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Table Of Contents
The way the Fusion power commands work depends on the way your virtual machine is configured. If the
virtual machine was created in Fusion, the power commands default to soft options. The commands take
effect on the guest operating system. Virtual machines created in other VMware products might default to
hard power options. These commands act on the virtual machine the way the power and reset buttons
work on a physical computer's power supply.
Note You can change the default configuration of some of the power-option pairs from the hard option to
the soft option or reverse after the virtual machine is created. For example, you can change Shut Down,
which is a soft power option, to its hard-option counterpart, Power Off.
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To perform the switch with a keyboard shortcut, see Switch Power Commands from the Default
Options.
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To configure Fusion to make the switch permanently, see Configure Virtual Machine Power Options.
Table 53. Soft and Hard Options for Power Commands in the Virtual Machine Menu
Command Result
Start Up (soft option) Triggers a startup script to run. You can customize this script.
For more information, see the document Installing and
Configuring VMware Tools at
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vmware-tools-installation-
configuration.pdf.
Power On (hard option) Starts the virtual machine.
Resume (soft option) Triggers a resume script to run. You can customize this script.
For more information, see the document Installing and
Configuring VMware Tools at
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vmware-tools-installation-
configuration.pdf.
Force Resume (hard option) Resumes the virtual machine from a suspended state.
Shut Down (soft option) Triggers a poweroff script to run. Sends a shut-down signal to
the guest operating system. An operating system that
recognizes this signal shuts down gracefully. Not all guest
operating systems respond to a shut-down signal from this
button. If your operating system does not respond, shut down
from the operating system, as you would with a physical
machine.
Power Off (hard option)
Also called Force Shut Down
Works the way a power switch works on a computer's power
supply. The virtual machine is abruptly powered off, with no
consideration for work in progress. This action can result in data
loss. When possible, shut down the virtual machine's operating
system before you power off the virtual machine.
Suspend (soft option) Triggers a suspend script to run. You can customize this script.
For more information, see the document Installing and
Configuring VMware Tools at
http://www.vmware.com/pdf/vmware-tools-installation-
configuration.pdf.
Force Suspend (hard option) The Force Suspend command suspends the virtual machine.
Using VMware Fusion
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