Unlocker VMWare Workstation 15.5

[Deridjian]

@Naki thanks for your comment and interest.

 

My motherboard is a H97 socket with an unlocked (lol...) Haswell CPU. Back in the day I had actually bought the MSI Z97i AC which would've allowed me to overclock the G3258 very impressively. The CPU was a steal back then for the performance it could provide overclocked. Sadly the board arrived malfunctioning and the reseller couldn't stock me another Z97 replacement. I got pretty upset and had to bite the apple ending up with the locked H97 version...

 

The CPU doesn't support VT-d so no reason to go into the BIOS to deactivate it. VT-x is and has been always enabled. I occasionally run tons of different OSes in VMware. From Windows, to almost every Linux distro, to several BSDs...never had an issue.

 

I did have Disable Execute Bit enabled though, which I think to remember causing me issues back when I still built hackintoshes. Disabling it didn't make a difference in this situation though. I also changed C-State from Auto to enabled and disabled HEIST. No change in VMware. I'm kinda disappointed by now. It seems nobody can help me here 'cause nobody's facing a similar issue.

[Pasqui]

Just finished trying out every Unlocker version listed - 3.0.2, 3.0.3 and MK-unlocker - none of these work on Workstation 15.5.6.16341506.

 

The same error is generated in the install script every time:

 

GOS Patching: C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmwarebase.dll
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "unlocker.py", line 401, in <module>
    main()
  File "unlocker.py", line 397, in main
    patchbase(vmwarebase)
  File "unlocker.py", line 306, in patchbase
    f = open(name, 'r+b')
PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\VMware\\VMware Workstation\\vmwarebase.dll'
[20096] Failed to execute script unlocker

Where or when will a current/usable version be available?

[Naki]

EDIT: Which Windows OS are you on, please? This is working just fine for me on Windows 10 64-bit, ver. 2004, Pro.  Same VMware Workstation Pro version too.

 

Are you doing this in an Elevated, Admin Command Prompt? If not try that way.

Please tell us if that helps, or not.

 

EDIT #2: Also, did you maybe disable Windows UAC function?  

 

EDIT #3: Which antivirus do you use? Maybe yours is blocking the VMware macOS Unlocker from changing the DLL file(s).

For me, I use Microsoft/Windows Defender here, which is mostly not too intrusive or noticеable.  When it blocks files I need to work, I add an exception to "Allow on device".

Edited August 17, 2020 by Naki
Mentioned UAC, asking for Windows OS info.

[Pasqui]

On 8/16/2020 at 10:35 AM, Naki said:

EDIT: Which Windows OS are you on, please? This is working just fine for me on Windows 10 64-bit, ver. 2004, Pro.  Same VMware Workstation Pro version too.

 

Are you doing this in an Elevated, Admin Command Prompt? If not try that way.

Please tell us if that helps, or not.

 

EDIT #2: Also, did you maybe disable Windows UAC function?  

 

EDIT #3: Which antivirus do you use? Maybe yours is blocking the VMware macOS Unlocker from changing the DLL file(s).

For me, I use Microsoft/Windows Defender here, which is mostly not too intrusive or noticеable.  When it blocks files I need to work, I add an exception to "Allow on device".

 

Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC, build 1809.

 

Of course it was run in elevated permissions.

 

The same result was with ESET disabled or enabled.  This is not an antivirus issue.

 

 

[omf]

On 8/15/2020 at 9:07 PM, dindu5678 said:

Just finished trying out every Unlocker version listed - 3.0.2, 3.0.3 and MK-unlocker - none of these work on Workstation 15.5.6.16341506.

 

The same error is generated in the install script every time:

 

GOS Patching: C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vmwarebase.dll
Traceback (most recent call last):
  File "unlocker.py", line 401, in <module>
    main()
  File "unlocker.py", line 397, in main
    patchbase(vmwarebase)
  File "unlocker.py", line 306, in patchbase
    f = open(name, 'r+b')
PermissionError: [Errno 13] Permission denied: 'C:\\Program Files (x86)\\VMware\\VMware Workstation\\vmwarebase.dll'
[20096] Failed to execute script unlocker

Where or when will a current/usable version be available?

This is almost certainly a permissions issue.  Maybe the VMware service is not being successfully stopped.  Post a screenshot (not cut/paste) of the output prior to this that shows services stopping.

[msftman19]

On 8/23/2020 at 12:05 PM, omf said:

This is almost certainly a permissions issue.  Maybe the VMware service is not being successfully stopped.  Post a screenshot (not cut/paste) of the output prior to this that shows services stopping.

FWIW, I just saw this and had to manually kill the vmware.exe process - it was still running even after the app/services were shut down

[Aaron44126]

Ok, VMware Workstation 16 is out...  Who wants to try it first?  :-P

(Fusion 12 also released with Big Sur support.)

Edited September 15, 2020 by Aaron44126

[Naki]

Thanks for the news!

Not me.  Risk too high, plus my main Windows 10 testing PC has very weird VMware Workstation installer issues, so this is always a pain for me.

Someone, if you do -- please tell us here how it goes.

 

EDIT: I am using Big Sur Beta DP6 just fine on older VMware Workstation, with some occasional 2-3 minute freezes, which probably the new version will fix.

Edited September 15, 2020 by Naki

[alv37]

Works for me using v3.0.3 of unlocker by BDisp.

[Aaron44126]

Thanks for testing.

I upgraded to 16, and then used the same unlocker as you from BDisp and my macOS 10.15 VM boots up just fine.  I also upgraded tools using the ISO file from VMware Fusion 12 and nothing bad seems to have happened.

 

I haven't upgraded to Big Sur yet but I imagine that I am ready to go when the time comes.

[flakey]

On 9/15/2020 at 11:33 AM, Aaron44126 said:

Ok, VMware Workstation 16 is out...  Who wants to try it first?  :-P

(Fusion 12 also released with Big Sur support.)

I upgraded to Workstation 16 Pro today. As expected, my macOS VM failed to boot after the upgrade.

 

I ran MK-Unlocker, exactly as I had done for previous upgrades, and it successfully did the trick once more. And now my macOS VM is back online.

[mkitchin]

I can't believe how many people have downloaded MK-Unlocker. I made it by pulling a broken version of Unlocker and putting a few fixes in. It has now been downloaded over 114,000 times. Everything is working for me with Workstation 16. I continue to support a community where Unlocker is very important.  Without giving too many details, it is to help people who can't afford a Mac but need macOS to use medical software that greatly improves their lives. I want to keep Unlocker alive. Unfortunately, we are short on people who are really up to speed on how the core of it works. We have been able to make minor fixes and tweaks. We are lucky that it continues to work on Workstation 16, and first reports are it still works with Big Sur. Some others that have contributed are https://github.com/BDisp/unlocker , https://github.com/paolo-projects/unlocker , and myself (https://github.com/mkitchingh/unlocker). Dr. Donk was a significant contributor, but I don't believe he is active anymore. Does anyone know anyone else active with this project, or someone that would like to become active? Without help, it will almost certainly quit working at some point. 

[mkitchin]

Confirmed working well with release version of Big Sur. 

[Naki]

23 hours ago, mkitchin said:

Confirmed working well with release version of Big Sur. 

Not really. On Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave and all the way down to macOS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, I have an issue present in VMware Workstation 16.0, which was not there in Workstation 15.x versions.

In 15.x, it correctly says "Reinstall VMware Tools..." in the VMs menus for all those 8 separate macOS VMs - this is correct.

In 16.0, it wrongly says "Update VMware Tools" in all the VMs. This is wrong. Trying to click this shows a VMware Tools to install that is from March 2020, obviously old & already installed.

 

This I think is due to a bug in macOS Unlocker, not anything in VMware Workstation.

Can you guys fix? I am using the BDisp Unlocker. 

Host OS is Windows 10 64-bit Pro. Same issue on 2 separate PCs here -- an older desktop PC with Core i5 CPU (Ivy Bridge) and a HP laptop with Core i7 (Haswell).

[mkitchin]

4 hours ago, Naki said:

Not really. On Big Sur, Catalina, Mojave and all the way down to macOS X 10.8 Mountain Lion, I have an issue present in VMware Workstation 16.0, which was not there in Workstation 15.x versions.

In 15.x, it correctly says "Reinstall VMware Tools..." in the VMs menus for all those 8 separate macOS VMs - this is correct.

In 16.0, it wrongly says "Update VMware Tools" in all the VMs. This is wrong. Trying to click this shows a VMware Tools to install that is from March 2020, obviously old & already installed.

 

This I think is due to a bug in macOS Unlocker, not anything in VMware Workstation.

Can you guys fix? I am using the BDisp Unlocker. 

Host OS is Windows 10 64-bit Pro. Same issue on 2 separate PCs here -- an older desktop PC with Core i5 CPU (Ivy Bridge) and a HP laptop with Core i7 (Haswell).

You may have to install the tools manually. I haven't experienced this issue, but you can mount the ISO as a CD/DVD drive in VMware and then run the install. 

[Naki]

That is not the issue here.

VMware Tools are already installed on all my EIGHT VMs, and are latest version possible for each one. (older macOS VMs not being able to run latest VMware Tools, due to the newer minimum system req's it now has)

Issue here is I am getting a wrong menu saying "Update VMware Tools", whereas there is actually nothing about them to update.  

Edited November 15, 2020 by Naki

[mkitchin]

15 hours ago, Naki said:

That is not the issue here.

VMware Tools are already installed on all my EIGHT VMs, and are latest version possible for each one. (older macOS VMs not being able to run latest VMware Tools, due to the newer minimum system req's it now has)

Issue here is I am getting a wrong menu saying "Update VMware Tools", whereas there is actually nothing about them to update.  

That is not something I can fix. Remember, you are running a macOS and VMware in a completely unsupported way. 

[Naki]

I know. I am mostly happy with how it works -- no games, no 3D or Apple suite, but for my testing purposes it is quite enough.  

 

But why did it work fine with previous VMware Workstation Pro 15.x, yet somehow not with 16.0.? 

Edited November 16, 2020 by Naki

[mkitchin]

4 hours ago, Naki said:

I know. I am mostly happy with how it works -- no games, no 3D or Apple suite, but for my testing purposes it is quite enough.  

 

But why did it work fine with previous VMware Workstation Pro 15.x, yet somehow not with 16.0.? 

I don't know. That would have to be something with how VMware is detecting what Tools are installed. We are honestly lucky it still works. The people who actually built the logic in the unlocker tool have dropped out of the project. Those of us working on it now are able to make small tweaks, but not huge changes. 

[KellyK]

On 9/15/2020 at 9:37 AM, alv37 said:

Works for me using v3.0.3 of unlocker by BDisp.

 

 

Does this work for AMD Ryzen processors?

[flakey]

On 9/16/2020 at 2:05 PM, flakey said:

I upgraded to Workstation 16 Pro today. As expected, my macOS VM failed to boot after the upgrade.

 

I ran MK-Unlocker, exactly as I had done for previous upgrades, and it successfully did the trick once more. And now my macOS VM is back online.

This morning I applied the Workstation Pro 16.1.0 upgrade, with the same familiar symptoms: my macOS VM won't boot successfully after the upgrade.

 

Once again MK-Unlocker came to the rescue, and patched Workstation successfully. My macOS Big Sur VM is online again once more. So, continued thanks to the provider of that particular tool.

[Aaron44126]

I leave my macOS VM running all of the time (basically using it mostly as a very heavy iMessage client).  This has been stable for me for... years.  Since upgrading to VMware 16.1.0 (and re-running the unlocker), I am experiencing the host freezing up from time to time.  It's a full freeze (no response from keyboard/mouse, have to power off the system).  It's happened twice in three days.  I can't think of anything that I have changed recently other than the VMware update and I am rolling back to 16.0 to see if that makes a difference, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar?

Edited November 24, 2020 by Aaron44126

[mkitchin]

5 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

I leave my macOS VM running all of the time (basically using it mostly as a very heavy iMessage client).  This has been stable for me for... years.  Since upgrading to VMware 16.1.0 (and re-running the unlocker), I am experiencing the host freezing up from time to time.  It's a full freeze (no response from keyboard/mouse, have to power off the system).  It's happened twice in three days.  I can't think of anything that I have changed recently other than the VMware update and I am rolling back to 16.0 to see if that makes a difference, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar?

I have not seen this. I have 2 instances running and support a community that has several hundred. I have one up 24/7 to run Airmessage. Maybe make sure your BIOS and all firmwares on your host are updated? 

 

On 11/20/2020 at 3:56 AM, flakey said:

Once again MK-Unlocker came to the rescue, and patched Workstation successfully. My macOS Big Sur VM is online again once more. So, continued thanks to the provider of that particular tool.

Thanks. I am the provider. I have absolutely no idea why it continues to be so successful. It was a 1 off version I made when the primary branch was getting flagged as having a virus. I leave it there for download as it has had over 130,000 downloads. Glad it helps. 

[Naki]

19 hours ago, Aaron44126 said:

I leave my macOS VM running all of the time (basically using it mostly as a very heavy iMessage client).  This has been stable for me for... years.  Since upgrading to VMware 16.1.0 (and re-running the unlocker), I am experiencing the host freezing up from time to time.  It's a full freeze (no response from keyboard/mouse, have to power off the system).  It's happened twice in three days.  I can't think of anything that I have changed recently other than the VMware update and I am rolling back to 16.0 to see if that makes a difference, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced something similar?

 

Are you getting heavy load of CPU when you try to minimize ANY window in the GUEST macOS VM?

This it what I got here! 3-4+ minutes of Guest OS totally frozen on my PC with weaker Core i5 CPU, maybe 7-10 secs of freeze on the laptop with faster Core i7 CPU.

I must say I never tried iMessage, no idea how or if that will work here, as I do not need it that much. (Mostly use Viber, Skype, FB Messenger and so on here. ) 

Edited November 25, 2020 by Naki

[Aaron44126]

13 hours ago, Naki said:

Are you getting heavy load of CPU when you try to minimize ANY window in the GUEST macOS VM? 

Yes, since Big Sur anyway, minimizing windows is very slow and CPU-intensive.  I've seen other users report this.  I think that it basically boils down to the lack of hardware graphics acceleration... and Apple not really caring at all to make sure that things work OK without it.

 

And funny you should mention it, I just discovered AirMessage yesterday while looking for alternate iMessage solutions.  I'm thinking that I will run it on an actual 2010 Mac Mini that I have and see how it goes.

Edited November 25, 2020 by Aaron44126