[Tutorial] Running PTC Creo (10-12) on VMware Fusion on Arm MAC

[MC_14160667]

After a month of experimenting and testing stability for PTC Creo, I would like to share my solution that will allow you to freely run PTC Creo on your Mac 😊

Tested Requirements:
These are the requirements that I have personally tested, any other version/device may not work similarly.
Tested VMware Fusion Version: 13.6.4
Tested 64-bit ARM Windows 11 build: 26100.4349
Tested Mac Devices: Mac Mini M4 (24GB RAM), MacBook PRO M1 Pro, MacBook Pro M4 Pro, MacBook Air M3.
Tested Creo Releases: Creo 10, Creo 12
Tested MacOS Operating System: Tahoe 26.0.1

Installation Steps:
Download the latest 64-bit ARM Windows 11 build, or better, the one I listed. I sincerely recommend CrystalFetch app (it's free) for getting the ISO file. Create a new Virtual Machine on VMWare Fusion with the previous ISO.
Install your Windows operating system, update it, configure it to your liking, etc...
Make sure that in your VMWare settings you have enabled the following:
1) Settings -> Display -> Accelerate 3D Graphics (Hardware Acceleration) ON
2) Keyboards and Mouse -> use "Mac Profile" -> Double Left-Click on "Mac Profile" -> General -> "Always Optimise Mouse for Games" ON.
The second instruction arises from a specific bug where CTRL input is not successfully transmitted to Creo, resulting in problems such as being unable to do multiple selection of lines, surfaces, etc... which is an essential feature.

After making sure these settings have been enabled in your VM, you can proceed to download your copy of PTC CREO. 
The setup (installer application) should, according to my tests, run without issues. Input your license, let the installer finish (possibly Ignore the Java 21 missing warning). After the installer has completed, close the installer and we now need to add a System Variable for Windows.

Go to "Edit System Variables" in your Windows menu, and add the following "System Variable" by clicking on "New". name will be PRO_MACHINE_TYPE and value will be x86e_win64

You should now be able to successfully run your PTC Creo, however there's still a critical problem with the hardware acceleration that has to be fixed.
Reach to the File button, then in the settings find the config.pro settings and add the following:
name: enable_opengl_fbo
value: no
This fixes strange display issues inconsistencies (lines were flipped and moving around without it).

Good luck!

[DavidBigelow]

👏 NICE - Got any videos of it working with a decent size assembly on the graphics?  This has always been a major hic-up in previous experiments...  Curious if you tried Parallels also?

Dave

[MC_14160667]

Hi, thank you.
Yes, I've definitively tried Parallels and I absolutely recommend it if you can afford its yearly fees, its way smoother and with less issues, the only thing required for parallels is the environment variable I mentioned before (PRO_MACHINE_TYPE ... etc).
About assembly, I'm sorry but I don't do those much. I'm just a university student and things aren't very complex and hardly above 5-10 items per piece. Graphics are good, I can show you a fun project I did with Freestyle on my Mac mini M4, I didn't feel lag during the process!
Easily running shaded or reflection mode, can even try rendering maybe if you have PRO cpu. Although obviously no support for ANSYS or Simulation so far because missing drivers.

[DavidBigelow]

Very cool - I have been using Parallels on Intel Mac for years (still works amazing - even the graphics).  BUT as you pointed out,,, good luck running any FEA related things as the Graphics Drivers become REALLY important.   I wish PTC would embrace the Mac Platform more.  Apple seems to have a lot of really cool things going regarding memory and raw performance....  OR... re-open up and distribute Linux [they started with Unix back in the day] - but that comes with driver hell again.  With all the Win11 issues this past year, I am sure a LOT of companies would be open to Linux.  But... for routine work Parallels on Intel has been perfect and plenty zippy for me at least...

I will have to investigate the performance with Parallels on the M-Series chips - the LACK of support and complaints about graphics over the years across multiple CAD systems on M-Series and Parallels has kind of discouraged the investment.  But you have given me a >51% confidence. 😂

Thanks for the share and info!

Nice work BTW - very cool.