If you’re using VMware Fusion to run virtual machines on MacOS, you might have come across a bug where VMware Fusion asks if you’ve moved or copied your virtual machine. VMware maintains an “identity” (UUID) for each virtual machine in its *.vmx file. This ID is used to calculate the random MAC addresses of the vm’s virtual network cards among other things. One theory is how MacOS gives users the option of changing their wireless MAC address when they change wireless networks. VMware Fusion is picking this up and detecting it as a change to the virtual machine. Fortunately, there’s a fix.
The popup message probably looks similar to this:
Fix VMware Fusion on MacOS Asking if the Virtual Machine was Moved or Copied
The solution, which also works in Windows and Linux hosts, is to add uuid.action = “keep” to the .vmx file of the virtual machine.
In MacOS, this file is bundled with the virtual machine. You’ll want to navigate to where the virtual machine is stored, usually in your Home Directory in a folder called Virtual Machines. Then right-click (or two-finger click) on the virtual machine and select Show Package Contents. When the window opens, you’ll see a bunch of files. Scroll through them until you find the .vmx file. Its usually VMname.vmx. You can right-click on it and select Open With and use TextEdit.
Scroll down the file, and usually about halfway, you’ll find lines like uuid.bios and uuid.location. Create a new line above those with uuid.action = “keep”. Save the file.
Now when you start your virtual machine, you shouldn’t get the prompt about it being moved or copied anymore.
