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macOS Unlocker for VMware V2.1
==============================

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| IMPORTANT:                                                                  |
| ==========                                                                  |
|                                                                             |
| Always uninstall the previous version of the Unlocker before using a new    |
| version. Failure to do this could render VMware unusable.                  |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

1. Introduction
---------------

Unlocker 2 is designed for Workstation 11/12/14, Player 7/12/14, 
and Fusion 7/8/10.

If you are using an earlier product please continue using Unlocker 1.

Version 2 has been tested against:

* Workstation 11/12/14 on Windows and Linux
* Workstation Player 7/12/14 on Windows and Linux
* Fusion 7/8/10 on macOS Sierra

The patch code carries out the following modifications dependent on the product
being patched:

* Fix vmware-vmx and derivatives to allow macOS to boot
* Fix vmwarebase .dll or .so to allow Apple to be selected during VM creation
* Download a copy of the latest VMware Tools for macOS

Note that not all products recognise the darwin.iso via install tools menu item.
You will have to manually mount the darwin.iso for example on Workstation 11 and Player 7.

The vmwarebase code does not need to be patched on macOS systems so you will see a
message on those systems telling you that it will not be patched.

In all cases make sure VMware is not running, and any background guests have
been shutdown.

The code is written in Python as it makes the Unlocker easier to run and maintain on ESXi.

2. Prerequisites
----------------

The code requires Python 2.7 to work. Most Linux distros and macOS ship with a compatible
Python interpreter and should work without requiring any additional software.

Windows Unlocker has a packaged version of the Python script using PyInstaller, 
and so does not require Python to be installed.

3. Limitations
--------------

If you are using VMware Player or Workstation on Windows you may get a core dump.

Latest Linux products are OK and do not show this problem.

+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+
| IMPORTANT:                                                                  |
| ==========                                                                  |
|                                                                             |
| If you create a new VM using version 11, 12 or 13 hardware VMware may stop  |
| and create a core dump. There are two options to work around this issue:    |
|                                                                             |
| 1. Change the VM to be HW 10 - this does not affect performance.            |
| 2. Edit the VMX file and add:                                               |
|    smc.version = "0"                                                        |
|                                                                             |
+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------+

4. Windows
----------
On Windows you will need to either run cmd.exe as Administrator or using
Explorer right click on the command file and select "Run as administrator".

win-install.cmd   - patches VMware
win-uninstall.cmd - restores VMware
win-update-tools.cmd - retrieves latest macOS guest tools

5. Linux
---------
On Linux you will need to be either root or use sudo to run the scripts.

You may need to ensure the Linux scripts have execute permissions
by running chmod +x against the 2 files.

lnx-install.sh   - patches VMware
lnx-uninstall.sh - restores VMware
lnx-update-tools.cmd - retrieves latest macOS guest tools

6. macOS
--------
On macOS you will need to be either root or use sudo to run the scripts.
This is really only needed if you want to use client versions of macOS.

You may need to ensure the macOS scripts have execute permissions
by running chmod +x against the 2 files.

osx-install.sh   - patches VMware
osx-uninstall.sh - restores VMware

7. ESXi
-------
ESXi is no longer supported as there are too many errors on newer versions due to
VMware hardening the ESXi image.

8. Thanks
---------

Thanks to Zenith432 for originally building the C++ unlocker and Mac Son of Knife
(MSoK) for all the testing and support.

Thanks also to Sam B for finding the solution for ESXi 6 and helping me with
debugging expertise. Sam also wrote the code for patching ESXi ELF files and
modified the unlocker code to run on Python 3 in the ESXi 6.5 environment.


History
-------
10/10/17 2.1.0 - New version to support ESXi 6.5, Workstation/Player 14 and Fusion 10
              - Removed support for ESXi 6.0
              - Added ESXi boot option to disable unlocker (nounlocker)
11/10/17 2.1.1 - Removed all support for ESXi 6.x


(c) 2011-2017 Dave Parsons

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NTAK

NTAK 0

Posted

FYI, Symantec Endpoint Protection (version: 14.0 RU1 MP1) flagged and quarantined gettools.exe and unlocker.exe as known security risks.

Asxetos

Asxetos 0

Posted

FYI 2, the code for downloading tools needs improovement.

The darwinPre15.iso downloaded is just a duplicate darwin.iso, giving you problems when trying to install tools in i.e. Yosemite.

000

000 0

Posted

thx a lot, this tool works!!   

atheerioy

atheerioy 0

Posted

Hi all,

 

this is my first post, probably my first one any where...

 

This unlocker does not work for me as well as 2.1.0, after applying, I got the error "cannot find a valid peer process to connect to" on every virtual machine I have when I start them wether it is an OS X or Windows  (I have many virtual OS X and windows machines), it is not a security issue or hardware version, I searched here and google it but couldn't find a solution, once I osx-uninstall.sh everything back to normal...

 

I need to run Snow Leopard 10.6.8...

 

- VMware Fusion Pro 10.1.1 (7520154)

- macOS High Sierra 10.13.3 (17D47)

- iMac 27-inch, Late 2013

jtash

jtash 0

Posted

Hi. For some reason,  the screen in the OSX vm (Workstation 14) keeps dropping from the native 1920x1080 to scaled down to 960x540 HiDPI. How can I prevent the vm machine from dropping down in resolution?

Deli Dumrul

Deli Dumrul 7

Posted

On 2/13/2018 at 4:11 AM, jtash said:

Hi. For some reason,  the screen in the OSX vm (Workstation 14) keeps dropping from the native 1920x1080 to scaled down to 960x540 HiDPI. How can I prevent the vm machine from dropping down in resolution?

@jtash

After the installation of vmware tools you should run these command.

sudo defaults delete /Library/Preferences/com.apple.windowserver.plist DisplayResolutionEnabled

reboot the vm.

cool_recep

cool_recep 10

Posted

Instead of creating different entries for every release, update the exisitng one please!

BWEL

BWEL 5

Posted (edited)

I tested and confirm that Unlocker v2.1.1 works fine with VMware Workstation 15 Build 10134415 (x64) in Windows and Linux (Ubuntu).

 

Thank you so much DONK!

Edited by BWEL
  • Thanks 1
vitellozzo1

vitellozzo1 0

Posted

Downloading the latest VMware tools for Darwin is not a good idea.

The latest version including 2D acceleration was distributed with "Fusion 8.5.3.4696910". This seems to contains Darwin.iso v10.0.10.

 

Installing anything higher will result in sluggish video performance, at least under windows.

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