Peter Kellner wrote:
two questions.
1) can the configuration file be fixed to point at the right file with the correct type (NTFS)? (if this is to advanced for me, can it be done with a vmware support call? I'd rather do that then spend the rest of my weekend reinstalling software)
Peter, without getting into all the details, while the necessary information in key files in the Boot Camp Virtual Machine is presently incorrect it is so because of deleting/recreating the Boot Camp partition which is not allow per directions in the Boot Camp Documentation which has nothing to do with VMware per se. While the issue with the Protected MBR and GPT could be resolved via Terminal and some Unix commands I doubt VMware Support will resolve this issue. To be perfectly blunt I wouldn't allow them to attempt it anyway although there is one VMware employe in particuar that I would let do it however he's not on the Support Team, he one of the Developers and I have seen him post here in the last year or so.
2) If not, I don't follow the workflow you are suggesting for reinstalling correctly.
Here are the steps I could do
remove bootcamp partition
expand os x partition to be full size of hard disk
re-run bootcamp assistent
at that point, the partitions are created. how can I change partition to NTFS? If I boot off a windows 8 DVD natively I think I will have same options I had previously which did not allow me to change partition type.
This can be done at least two different ways with the Windows 8 Install DVD and can be done during a normal install if you select "Drive options (Advanced)" in the "Where do you want to install Windows" Windows Setup dialog box. So there is no need to give details on the method when selecting the "Repair your computer" option.
If you like to have a chat about any of this you can send me your phone number in a Private Message and I can give you better details about the failure and why and the Terminal method so you understand what would be involved vs. starting over. It's just easier over the phone then getting into all the technical details here.