time trying to get this thing set up!).
Power up VM. Boot Windows. (VM network adapter is set to NAT)
Double-check all my Windows folder sharing settings and all seem OK.
Go to Mac and open Finder.
In the Shared section, it only shows a networked hard drive (which I have no trouble connecting to from Mac or Windows). It doesn't show me any other options.
Under Devices, if I select "Macintosh HD", it shows the normal Mac folders and a VM "Windows 7 x64" entry, which is not a folder (if I click it, it only gives me info.)
If I select Go --> Network, it only shows the networked HD.
If I try to connect to \\\\Win-4mo7hrurrc0\\Output_Data, I get an error.
Nowhere can I find anything that looks like it would lead me to any folder on the Windows side.
What am I doing wrong?
In the Shared section, it only shows a networked hard drive (which I have no trouble connecting to from Mac or Windows). It doesn't show me any other options.
For Windows 7, check out the following guide for setting up the shared folder and connecting from the Mac:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSm0YflelJ4
It sounds like you probably have sharing setup ok but you may have to connect manually to Windows 7 using the connect to server option but it shows what settings to type in the video.
turn password-protected sharing off in the main network panel for both home and public
add a new sharing name (don't use homegroup read/write) called Guest
on the Mac side, connect to server and type in smb:// followed by the shared name of the Windows folder then connect as Guest
Hi,
You can view your windows folders from mac by following this procedure :
Reference : http://techsultan.com/share-folder-mac-os-x-windows-7-vmware/