This article shows you the steps to run Windows 7 on a new virtual machine using VMware Fusion 12 Pro on the macOS operating system on Mac.
After creating a new virtual machine on your system with VMware Fusion virtualization software, you can install Windows 7 Ultimate by watching this video tutorial or following the steps below.
Step 1: After installing and opening VMware Fusion Pro, select Create a custom virtual machine in the virtual machine setup options and click Continue.
Step 2: In the Guest operating system selection window, select Windows 7 x64 and click Continue again.
Step 3: Check Legacy BIOS in the firmware type selection window and continue.
Step 4: Create a new virtual disk for a clean Windows 7 installation in the virtual disk selection window.
Step 5: In the window showing the summary information of the virtual machine, click Customize Settings to configure the hardware settings better.
Step 6: When the Save As window opens, select where to save your virtual computer or use the default location.
Step 7: When the Windows 7 guest machine settings are opened, click Processors & Memory and add 1 or 2 virtual processors to your virtual system. Assign virtual memory size to your VM according to the RAM capacity of your host computer.
Step 8: Open the Network Adapter hardware settings and configure the virtual network adapter type as Ethernet. You can connect to your host’s local network using Ethernet on the guest’s machine. Also, in the same window, click Advanced Options and tick the IOMMU feature.
Step 9: Finally, click on the CD/DVD (SATA) device and add the Windows 7 ISO file you downloaded to your Mac to the virtual machine.
Step 10: Close the Windows 7 virtual machine’s settings, run your guest machine in the Fusion program, and start the installation.
Step 11: After installing Windows 7, do not click Virtual Machine / Install VMware Tools in the Fusion tool menu! If you try to install the current version, the installation will not be completed. So, download version 11 of VMware Tools and install it after adding the image file to the VM.
Step 12: After completing the VMware Tools installation, restart your virtual computer.
Step 13: After installing VMware Tools, you can fit the screen resolution of the Windows 7 guest machine to the entire screen and transfer files between the host and the VM.