Changing the type of SCSI controller used in a Fusion virtual machine

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to change the type of SCSI controller used in a Fusion virtual machine.

Environment

• VMware Fusion 8.x
• VMware Fusion 6.x
• VMware Fusion 7.x
• VMware Fusion 5.x
• VMware Fusion 3.x
• VMware Fusion 2.x
• VMware Fusion 4.x

Resolution

Notes:

• Before performing these steps, please ensure that you have upgraded the virtual machine's hardware by going to:
  • For Fusion 3.x and earlier, Virtual Machine > Upgrade Virtual Machine from the menu bar.
  • For Fusion 4.x and later, Settings > Compatibility. Set it to the compatibility level of the version of Fusion that you are using.
    
• Before making this change, ensure that you have installed an appropriate driver for the new controller in the guest operating system. This usually happens as part of an operating system installation. You can also add another virtual disk, on an additional virtual SCSI controller, to boot the guest operating system with its current controller. When the driver is installed, and the new disk detected, the additional disk can be removed.
  

To change the SCSI controller type from BusLogic to LSI Logic or from LSI Logic to BusLogic:

1. Ensure the virtual machine is powered off.
2. Open your virtual machine settings file (.vmx) using a text editor. For more information, see Editing the .vmx file for your Fusion virtual machine (1014782).
3. Locate the line that begins with scsix.virtualDev, and change the value (the part in quotes) to specify the type of controller you want to use:
   
   Note: If there is no line that begins with scsix.virtualDev, add a line specifying the type of controller you want to use.
   
   
   • To specify a virtual LSI Logic controller:
     
     scsix.virtualDev = "lsilogic"
     
     Where x is the SCSI controller number (probably 0 or 1)
     
     
   • To specify a virtual BusLogic controller:
     
     scsix.virtualDev = "buslogic"
     
     Where x is the SCSI controller number (probably 0 or 1)
     
     
4. Save and close the file.
   
   The virtual machine now uses the new SCSI driver.