Though we are working to make it system independent, we still need to install EwE on Windows when we want to work with the User Interface (GUI). On Macs and Linux machines that calls for virtualization, where there are some options:
Parallels.com: this is the easy solution, but it calls for subscription after 14 days
VirtualBox by Oracle: free, open source software, but much involved to get up and running, and not quite as smooth to work with as Parallels. I've tested the setup: it is cumbersome to get running.
VMWare Fusion Pro: free software, requires registration, but quite easy to setup, there is a guide below for installing on Macs
UTM: open source (free) software that can be downloaded from UTM website. It is a bit more involved to setup than Fusion, (and much more than setup for Parallels).
Sep 23, 2026 · Villy Christensen with guidance from Anthropic's Claude (Opus 5.5)
EwE runs on Windows, so on a Mac you run Windows 11 inside a virtual machine using VMware Fusion Pro, which is free. Plan for about 1.5 hours, and set up the Broadcom account (Step 1) a few days before the course, if possible. Approval is usually instant, but occasionally takes longer.
Check which Mac you have. Click the Apple menu → About This Mac.
"Chip: Apple M1/M2/M3/M4" means Apple Silicon. Follow this guide as written.
"Processor: Intel" means an Intel Mac. Most steps are the same; see the note at the end of Step 3.
What you need:
Item Requirement
Free disk space
At least 80 GB (64 GB virtual disk + about 7 GB of downloads)
Memory (RAM)
16 GB recommended, 8 GB minimum
Internet
A stable connection; downloads total about 7–8 GB
Windows license (but not needed to install or to run EwE. Without one, Windows shows a watermark and some personalization settings are locked)
Mouse and keyboard. When you click inside the Windows window, it takes over your mouse and keyboard. Press Control + ⌘ (Command) to release them back to your Mac.
Fusion Pro is free for everyone, but Broadcom (the company that owns VMware) requires a free account to download it. Their website is confusing, so follow these steps closely.
Go to support.broadcom.com and click Register (top right).
Enter your own email address (your university address is fine), complete the CAPTCHA and click Next.
Enter the verification code Broadcom emails you.
Fill in your details and accept the terms.
Address verification comes later, the first time you go to download (Step 1b). Enter your real physical address(no P.O. box, IOF address is fine, 2202 Main Mall, Vancouver BC V6T 1Z4). Broadcom runs an export-compliance check on it. This is usually instant, but fake or incomplete details can block the download.
Sign in at support.broadcom.com.
In the division selector at the top, choose VMware Cloud Foundation.
Click My Downloads, then the link Free Software Downloads available HERE.
Search for Fusion and click VMware Fusion.
Click the newest release (e.g. Fusion Pro 26H1).
Tick the box to accept the Terms and Conditions. If the box is greyed out, click the Terms link to open it first, then come back. Refresh the page or try another browser if it's still greyed out.
Click the download icon next to the Mac installer (.dmg).
Open your Downloads folder and double-click the VMware Fusion .dmg file.
Double-click the VMware Fusion icon (or drag it into Applications). Click Open at the security warning.
Enter your Mac password when asked, and click Agree to the license agreement.
Start Fusion from your Applications folder, not from the mounted disk image.
If macOS asks for permissions (e.g. Accessibility, or allowing VMware's helper components), click Open System Settings and switch VMware Fusion on. You can also go to System Settings → Privacy & Security yourself if you missed the prompt.
If a license screen appears, choose the free / personal use option. You never need a license key.
Fusion downloads the correct Windows 11 (Arm) installer for you, so you don't need to find it yourself.
In Fusion choose File → New.
Select Get Windows from Microsoft and click Continue, then Continue again.
Choose Windows Edition (Windows 11 Pro or Home) and your Language, then click Download Windows. This downloads about 5–6 GB and can take a while.
Click Continue when the download finishes.
Choose Firmware Type: keep UEFI and click Continue.
Choose Encryption: Windows 11 needs a virtual security chip (TPM), and Fusion must encrypt some VM files for it. Choose the fast option (only the files needed for the TPM are encrypted). Click Auto Generate Password, and let Fusion remember it in your Mac's keychain if offered. If you type your own password, write it down: you can't open the VM without it.
Create a new virtual disk and click Continue.
Click Customize Settings and set:
Processors & Memory: 4 processor cores and 8 GB (8192 MB) memory (4 GB if your Mac has only 8 GB)
Hard Disk: 64 GB or more
Give the VM a name (e.g. Windows 11), click Save, then Finish. The VM starts and the Windows installer runs.
Intel Mac? "Get Windows from Microsoft" may not be offered. Instead, download the regular Windows 11 ISO from microsoft.com/software-download/windows11 and choose Install from disc or image in step 2.
If you see "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD…", click inside the window and press the spacebar right away (you have about 5 seconds). If you miss it, choose Virtual Machine → Restart in the Mac menu bar and try again.
Language and keyboard screen: pick the keyboard layout that matches your Mac's keyboard (e.g. Danish, German, US). If it doesn't match, symbols and even numbers type wrongly later on.
Click Install Windows 11, then I don't have a product key, choose the edition, accept the terms, select the empty disk and click Next.
Windows installs and restarts a few times (15–30 minutes). If "Press any key to boot from CD or DVD" appears again, don't press anything.
Setup will probably stop at "Let's connect you to a network", saying there's no internet or it needs a network driver. This is expected: the network driver comes with VMware Tools in Step 5. Tell Windows to allow setup without internet:
Press Shift + F10 (on a Mac keyboard: Fn + Shift + F10). A black Command Prompt window opens.
Type regedit and press Enter. The Registry Editor opens.
In the left pane, open HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE → SOFTWARE → Microsoft → Windows → CurrentVersion → OOBE by clicking the arrow next to each folder.
Click OOBE. Right-click an empty area of the right pane → New → DWORD (32-bit) Value. Name it BypassNROand press Enter.
Double-click BypassNRO, change Value data from 0 to 1, click OK. The Data column should read 0x00000001 (1). Close the Registry Editor.
In the Mac menu bar choose Virtual Machine → Restart.
Setup asks for region and keyboard again. At the network screen, click I don't have internet, then Continue with limited setup.
Create a local user name and password, answer the privacy questions, and you reach the Windows desktop.
Typing comes out wrong? In the Command Prompt type osk and press Enter to open an on-screen keyboard, and click its keys with the mouse. It always types the right characters.
No "I don't have internet" link? Repeat steps 1–6 but name the value HideOnlineAccountScreens (also 1).
VMware Tools adds the network driver (internet), the display driver (a sharp picture that resizes with the window), and copy/paste between Mac and Windows. Install it straight after reaching the Windows desktop.
In the Mac menu bar choose Virtual Machine → Install VMware Tools (or Reinstall VMware Tools). Click Install if asked.
In Windows, the installer may start by itself. If not, open File Explorer, click the DVD drive (usually D:) and double-click setup.exe. On Apple Silicon use setup.exe, not setup64.exe.
Click Yes to allow changes, choose Typical, and accept any driver prompts.
Click Yes to restart Windows when asked.
After the restart, open Microsoft Edge and load any website to check the internet works.
Run Settings → Windows Update and install all updates (this can take a while and needs a few restarts).
Window size. With VMware Tools installed, Windows resizes to fit the window. For full screen choose View → Full Screen. If text looks tiny, go to Settings → System → Display in Windows and set Scale to 150–200%.
Do all of this inside Windows, using Microsoft Edge in the virtual machine.
EwE stores models in Access databases and needs Microsoft's Access Database Engine to open them.
Download the Microsoft Access Database Engine 2016 Redistributable from Microsoft's Download Center.
Choose the 64-bit version, AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe. It must match the 64-bit EwE you install in 6b. Your Mac's processor doesn't matter here: Windows on Apple Silicon runs 64-bit EwE through built-in emulation.
Run the installer and accept the defaults.
Don't install Microsoft Office in the virtual machine unless you need it. If Office is installed with a different bitness, the Access Database Engine installer refuses to run. Workaround: open Command Prompt in the Downloads folder and run the installer with /quiet at the end, e.g. AccessDatabaseEngine_X64.exe /quiet.
Download the 64-bit version of EwE from ecopath.org/downloads.
Run the installer and accept the defaults.
Start EwE, open one of the example models, and save it. If this works, you're ready for the course.
"Provider is not registered on the local machine" when opening a model means the Access Database Engine is missing or has the wrong bitness. Check that both EwE and the Access Database Engine are the 64-bit versions; if not, uninstall the wrong one (Settings → Apps) and install the 64-bit version.
Fusion's "Shared Folders" feature does not work for Windows on Apple Silicon Macs. Use one of these instead (all need VMware Tools from Step 5):
Drag and drop: drag a file from a Mac Finder window onto the Windows desktop or into a File Explorer window, and the other way round.
Copy and paste: copy a file in Finder (⌘C) and paste it in File Explorer (Ctrl+V), and vice versa.
Cloud storage: use OneDrive, Google Drive or similar in the browser on both sides.
Back up your EwE models outside the virtual machine (copy them to your Mac or to cloud storage). If the virtual machine breaks, anything saved only inside it is lost.
Problem Fix
Broadcom download area is locked, or Fusion isn't listed
Your account is still being screened, or the division isn't set to VMware Cloud Foundation. Check your profile address is complete; wait and try again (Step 1).
Terms and Conditions checkbox is greyed out
Open the Terms link first, then refresh the page or try another browser.
"Press any key to boot from CD" was missed
Virtual Machine → Restart, then press the spacebar straight away.
"Let's connect you to a network" / needs a driver
Expected. Registry fix in Step 4b.
Shift + F10 does nothing
Click inside the window first, then try Fn + Shift + F10.
Typed text or symbols come out wrong
Keyboard layout mismatch. Use the on-screen keyboard: type osk in the Command Prompt.
No internet after setup
Install VMware Tools (Step 5) and restart Windows.
setup.exe won't run from the VMware Tools drive
Right-click it → Run as administrator.
Mouse or keyboard "stuck" in Windows
Press Control + ⌘.
Asked for a password when starting the VM
That's the encryption password from Step 3. It's in your Mac's keychain if you let Fusion save it.
Window is small or blurry
Install VMware Tools, then set Windows Settings → System → Display → Scale to 150–200%.
EwE says "provider is not registered" or will not open database (try the sample database)
Wrong or missing Access Database Engine (Step 6a).
Windows is slow
Close other Mac apps; give the VM 8 GB memory and 4 cores if your Mac has 16 GB or more.
Broadcom: Install Windows 11 on an Apple silicon Mac (Fusion Pro 26H1)
Broadcom: Windows 11 VM features on Intel vs Apple silicon Macs