Give Win7 (guest) same MAC-address as OS X 10.8.5 (host)

I'll be installing some software with a license that is MAC-address specific.
I have Boot Camp partition that can also be run as a VM. In order for the software to run both in Boot Camp and the VM, I need them to have the same MAC-address.
When in boot camp, the >ipconfig /all , reports the same MAC-addresses as OSX. So I conclude, that what I need is to somehow force those same MAC-adresses in the VM
I have tried this [1] suggestion but it doesn't seem to work (and it does say in the header that it is applicable for Parallels 4 - not 8).
I have:
OSX 10.8.5
Windows 7 x64
Parallels 8 (Build 8.0.18354)

Please advise.

/adam

[1] http://kb.parallels.com/en/6038

 

hi /adam

Have you tried to install the software in your bootcamp partition to see if it will be usable in your vm?
It may cause an issue if two machines with the same mac address on the same network accessing the internet at the same time, your Mac computer and your vm will both be running at the same time trying to access the internet. It is not an issue with bootcamp because you select which one you wish to use, and you are not accessing the internet at the same time.

This is how to change a mac address I would copy down my original address before I make any changes, so that you might change it back if necessary: http://www.windowsreference.com/networking/how-to-change-mac-address-in-windows-registry/
I believe you will still be picking up a different ip address (or at least you should).

 

I'm confused as to why you're not just setting the correct MAC address in the VM's hardware configuration. On the Hardware tab of the VM configuration, just select the virtual network interface and set the MAC address there.

Steve

 

@kat; I have not tried it yet - I don't yet have the software, but I'm trying to prepare my setup, to be able to start as quickly and smoothly as possible once I do.

@strells; Would this work without ill-effects? kat seems to think "It may cause an issue...". Also, the link I provided, specifically mentions to ensure that the MAC-addresses be set differently in the Configuration - presumably forcing it identical only via the .pvm-file.

/adam

 

Oh, I didn't understand exactly what you were doing. Yes, you can't have two interfaces with the same MAC address accessing the network at the same time. I was also thinking of a true VM, not one that uses a Boot Camp volume. Obviously, when booted into Boot Camp, the MAC address comes from the hardware, which is the same as it would be when booted in OS X. Something you could do: usually software that licenses to a MAC address doesn't care if the networking interface is connected to a network at all, just that it is present in the machine. You could pick up a cheap USB-to-ethernet dongle and, if you can, change the license to the MAC address of the dongle. Then all you have to do is plug the dongle in when in Boot Camp and connect it to the VM when running Parallels.

Also, if you have wifi and ethernet on your computer and you don't use one or the other at your location for Internet access, set the license to the interface you don't use and set that MAC address to a network device in the VM. That way, even though there are two interfaces with the same MAC address, they're not connected to the network at the same time.

Steve

 

@strells; Thank you for the suggestions. Unfortunately and >ipconfig /all from boot camp has already been sent to the licenser. The last solution might work (if I'm lucky that they assign it to my ethernet).

Perhaps you could add a warning to the top of the article I linked to, so other people would not find it and be led to believe that this sort of configuration was possible.

Thanks,
/adam

 

Adam,

It is possible for the VM to have the same MAC address as your Mac/Bootcamp. The relevant configuration is here: VM Configuration > Hardware > Network # > MAC address.
What Steve warns you about is that you can't have duplicate MAC addresses on the same network, e.g. your VM takes wired ethernet MAC from Mac and is also bridged to wired connection. This, however, can be solved by switching VM to Shared network mode (hide VM behind NAT).

The KB article you linked to, while not perfectly worded, is about different problem: how to make VM in bridged mode use Mac MAC address on a network with MAC-based policies. In this case the VM itself have a unique MAC address, but the bridge patches packets as if they were coming from Mac itself. This is completely irrelevant to your case.