8.1

Table Of Contents
Change Hard Disk Buffering
Fusion automatically sets hard disk buffering according to what guest operating system you use, but you
can change the setting.
Hard disk buffering can increase performance of your virtual machine. Hard disk buffering can also
consume more memory on your Mac host than operating unbuffered. Fusion enables or disables hard disk
buffering based on your virtual machine's operating system.
For all Windows Vista and later guest operating systems, Fusion defaults to unbuffered I/O for Mac hosts.
The same is true for all Windows 2000, 2003, XP, and XP 64-bit guests newly created with this version of
Fusion. All other guests default to buffered I/O on Mac hosts.
If you are not familiar with the options, keep the default setting.
Procedure
1 Select Window > Virtual Machine Library.
2 Select a virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Library window and click Settings.
3 Under Other in the Settings window, click Advanced.
4 Select an option from the Hard disk buffering menu.
Option Description
Automatic
Fusion determines your operating system and enables or disables hard
disk buffering depending on which type of buffering provides the best
performance.
Enabled
The virtual machine's operating system uses buffered I/O.
Disabled
The virtual machine's operating system uses unbuffered I/O.
Set Password Requirement for Opening a Boot Camp Virtual Machine
If you have a virtual machine that powers on the Boot Camp partition, you can set whether a password is
required each time you open it.
Prerequisites
You must have a Boot Camp partition on your Mac, and you must have created a virtual machine to power
it on.
Procedure
1 Select Window > Virtual Machine Library.
2 Select a virtual machine in the Virtual Machine Library window and click Settings.
3 Under Other in the Settings window, click Advanced.
4 Select the password requirement by setting Administrative privileges for Boot Camp disks.
Option Description
Never ask
When you open a Boot Camp virtual machine in Fusion, you do not need
to enter a password.
Always ask
Each time you open a Boot Camp virtual machine, you must enter the
password of the administrator account on the Mac.
Using VMware Fusion
138 VMware, Inc.