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Posted By: donikatz MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/17/09 08:55 PM
Has anybody been able to get MacDrive 8 working in Windows 7 on VMware ESX 3.5 (not Fusion)? It installs okay, but trying to mount a DMG results in: "The volume does not contain a recognized file system" error. I found one other post somewhere with the same question, but no answers yet.

I'm guessing MacDrive may be incompatible with VMware ESX 3.5's SCSI disk drivers. Hmm, perhaps it would work under vSphere 4 which supposedly has wider support for SATA...?

PS: This topic is really Mac on Win rather than Win on Mac, but there's no more-appropriate forum for it at the moment, so...
Posted By: joemikeb Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/17/09 10:27 PM
I can't help you with your question, but it fits the intent of this forum when it was set up. smile

Posted By: Sturner Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 04:19 AM
Trying to mount a .DMG file in Windows will normally fail. The format isn't a Windows native format. Try opening the .DMG file in a mac and transfer the file contents by physical media.

This isn't a problem on a Mac running fusion because you already have the format compatibility. Same for Boot Camp, you have format compatibility built in.
Posted By: donikatz Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 04:36 AM
Thanks for the post, but I think you missed the part about MacDrive. MacDrive is a Windows app specifically designed to read Mac OS HFS+ file systems, including mounting DMG files. I've been using it for years. The issue is specifically with the config above.

http://mediafour.com/products/macdrive/
Posted By: alternaut Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 01:40 PM
Originally Posted By: donikatz
The issue is specifically with the config above.

Are you sure the problem isn't due to a MacDrive limitation related to the status of Windows 7? In other words: is MacDrive doing the same thing while running Windows 7 under e.g., Bootcamp?

Alternatively, are your DMGs encrypted? MacDrive 8 doesn't (yet) support mounting those.
Posted By: donikatz Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 02:42 PM
Ah, no encrypted DMG support -- that's the answer, thanks! I must have missed that when perusing their FAQ.

Unfortunately that makes it pretty useless for almost any DMG you download. I was able to get it to mount a homemade DMG, though. Maybe I'll revert back to MD7 and the Windows 7 workaround for now. I'll also have to ask Mediafour why they removed the feature; wonder if it's a licensing issue.

Anyhow, problem solved! Thanks again for saving me the trouble of going through another fresh install to rule out VMware as the culprit. smile
Posted By: Sturner Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 02:54 PM
I reread your op and see where I made the error. I thought you were trying to mount a .DMG that contained MacDrive. My error.
Posted By: donikatz Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 05:15 PM
Response from Mediafour is that MD has never been able to read encrypted DMGs or SDIs. The wording in the linked FAQ is confusing: I read it to mean MD7 first had the feature implemented of being able to read encrypted DMGs, but MD8 no longer does. But all they mean to say is that the feature of DMG support (at all) was first added in MD7.

Soo... I still have no idea why my homemade DMG file worked but a couple of downloaded DMGs that worked fine in MD7 on a laptop don't work in MD8 on VMware. I've asked Mediafour if anything's changed between the two releases that would account for this. Otherwise, I'll just have to go ahead and build out a new non-virtual Win7 box to test.
Posted By: donikatz Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/18/09 06:47 PM
Yup, it must be a VMware thing. I just installed in on a desktop PC and it mounts the same DMGs just fine. Good to know. Thanks all
Posted By: donikatz Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/19/09 01:31 PM
Hrmph -- Response back from Mediafour is that there are no known incompatibilities with virtualization and opening DMGs. So now I'm stumped. Maybe it's an incompatibility between Win7 RTM + VMware + MD8 + DMG? Since they haven't fully tested RTM, perhaps it works fine on a desktop but for some reason not on VMW?

Whatever: I'm only testing in VMW because my hackintosh is in the shop; once it's back I'll throw it on there. If good, I don't really care about the VMW compatibility...
Posted By: alternaut Re: MacDrive in VMware ESX - 08/19/09 04:54 PM
Looks like you're zeroing in on the culprit. Please keep us posted! tongue
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