If you’ve followed Andrew Time’s previous tutorial, you should have Windows 11 ARM installed with VMware Fusion. But the main issue with VMware Fusion is that there are no tools to share files between the guest operating system and the host. So, we have to rely on some traditional networking methods.
To share files between the M1 Apple Silicon Mac and the VMware Fusion guest operating system Windows 11 ARM, we need to change the internet sharing to bridge networking and auto-detect by clicking on the settings icon, selecting network adapter, and making the necessary changes.
Once that’s done, we need to create a new folder and share it. After right-clicking on the new folder and selecting properties, sharing, and advanced sharing, we’ll have an ipv4 address that we’ll refer to later on.
Next, we’ll get our networking information up, open Finder, click go and then connect to server. We’ll then type in smb colon forward slash forward slash and then the local ipv4 address and click connect. Here, we’ll enter the local user’s password, and the share folder we created earlier will be mounted.
Now, on the Mac side, we’ll see the files and documents we’ve passed between the virtual operating system and the host operating system. Both have read and write permission for the same folder, and we can use this method to share files between both systems.
Just make sure you’re comfortable with the permissions you’ve given since anyone on your network could add files to this virtual machine. Andrew recommends adding a specific user if you’re not comfortable with everyone having access.
In conclusion, sharing files between the M1 Apple Silicon Mac and the VMware Fusion guest operating system Windows 11 ARM requires some traditional networking methods, but it’s easy to set up and use.