Issue with write-access in Windows 7 VM through VMware Fusion

Question

I've been having some problems with access rights on VMware Fusion shared directories on my Windows 7 Ultimate Virtual Machine. Basically, I am not able to enable write-access on the directories in Windows on the directories which are shared between my Mac and the Virtual machine.

I've done some debugging, and the directories are readable and writable on the Mac (I've checked the access rights through the Terminal), however, on the Virtual Machine, they are flagged as "Read Only," and changing this option does not take effect.

This is a problem for me because Visual Studio 2010 is not able to write to it's preference files, project files etc., because they are located in the "read only" shared directories on the Virtual Machine. However, on the Mac, these directories are opened for write access. I want these directories to be shared between the Mac and the Virtual Machine for practical reasons, as I wish to use these files through both Operating systems.

I've contacted customer support for VMware about this issue, and I believe it's a bug in their software somewhere, but I'm not able to figure out a way to work around this issue. I need to be able to work on files in a way that the files are shared between the Mac and the Virtual Machine, without installing VMware in "more integrated" mode. (I don't want to use the "more integrated" installation option).

I was wondering if anyone here has experienced the same problem, and possibly found a workaround? Any input would be highly appreciated. I'll let you know when (if) I get manage to get in contact with some people at VMware who can actually help me resolve this issue. I've had no luck with their customer support so far.

Thanks in advance!

Update:

VMware customer support contacted me by phone today and instructed me how I could report this bug. Hopefully, they'll fix it soon! You can use DropBox as a workaround in the meantime.

Answer 1

Alright, I might have found a workaround for this issue, by using "Selective Sync" through DropBox, and using that to sync my files between the Mac and the Virtual Machine. In this case; I won't need to use Fusion's "Shared Folders" to sync the files. I'll let you know how it works out when I get the time to try it!

Update:

Jepp! "Selective Sync" with Drop box worked wonders. If you need a workaround for this issue, just use DropBox. I was also contacted by VMware customer support by phone today, and I've received instructions on how to report this bug. Hopefully, they'll fix it soon!