Activating Windows Vista and Windows 7

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

A Boot Camp partition running Windows Vista or Windows 7 prompts to activate Windows when used in Fusion, after already having been activated when booted natively in Boot Camp.

OR
A virtual machine created through Migration Assistant or vCenter Converter and running Windows Vista or Windows 7 prompts to activate Windows when used in Fusion, after already having been activated when booted natively in Boot Camp.

Environment

VMware Fusion 4.x
VMware Fusion 7.x
VMware Fusion 6.x
VMware Fusion 3.x
VMware Fusion Pro 8.x
VMware Fusion 8.x
VMware Fusion 5.x
VMware Fusion 2.x
VMware Fusion 1.x
VMware Fusion 10.x
VMware Fusion Pro 10.x

Resolution

Any Boot Camp partition or migrated/converted virtual machine that has had its Windows license key successfully activated needs to be reactivated when run in Fusion because the hardware (such as memory, hard drive, motherboard, and display adapter) presented to Windows is different in each instance (the physical Apple hardware in Boot Camp or the physical machine hardware versus the virtualized hardware in Fusion). For more information on why activation is necessary, see the links at the end of this article. For more information on how to successfully activate Windows, see Activating Windows when swapping between Boot Camp and a virtual machine in VMware Fusion (1003426).

The activation process in Windows Vista and Windows 7 is different from the Windows XP activation process. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, retail activation keys are good for only one use. If you enter the same activation key in Fusion that that you used previously, you cannot successfully activate the virtual machine.

The activation wizard tells you that the activation key has already been used and prompts you to call the Microsoft activation hotline to get a second key. If you have not previously called the hotline for the same license key, you should get a new activation key automatically. You likely will not be routed to an operator unless you call repeatedly for the same key.

Note: If your activation timer has run out, you can gain an additional 3 days by booting in Boot Camp and deleting the folder C:\Users\All Users\VMware\RawDskCompatibility. This requires reactivation in each mode, but reactivation succeeds in Boot Camp because the hardware has not changed.

Additional Information

If you are trying to activate an OEM copy of Windows, see Support for OEM Windows installations (1012881). (An OEM copy of Windows would be found on a virtual machine created from a Windows CD that came with a physical computer, or a virtual machine that was created from a converted or migrated physical PC that came with Windows pre-installed.)

For more information about Microsoft activation in Windows Vista, see Microsoft's Windows Vista Activation FAQ.

For more information about Microsoft activation in Windows 7, see Microsoft's Activating Windows FAQ.

Note: The preceding links were correct as of September 9, 2013. If you find that a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Activating Windows when swapping between Boot Camp and a virtual machine in VMware Fusion
Support for OEM Windows installations
Windows Vista および Windows 7 をアクティベートする
激活 Windows Vista 和 Windows 7