How to run Windows 7 on a Mac using VMware Fusion?

Download Windows 7 ISO file to your system on your Mac. You can download either 32-bit or 64-bit version. The following steps should work for both.

Download, Install and Start the VMware Fusion application by double-clicking its icon in the Applications folder.

Go to > Create a new virtual machine > File > New

The idea is to point the New Virtual Machine Assistant at the Windows 7 ISO you just downloaded. VMware Fusion does not automatically recognizes, if we insert the Windows installation disc, we have to point it at the ISO.

Click New to start the New Virtual Machine Assistant.

Then, click “Use operating system installation disk image file”:

Just select the ISO in the dialog that pops up:

Tweaking Stage
If Windows Easy Install does not parse the disk image as Windows 7, it will definitely parse the disk image as Windows Vista. Change that to Windows Server 2008.

Paste the Microsoft serial key into the Windows Product Key form in Windows Easy Install.

Also, uncheck “Make your home folder accessible to the virtual machine”.

At this point, you should see your final configuration setup, with 1 GB of RAM assigned, and a virtual hard disk that will expand up to 40GB (but will start much smaller). Click “Finish.”

After you click “Finish,” Windows Easy Install will disappear, but will still be running Windows 7. You’ll see some reboots, and VMware Tools will install automatically.