Knowledge Base

The Aero theme is only supported in guest operatings system running under Workstation 7, Fusion 3, or Player 3.

 

Previous versions of Workstation and Fusion did not provide a virtual graphics adapter that was capable of displaying the Aero theme. This applies to all versions of Window running in a guest operating system that are able to display the theme natively. At present, this includes Windows Vista, Windows 2008, and Windows 7.

The technical reason for this was that, until recently, VMware did not provide a compatible DirectX 9 virtual graphic adapter with the required Windows Display Driver Model (WDDM) driver. There were some additional requirements. For more information, see Windows Vista Enterprise Hardware Planning Guidance.

Note: This link was correct as of May 6, 2009. If you find the link is broken, please provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Windows 7 is a supported guest operating system only for Workstation 7, Fusion 3, and Player 3.  It is also a supported host operating system for Workstation 7 and Player 3.

 

Windows 7 is an unsupported guest operating system for all previous versions of Workstation, Fusion, and Player. It was also an unsupported host operating system for computer's running previous versions of Workstation and Player.

Using Windows 7 in your environment with anything prior to Workstation 7, Fusion 3, or Player 3 may cause unexpected results and is not recommended.

If you choose to use Windows 7 it is recommended that you upgrade to the most recent release of your product.  If you continue to use an older version and experience unexpected results, consult our community forums to see if anybody else has experienced the same thing and has a solution.

Note: This search link was correct as of May 6, 2009. If you find the link is broken, please provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.