Downgrading VMware Fusion 6.0 to 5.x

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to downgrade VMware Fusion 6.0 to 5.x.

Environment

VMware Fusion 5.x
VMware Fusion 6.x

Resolution

Note: The information applies only if you were evaluating Fusion 6.x. If you upgraded Fusion 6.x from 5.x then your Customer Connect account will not have a Fusion 5 license key, as it would have been upgraded to Fusion 6.

To downgrade VMware Fusion 6.x to 5.x:

1. Fusion 6.x uses a different hardware version than Fusion 5.x. You must downgrade the hardware version of your virtual machine to version 9.
   
   To downgrade your virtual hardware:
   
   1. Shut down the virtual machine. If the virtual machine is in a suspended state, resume it, then shut it down.
   2. Right-click the virtual machine and click Settings.
   3. Click Compatibility.
   4. Select Compatible with VMware Fusion 5 or higher. For more information, see Virtual machine hardware versions for Fusion (1022060).
   5. Click Close.
   
   
2. Manually uninstall VMware Fusion 6.0. If appropriate, ensure that you remove additional files and folders. For more information, see Manually uninstalling VMware Fusion (1017838).
3. Download and install the most recent VMware Fusion 5 version available from the VMware Download Center. For more information, see Downloading and installing VMware Fusion (2014097).
4. Start the virtual machine.
5. Uninstall VMware Tools, then re-install VMware Tools for Fusion 5.x. For more information, see Uninstalling and manually installing VMware Tools in VMware Fusion (1014522).

Additional Information

If your Fusion 6.0 trial period is over and you are unable to change the compatibility level from within VMware Fusion, contact VMware Support for a temporary key that extends your trial period and allows you to downgrade your virtual machine. For more information, see Filing a Support Request in Customer Connect (2006985).

How to file a Support Request in Customer Connect