First of all, it's virtually impossible for me to take offense about anything as technical as vmWare Fusion. I readily admit my marginal (at best) competence.
But I've been around long enough to make backups. The .vmx file has been restored to its original pristine state. If necessary I can reinstall 10.6 server.
And, having said all that, thank you very much for your prompt, detailed suggestion. I have a relatively busy week coming up but will try to implement your suggestions over the next few days.
Many thanks,
Tony