VMware Workstation - 8.0 Instruction Manual

Using VMware Workstation

VMware Workstation 8

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

EN-000558-00

Using VMware Workstation

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Web site at:

http://www.vmware.com/support/

The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates.

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VMware is a registered trademark or trademark of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.

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Using VMware Workstation 5

Creating Virtual Machines 7

Understanding Virtual Machines 7

Preparing to Create a New Virtual Machine 8

Create a New Virtual Machine on the Local Host 17

Cloning Virtual Machines 21

Virtualize a Physical Machine 24

Importing Virtual Machines 26

Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools 28

Virtual Machine Files 38

Using Virtual Machines 41

Starting Virtual Machines 41

Stopping Virtual Machines 45

Transferring Files and Text 48

Add a Host Printer to a Virtual Machine 58

Using Removable Devices in Virtual Machines 58

Changing the Virtual Machine Display 65

Using Folders to Manage Virtual Machines 71

Taking Snapshots of Virtual Machines 74

Install New Software in a Virtual Machine 81

Take a Screenshot of a Virtual Machine 81

Create a Movie of a Virtual Machine 82

Delete a Virtual Machine 83

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Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines 85

Configure Power Options and Power Control Settings 85

Set Workstation Display Preferences 87

Configure Display Settings for a Virtual Machine 88

Set Preferences for Unity Mode 90

Setting Screen Color Depth 90

Using Advanced Linux Sound Architecture 91

Encrypting Virtual Machines 92

Moving Virtual Machines 94

Configure a Virtual Machine as a VNC Server 99

Change the Hardware Compatibility of a Virtual Machine 102

Export a Virtual Machine to OVF Format 103

Writing and Debugging Applications That Run In Virtual Machines 104

Using VMware Workstation

Configuring and Managing Devices 107

Configuring DVD, CD-ROM, and Floppy Drives 107

Configuring a USB Controller 109

Configuring and Maintaining Virtual Hard Disks 111

Adding a Physical Disk to a Virtual Machine 117

Configuring Virtual Ports 120

Configuring Generic SCSI Devices 124

Configuring Eight-Way Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing 128

Configuring Keyboard Features 129

Modify Hardware Settings for a Virtual Machine 138

Configuring Network Connections 139

Understanding Virtual Networking Components 139

Understanding Common Networking Configurations 140

Changing the Default Networking Configuration 141

Configuring Bridged Networking 144

Configuring Network Address Translation 147

Configuring Host-Only Networking 157

Assigning IP Addresses in Host-Only Networks and NAT Configurations 162

Configuring LAN Segments 166

Configuring Samba for Workstation 168

Using Virtual Network Adapters in Promiscuous Mode on Linux Hosts 169

Maintaining and Changing MAC Addresses for Virtual Machines 169

Sample Custom Networking Configuration 170

Using Remote Connections and Sharing Virtual Machines 173

Understanding VMware Workstation Server 173

Connect to a Remote Server 176

Disconnect from a Remote Server 178

Creating and Managing Shared Virtual Machines 178

Upload a Virtual Machine to a Remote Server 182

Create a Virtual Machine on a Remote Host 183

Configure Shared and Remote Virtual Machines to Start with the Host 184

Using Roles to Assign Privileges 184

Using Permissions to Restrict Users 188

Using the vmware Command 191

Run the vmware Command 191

Incorporate Workstation Startup Options in a Windows Shortcut 192

Index 193

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Using VMware Workstation

Using VMware Workstation describes how to use VMware® Workstation and create, configure, and manage virtual machines.

Intended Audience

This information is intended for anyone who wants to use Workstation and create and manage virtual machines.

Where to Find Additional Information

See the following documents for more information about using Workstation. All of the documents are available from the VMware Web site.

Getting Started with VMware Workstation describes how to install and upgrade Workstation, create a typical virtual machine, and perform common virtual machine operations.

Installing and Configuring VMware Tools contains complete information on using VMware Tools.

The VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide contains information about installing specific guest operating systems.

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The online VMware Compatibility Guide lists the supported host and guest operating systems for Workstation.

The Workstation online help provides quick reference information about Workstation settings and common tasks. It is available from the Workstation Help menu and when you click Help on a Workstation dialog box.

Using VMware Workstation

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Creating Virtual Machines 1

You can create a new virtual machine in Workstation by using the New Virtual Machine wizard, clone an existing Workstation virtual machine or virtual machine template, import third-party and Open Virtualization Format (OVF) virtual machines, and create a virtual machine from a physical machine.

You can also create shared virtual machines, which can be used by remote users, and virtual machines that run on remote hosts. See Chapter 6, “Using Remote Connections and Sharing Virtual Machines,” on page 173.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Understanding Virtual Machines,” on page 7

“Preparing to Create a New Virtual Machine,” on page 8

“Create a New Virtual Machine on the Local Host,” on page 17

“Cloning Virtual Machines,” on page 21

“Virtualize a Physical Machine,” on page 24

“Importing Virtual Machines,” on page 26

“Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools,” on page 28

“Virtual Machine Files,” on page 38

Understanding Virtual Machines

A virtual machine is a software computer that, like a physical machine, runs an operating system and applications. A virtual machine uses the physical resources of the physical machine on which it runs, which is called the host system. Virtual machines have virtual devices that provide the same functionality as physical hardware, but with the additional benefits of portability, manageability, and security.

A virtual machine has an operating system and virtual resources that you manage in much the same way that you manage a physical computer. For example, you install an operating system in a virtual machine in the same way that you install an operating system on a physical computer. You must have a CD-ROM, DVD, or ISO image that contains the installation files from an operating system vendor.

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Using VMware Workstation

Preparing to Create a New Virtual Machine

You use the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual machine in Workstation. The wizard prompts you to make decisions about many aspects of the virtual machine. You should make these decisions before you start the New Virtual Machine wizard.

Selecting a Virtual Machine Configuration

When you start the New Virtual Machine wizard, the wizard prompts you to select a typical or custom configuration.

Typical Configuration

If you select a typical configuration, you must specify or accept defaults for a few basic virtual machine settings.

How you want to install the guest operating system.

A name for the virtual machine and a location for the virtual machine files.

The size of the virtual disk and whether to split the disk into multiple virtual disk files.

Whether to customize specific hardware settings, including memory allocation, number of virtual processors, and network connection type.

Custom Configuration

You must select a custom configuration if you need to perform any of the following hardware customizations.

Create a virtual machine that has a different Workstation version than the default hardware compatibility setting.

Select the I/O controller type for the SCSI controller.

Select the virtual disk device type.

Configure a physical disk or an existing virtual disk instead of create a new virtual disk.

Allocate all virtual disk space rather than let disk space gradually grow to the maximum disk size.

Selecting the Virtual Machine Hardware Compatibility Setting

All virtual machines have a hardware version. The hardware version indicates which virtual hardware features that the virtual machine supports, such as BIOS or EFI, number of virtual slots, maximum number of CPUs, maximum memory configuration, and other hardware characteristics. The virtual machine hardware compatibility setting determines the hardware features of the virtual machine.

If you select a typical configuration, the wizard uses the default hardware compatibility setting configured in the Workstation preferences. By default, the default hardware compatibility setting is the installed Workstation version.

If you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to select a hardware compatibility setting for the virtual machine. When you select a hardware compatibility setting, a list of the VMware products and versions that are compatible with your selection appears. Limitations and features that are not available for your selection are also listed. If a feature compatibility check box is available for your selection, you can select that check box to see a list of the additional limitations.

To deploy virtual machines to run on a different VMware product, you might need to select a hardware compatibility setting that is compatible with that product.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

Selecting a Guest Operating System

The New Virtual Machine prompts you to select the source media for the operating system that will run inside the virtual machine. You can specify an installer disc inserted in a physical drive, an ISO image file, or you can instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a virtual machine that has a blank hard disk.

If you select an installer disc or an ISO image file and the operating system supports Easy Install, the guest operating system installation is automated and VMware Tools is installed. If the installer disc or ISO image file contains a product key number and is already set up to perform an unattended installation, the only benefit of using Easy Install is the automatic installation of VMware Tools.

NOTE For remote virtual machines, you must specify whether the physical drive or ISO image file is located on the local host or remote host before you select the installer disc or ISO image file.

If you instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a virtual machine that has a blank hard disk, the wizard prompts you to specify an operating system and version and you must install the guest operating system manually after the virtual machine is created. Workstation uses this information to set the appropriate default values, name files associated with the virtual machine, adjust performance settings, and work around special behaviors and bugs in the guest operating system. If the operating system you plan to install is not listed in the wizard, select Other for both the operating system and version.

If you are installing an operating system that supports Easy Install but you do not want to use Easy Install, you can instruct the wizard to create a virtual machine that has a blank disk and install the guest operating system manually.

Operating Systems that Support Easy Install

Easy Install is available for certain Windows and Linux operating system versions.

Table 1-1. Operating Systems that Support Easy Install

Guest Operating System Supported Version

Windows Windows Vista

Windows 7

Windows XP

Windows 2000

Windows Server 2008

Windows Server 2003

Windows Server 2000

Linux Ubuntu Desktop 7.10 and later

Ubuntu Server 8.10 and later

Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3 through 5

Asianux Server 3

Fedora Core 4 through 12 (excluding Fedora Core 8)

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10 SP3

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 10 SP3

SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11 GA

SUSE Linux Enterprise Desktop 11 GA

openSUSE 11.3 GA

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Using VMware Workstation

Providing Easy Install Information

When the New Virtual Wizard detects an operating system that supports Easy Install, the wizard prompts you for information about the guest operating system. After the virtual machine is created, the guest operating system installation is automated and VMware Tools is installed.

For Windows guest operating systems, you must provide the following Easy Install information.

Table 1-2. Easy Install Information for Windows Guests

Easy Install Prompt Description

Windows product key (Optional) Type a product key unless the installation media contains a volume

Version of Windows to install For Windows Vista, Windows 7, and Windows Server 2008 guest operating

Full name The name to use to register the guest operating system. Do not use the name

Password (Optional) The password to use for an account with Administrator permissions on

Log on automatically (requires a password)

license product key. If you provide a product key here, you are not prompted to provide a product key when you install the guest operating system.

systems, select the operating system edition.

Administrator or Guest. If you use one of these names, you must enter a different name when you install the guest operating system.

Windows operating systems other than Windows 2000. On Windows 2000, this is the password for the Administrator account. On Windows XP Home, an Administrator account without a password is created and you are automatically logged in to the guest operating system.

(Optional) Save your login credentials and bypass the login dialog box when you power on the virtual machine. You must enter a name and password to use this feature.

For Linux guest operating systems, you must provide the following Easy Install information.

Table 1-3. Easy Install Information for Linux Guests

Prompt Description

Full name The name to use to register the guest operating system, if registration is required.

Workstation uses the first name to create the host name for the virtual machine.

User name Your user name. You can use lowercase letters, numbers, and dashes, but avoid

using user names that begin with a dash. Do not use the name root. Some operating systems set up sudo access for this user and other operating systems require this user to use su to obtain root privileges.

Password The password for the User name and the root user.

Specifying the Virtual Machine Name and File Location

The New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you for a virtual machine name and a directory for the virtual machine files.

The name of the default directory for virtual machine files is derived from the name of the guest operating system, for example, Microsoft Windows 7 (32-bit).

For standard virtual machines, the default directory for virtual machine files is located in the virtual machine directory. For best performance, do not place the virtual machines directory on a network drive. If other users need to access the virtual machine, consider placing the virtual machine files in a location that is accessible to those users.

For shared virtual machines, the default directory for virtual machine files is located in the shared virtual machines directory. Shared virtual machine files must reside in the shared virtual machines directory.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

Virtual Machines Directory

Workstation stores standard virtual machines in the virtual machines directory.

The default location of the virtual machines directory depends on the host operating system.

Table 1-4. Default Virtual Machines Directory

Host Operating System Default Location

Windows XP

Windows Server 2003

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Linux homedir/vmware

C:\Documents and Settings\username\My Documents\My Virtual Machines

username is the name of the currently logged in user.

C:\Users\ username \Documents\Virtual Machines username is the name of the currently logged in user.

homedir is the home directory of the currently logged in user.

Shared Virtual Machines Directory

Workstation stores shared virtual machines in the shared virtual machines directory, where VMware Workstation Server manages them.

The default location of the shared virtual machines directory depends on the host operating system.

Table 1-5. Default Shared Virtual Machines Directory

Host Operating System Default Shared Virtual Machines Directory

Windows XP

Windows Server 2003

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Linux

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines

C:\Users\Public\Documents\Shared Virtual Machines

/var/lib/vmware/Shared VMs

Selecting the Number of Processors for a Virtual Machine

When you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to specify the number of processors for the virtual machine.

Specifying multiple virtual processors is supported only on host machines that have at least two logical processors. Single-processor hosts that have hyperthreading enabled or dual-core CPUs are considered to have two logical processors. Multiprocessor hosts that have two CPUs are considered to have two logical processors, regardless of whether they are dual-core or have hyperthreading enabled.

Allocating Memory for a Virtual Machine

When you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to specify the default settings for memory allocation.

Color-coded icons correspond to the maximum recommended memory, recommended memory, and guest operating system recommended minimum memory values. To adjust the memory allocated to the virtual machine, move the slider along the range of values. The high end of the range is determined by the amount of memory allocated to all running virtual machines. If you allow virtual machine memory to be swapped, this value changes to reflect the specified amount of swapping.

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Using VMware Workstation

On 64-bit hosts, the maximum amount of memory for each virtual machine is 64GB. On 32-bit hosts, the maximum amount of memory for each virtual machine is 8GB. You cannot power on virtual machines that are configured to use more than 8GB of memory on 32-bit hosts. Memory management limitations on 32-bit operating systems cause virtual machine memory to overcommit, which severely affects system performance.

The total amount of memory that you can assign to all virtual machines running on a single host machine is limited only by the amount of RAM on the host machine.

You can change the amount of memory available to all virtual machines by modifying Workstation memory settings.

Selecting the Network Connection Type for a Virtual Machine

When you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to configure the network connection type for the virtual machine.

If you are creating a remote virtual machine, you must select either a custom network or no network connection.

Table 1-6. Network Connection Settings

Setting Description

Use bridged networking Configure a bridged network connection for the virtual machine. With bridged

networking, the virtual machine has direct access to an external Ethernet network. The virtual machine must have its own IP address on the external network.

If your host system is on a network and you have a separate IP address for your virtual machine (or can get an IP address from a DHCP server), select this setting. Other computers on the network can then communicate directly with the virtual machine.

Use network address translation (NAT)

Use host-only networking Configure a host-only network connection for the virtual machine. Host-only

Do not use a network connection Do not configure a network connection for the virtual machine.

Custom (Windows host) or Named Network (Linux host)

Configure a NAT connection for the virtual machine. With NAT, the virtual machine and the host system share a single network identity that is not visible outside the network.

Select NAT if you do not have a separate IP address for the virtual machine, but you want to be able to connect to the Internet.

networking provides a network connection between the virtual machine and the host system, using a virtual network adapter that is visible to the host operating system.

With host-only networking, the virtual machine can communicate only with the host system and other virtual machines in the host-only network. Select host-only networking to set up an isolated virtual network.

(Remote virtual machine only) Select a specific virtual network.

See Chapter 5, “Configuring Network Connections,” on page 139 for information about virtual switches, virtual network adapters, the virtual DHCP server, and the NAT device.

Selecting the I/O Controller Type for a Virtual Machine

When you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to select the I/O controller type for the virtual machine.

Workstation installs an IDE controller and a SCSI controller in the virtual machine. The IDE controller is always ATAPI. For the SCSI controller, you can choose BusLogic, LSI Logic, or LSI Logic SAS. If you are creating a remote virtual machine on an ESX host, you can also select a VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) adapter.

BusLogic and LSI Logic adapters have parallel interfaces. The LSI Logic SAS adapter has a serial interface. The LSI Logic adapter has improved performance and works better with generic SCSI devices. The LSI Logic adapter is also supported by ESX Server 2.0 and later.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

PVSCSI adapters are high-performance storage adapters that can provide greater throughput and lower CPU utilization. They are best suited for environments where hardware or applications drive a very high amount of I/O throughput, such as SAN environments. PVSCSI adapters are not suited for DAS environments.

NOTE The choice of SCSI controller does not affect whether the virtual disk can be an IDE or SCSI disk.

Some guest operating systems, such as Windows XP, do not include a driver for the LSI Logic or LSI Logic SAS adapter. You must download the driver from the LSI Logic Web site. Drivers for a Mylex (BusLogic) compatible host bus adapter are not obvious on the LSI Logic Web site. Search the support area for the numeric string in the model number, for example, search for 958 for BT/KT-958 drivers.

See the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide for driver support information. For guest operating system support information and known issues, see the online Compatibility Guide on the VMware Web site.

Selecting a Hard Disk for a Virtual Machine

When you select a custom configuration, the New Virtual Machine wizard prompts you to configure a hard disk for the virtual machine.

Virtual hard disks are the best choice for most virtual machines because they are easy to set up and can be moved to new locations on the same host system or to different host systems. In a typical configuration, Workstation creates a new virtual hard disk for the virtual machine.

In some cases, you might want to select an existing virtual hard disk or give the virtual machine access to a physical hard disk or unused partition on the host system.

Selecting the Virtual Hard Disk Type for a Virtual Machine on page 13

If you instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual disk during a custom configuration, the wizard prompts you to select the virtual hard disk type for the virtual machine.

Selecting the Disk Mode on page 14

When you select a custom configuration on a Linux host, you can use the New Virtual Machine wizard to configure normal or independent mode for a disk.

Prepare to Use a Physical Disk or Unused Partition on page 14

You must perform certain tasks before you configure a virtual machine to use a physical disk or unused partition on the host system.

Specifying Disk Capacity for a Virtual Machine on page 15

If you instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual disk during a custom configuration, the wizard prompts you to set the size of the virtual disk and specify whether to split the disk into multiple virtual disk (.vmdk) files.

Specifying the Name and Location of Virtual Disk Files on page 16

During a custom configuration, if you instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual disk, use an existing virtual disk, or use a physical disk, the wizard prompts you for the name and location of a virtual disk (.vmdk) file.

Selecting the Virtual Hard Disk Type for a Virtual Machine

If you instruct the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual disk during a custom configuration, the wizard prompts you to select the virtual hard disk type for the virtual machine.

You can set up a virtual disk as an IDE disk for any guest operating system. You can set up a virtual disk as a SCSI disk for any guest operating system that has a driver for the LSI Logic or BusLogic SCSI controller available in the virtual machine.

You can change virtual disk node and mode settings after a virtual machine is created.

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Using VMware Workstation

Selecting the Disk Mode

When you select a custom configuration on a Linux host, you can use the New Virtual Machine wizard to configure normal or independent mode for a disk.

In normal mode, disks are included in snapshots that you take of the virtual machine. If you do not want data on the disk to be recorded when you take a snapshot of the virtual machine, configure the disk to be independent.

If you configure a disk to be independent, you can further specify whether changes you make to the disk are to persist or be discarded when you power off the virtual machine or restore a snapshot.

You can also exclude virtual disks from snapshots by modifying virtual machine settings.

Prepare to Use a Physical Disk or Unused Partition

You must perform certain tasks before you configure a virtual machine to use a physical disk or unused partition on the host system.

You must perform these tasks before you run the New Virtual Machine wizard to add a physical disk to a new virtual machine, and before you add a physical disk to an existing virtual machine.

Procedure

1 If a partition is mounted by the host or in use by another virtual machine, unmount it.

The virtual machine and guest operating system access a physical disk partition while the host continues to run its operating system. Corruption is possible if you allow the virtual machine to modify a partition that is simultaneously mounted on the host operating system.

Option Description

The partition is mapped to a Windows Server 2003 or Windows XP host

The partition is mapped to a Windows 7 host

The partition is mapped to a Windows Vista host

a Select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools >

Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.

b Select a partition and select Action > All Tasks > Change Drive Letter

and Paths.

c Click Remove.

a Select Start > Control Panel.

b In the menu bar, click the arrow next to Control Panel.

c From the drop-down menu, select All Control Panel Items >

Administrative Tools > Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management (Local).

d Right-click a partition and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.

e Click Remove and OK.

a Select Start > Control Panel (Classic View) > Administrative Tools >

Computer Management > Storage > Disk Management.

b Right-click a partition and choose Change Drive Letter and Paths.

c Click Remove and OK.

2 Check the guest operating system documentation regarding the type of partition on which the guest

operating system can be installed.

On Windows Vista and Windows 7 hosts, you cannot use the system partition, or the physical disk that contains it, in a virtual machine. DOS, Windows 95, and Windows 98 operating systems must be installed on the first primary partition. Other operating systems, such as Linux, can be installed on a primary or an extended partition on any part of the drive.

3 If the physical partition or disk contains data that you need in the future, back up the data.

4 If you use a Windows host IDE disk in a physical disk configuration, verify that it is not configured as the

slave on the secondary IDE channel if the master on that channel is a CD-ROM drive.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

5 On a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 host, if the host is using a dynamic disk, use the disk

management tool to change the dynamic disk to a basic disk.

You cannot use a dynamic disk as a physical disk in a virtual machine.

a On the host, select Start > Settings > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Computer

Management > Disk Management.

b Delete all logical volumes on the disk.

This action destroys all data on the disk.

c Right-click the disk icon and select Revert to Basic Disk.

d Partition the disk.

6 On a Linux host, set the device group membership or device ownership appropriately.

a Verify that the master physical disk device or devices are readable and writable by the user who runs

Workstation.

Physical devices, such as /dev/hda (IDE physical disk) and /dev/sdb (SCSI physical disk), belong to group-id disk on most distributions. If this is the case, you can add VMware Workstation users to the

disk group. Another option is to change the owner of the device. Consider all the security issues

involved in this option.

b Grant VMware Workstation users access to all /dev/hd[abcd] physical devices that contain operating

systems or boot managers.

When permissions are set correctly, the physical disk configuration files in Workstation control access. This reliability provides boot managers access to configuration files and other files they might need to boot operating systems. For example, LILO needs to read /boot on a Linux partition to boot a nonLinux operating system that might be on another drive.

Specifying Disk Capacity for a Virtual Machine

A virtual disk is made up of one or more virtual disk files. Virtual disk files store the contents of the virtual machine hard disk drive. Almost all of the file content is virtual machine data. A small portion of the file is allotted to virtual machine overhead. If the virtual machine is connected directly to a physical disk, the virtual disk file stores information about the partitions that the virtual machine is allowed to access.

You can set a size between 0.001GB and 2TB for a virtual disk file. You can also select whether to store a virtual disk as a single file or split it into multiple files.

Select Split virtual disk into multiple files if the virtual disk is stored on a file system that has a file size limitation. When you split a virtual disk less than 950GB, a series of 2GB virtual disk files are created. When you split a virtual disk greater than 950GB, two virtual disk files are created. The maximum size of the first virtual disk file is 1.9TB and the second virtual disk file stores the rest of the data.

For custom configurations, you can select Allocate all disk space now to allocate all disk space immediately rather than allow the disk space to gradually grow to the maximum amount. Allocating all the disk space immediately might provide better performance, but it is a time-consuming operation that requires as much physical disk space as you specify for the virtual disk. If you allocate all the disk space immediately, you cannot use the shrink disk feature.

After you create a virtual machine, you can edit virtual disk settings and add additional virtual disks.

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Specifying the Name and Location of Virtual Disk Files

Table 1-7. Required Information for Each Disk Type

Type of Disk Description

New virtual disk If you specified that all disk space should be stored in a single

Existing virtual disk You select the name and location of an existing virtual disk

Physical disk After the wizard prompts you to select a physical device and

file, Workstation uses the filename that you provide to create one 40GB disk file. If you specified that disk space should be stored in multiple files, Workstation generates subsequent filenames by using the filename that you provide. If you specified that files can increase in size, subsequent filenames include an s in the file number, for example, Windows 7- s001.vmdk. If you specified that all disk space should be allocated when the virtual disk is created, subsequent filenames include an f in the file number, for example, Windows 7-f001.vmdk.

file.

specify whether to use the entire disk or individual partitions, you must specify a virtual disk file. Workstation uses this virtual disk file to store partition access configuration information for the physical disk.

NOTE Earlier VMware products use the .dsk extension for virtual disk files.

Customizing Virtual Machine Hardware

You can click Customize Hardware on the last page of the New Virtual Machine wizard to customize the virtual machine hardware.

You can change the default hardware settings, including memory allocation, number of virtual CPUs, CD/DVD and floppy drive settings, and the network connection type.

Worksheet for Creating a Virtual Machine

You can print this worksheet and write down the values to specify when you run the New Virtual Machine wizard.

Table 1-8. Worksheet: Creating a Virtual Machine

Option Fill In Your Value Here

Hardware compatibility setting

Guest operating system source

Guest operating system type (for manual installation)

Easy Install information for Windows guests

Product key

Operating system version

Full name

Password

Credentials for automatic login

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Table 1-8. Worksheet: Creating a Virtual Machine (Continued)

Option Fill In Your Value Here

Easy Install information for Linux guests

Full name

User name

Password

Virtual machine name

Virtual machine location

Number of processors

Memory allocation

Network connection type

I/O controller type

Hard disk

Virtual hard disk type

Disk capacity

Virtual disk file name and location

Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

Create a New Virtual Machine on the Local Host

You create a new virtual machine on the local host system by running the New Virtual Machine wizard.

You can also use the New Virtual Machine wizard to create shared virtual machines, which can be used by remote users, and remote virtual machines, which run on remote hosts. See Chapter 6, “Using Remote

Connections and Sharing Virtual Machines,” on page 173.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have the information the New Virtual Machine wizard requires to create a virtual machine. See “Preparing to Create a New Virtual Machine,” on page 8.

Verify that the guest operating system you plan to install is supported. See the online VMware Compatibility Guide on the VMware Web site.

See the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide for information about the guest operating system that you plan to install.

If you are installing the guest operating system from an installer disc, insert the installer disc in the CDROM drive in the host system.

If you are installing the guest operating system from an ISO image file, verify that the ISO image file is in a directory that is accessible to the host system.

If the virtual machine will use a physical disk or unused partition on the host system, perform the appropriate preparation tasks. See “Prepare to Use a Physical Disk or Unused Partition,” on page 14.

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Procedure

1 Start the New Virtual Machine wizard.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

2 Select the configuration type.

Option Description

Typical

Custom

3 If you selected the Custom option, select a hardware compatibility setting.

If the host is not connected to a remote server, select File > New Virtual Machine.

If the host is connected to a remote server, select File > New Virtual Machine > On this Computer.

Select File > New Virtual Machine.

The wizard prompts you to specify or accept defaults for basic virtual machine settings. The typical configuration type is appropriate in most instances.

You must select the custom configuration type to make a different virtual machine version than the default hardware compatibility setting, specify the I/O adapter type for SCSI adapters, specify whether to create an IDE or SCSI virtual disk, use a physical disk instead of a virtual disk, use an existing virtual disk, or allocate all virtual disk space rather than let disk space gradually grow to the maximum disk size.

The hardware compatibility setting determines the hardware features of the virtual machine.

4 Select the source of the guest operating system.

Option Description

Use a physical disc

Use an ISO image

Install the guest operating system later

Select the physical drive where you inserted the installation disc.

Type or browse to the location of the ISO image file for the guest operating system.

Create a virtual machine that has a blank disk. You must install the guest operating system manually after you create the virtual machine.

5 Specify information about the guest operating system.

Option Description

You are using Easy Install

You are not using Easy Install

Type the Easy Install information for the guest operating system.

Select the guest operating system type and version. If the guest operating system is not listed, select Other.

6 Type a virtual machine name and type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files.

7 Follow the prompts to configure the virtual machine.

If you selected a typical configuration, the wizard prompts you to configure the virtual disk size and specify whether the disk should be split into multiple files. If you selected a custom configuration, the wizard prompts you to configure the virtual machine processors, memory allocation, networking configuration, I/O controller types, virtual disk, and virtual disk type and mode.

8 (Optional) Click Customize Hardware to customize the hardware configuration.

You can also modify virtual hardware settings after you create the virtual machine.

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9 (Optional) Select Power on this virtual machine after creation to power on the virtual machine after you

create it.

This option is not available if you are installing the guest operating system manually.

10 Click Finish to create the virtual machine.

If you are using Easy Install, guest operating system installation begins when the virtual machine powers on. The guest operating system installation is automated and typically runs without requiring any input from you. After the guest operating system is installed, Easy Install installs VMware Tools.

If you are not using Easy Install, the virtual machine appears in the library.

What to do next

If you used Easy Install and the virtual machine did not power on when you finished the New Virtual Machine wizard, power on the virtual machine to start the guest operating system installation. See “Use Easy

Install to Install a Guest Operating System,” on page 19.

If you did not use Easy Install, install the guest operating system manually. See “Install a Guest Operating

System Manually,” on page 19.

Use Easy Install to Install a Guest Operating System

When you use Easy Install, you usually do not need to provide information during guest operating system installation.

If you did not provide all of the Easy Install information in the New Virtual Machine wizard, you might be prompted for a product key, username, or password.

Also, if the guest operating system installation consists of multiple discs or ISO image files, the installer might prompt you for the next disk.

Procedure

If the installer prompts you for a product key, username, or password, click in the virtual machine window and type the required information.

Mouse and keyboard input are captured by the virtual machine.

If you are using physical discs and the installer prompts you for the next disk, use the CD-ROM or DVD drive on the host system.

If you are using multiple ISO image files and the installer prompts you for the next disk, select the next ISO image file.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

Click Change Disk and browse to the next ISO image file.

a Select VM > Removable Devices > CD/DVD > Settings and browse to

the next ISO image file.

b Select Connected.

c Click Save.

Install a Guest Operating System Manually

Installing a guest operating system in a virtual machine is similar to installing an operating system on a physical computer. If you do not use Easy Install when you create a virtual machine in the New Virtual Machine wizard, you must install the guest operating system manually.

You can install a guest operating system from an installer disc or ISO image file. You can also use a PXE server to install the guest operating system over a network connection. If the host configuration does not permit the virtual machine to boot from an installer disc, you can create an ISO image file from the installer disc.

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Prerequisites

Verify that the operating system is supported. See the online VMware Compatibility Guide on the VMware Web site.

See the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide for information on the guest operating system that you are installing.

Procedure

1 If you are installing the guest operating system from an installer disc, configure the virtual machine to use

a physical CD-ROM or DVD drive and configure the drive to connect at power on.

a Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

b On the Hardware tab, select CD/DVD drive.

c Select Connect at power on.

d (Remote virtual machine only) Select the location of the CD-ROM or DVD drive.

e Select Use physical drive and select a the drive.

f Click OK to save your changes.

2 If you are installing the guest operating system from an ISO image file, configure the CD/DVD drive in

the virtual machine to point to the ISO image file and configure the drive to connect at power on.

a Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

b On the Hardware tab, select CD/DVD drive.

c Select Connect at power on.

d (Remote virtual machine only) Select the location of the ISO image file.

e Select Use ISO image file and browse to the location of the ISO image file.

f Click OK to save your changes.

3 If you are installing the guest operating system from an installer disc, insert the disc in the CD-ROM or

DVD drive.

4 Power on the virtual machine.

5 Follow the installation instructions provided by the operating system vendor.

6 If the operating system consists of multiple installer discs and you are prompted to insert the next disc,

insert the next disc in the physical drive.

7 If the operating system consists of multiple ISO image files, select the image file for the next CD.

a Select VM > Removable Devices > CD/DVD > Disconnect and disconnect from the current ISO image

file.

b Select VM > Removable Devices > CD/DVD > Settings and select the next ISO image file.

c Select Connected and click OK.

8 Use the standard tools in the operating system to configure its settings.

What to do next

Install VMware Tools. You should install VMware Tools before you activate the license for the operating system. See “Installing VMware Tools,” on page 28.

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Installing a Guest Operating System on a Physical Disk or Unused Partition

You can install a guest operating system directly on a physical disk or unused partition on the host system.

A physical disk directly accesses an existing local disk or partition. You can use physical disks to run one or more guest operating systems from existing disk partitions.

Workstation supports physical disks up to 2TB capacity. Booting from an operating system already set up on an existing SCSI disk or partition is not supported.

Running an operating system natively on the host system and switching to running it inside a virtual machine is similar to pulling the hard drive out of one computer and installing it in a second computer that has a different motherboard and hardware. The steps you take depend on the guest operating system in the virtual machine. In most cases, a guest operating system that is installed on a physical disk or unused partition cannot boot outside of the virtual machine, even though the data is available to the host system. See the Dual-Boot Computers and Virtual Machines technical note on the VMware Web site for information about using an operating system that can also boot outside of a virtual machine.

After you configure a virtual machine to use one or more partitions on a physical disk, do not modify the partition tables by running fdisk or a similar utility in the guest operating system. If you use fdisk or a similar utility on the host operating system to modify the partition table of the physical disk, you must recreate the virtual machine physical disk. All files that were on the physical disk are lost when you modify the partition table.

IMPORTANT You cannot use a physical disk to share files between the host system and a guest operating system. Making the same partition visible to both the host system and a guest operating system can cause data corruption. Instead, use shared folder to share files between the host system and a guest operating system.

Cloning Virtual Machines

Installing a guest operating system and applications can be time consuming. With clones, you can make many copies of a virtual machine from a single installation and configuration process. Cloning a virtual machine is faster and easier than copying it.

Clones are useful when you must deploy many identical virtual machines to a group. For example, an MIS department can clone a virtual machine that has a suite of preconfigured office applications for each employee. You can also configure a virtual machine that has a complete development environment and then clone it repeatedly as a baseline configuration for software testing.

The existing virtual machine is called the parent virtual machine. When the cloning operation is complete, the clone becomes a separate virtual machine.

Changes made to a clone do not affect the parent virtual machine, and changes made to the parent virtual machine do not appear in a clone. The MAC address and UUID for a clone are different from the parent virtual machine.

Using Linked Clones on page 22

A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an ongoing manner.

Using Full Clones on page 22

A full clone is a complete and independent copy of a virtual machine. It shares nothing with the parent virtual machine after the cloning operation. Ongoing operation of a full clone is entirely separate from the parent virtual machine.

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Enable Template Mode for a Parent Virtual Machine of Linked Clones on page 22

To prevent the parent virtual machine for a linked clone from being deleted, you can designate the parent as a template. When template mode is enabled, the virtual machine, and snapshots of the virtual machine, cannot be deleted.

Clone a Virtual Machine on page 23

The Clone Virtual Machine wizard guides you through the process of cloning a virtual machine. You do not need to locate and manually copy the parent virtual machine files.

Using Linked Clones

A linked clone is a copy of a virtual machine that shares virtual disks with the parent virtual machine in an ongoing manner.

Because a linked clone is made from a snapshot of the parent, disk space is conserved and multiple virtual machines can use the same software installation. All files available on the parent at the moment you take the snapshot continue to remain available to the linked clone.

Ongoing changes to the virtual disk of the parent do not affect the linked clone, and changes to the disk of the linked clone do not affect the parent. A linked clone must have access to the parent. Without access to the parent, you cannot use a linked clone.

Because linked clones are created swiftly, you can create a unique virtual machine for each task. You can also share a virtual machine with other users by storing the virtual machine on your local network where other users can quickly make a linked clone. For example, a support team can reproduce a bug in a virtual machine, and an engineer can quickly make a linked clone of that virtual machine to work on the bug.

You can make a linked clone from a linked clone, but the performance of the linked clone degrades. If you make a full clone from a linked clone, the full clone is an independent virtual machine that does not require access to the linked clone or its parent. You should make a linked clone of the parent virtual machine, if possible.

IMPORTANT You cannot delete a linked clone snapshot without destroying the linked clone. You can safely delete the snapshot only if you also delete the clone that depends on it.

Using Full Clones

Because a full clone does not share virtual disks with the parent virtual machine, full clones generally perform better than linked clones. Full clones take longer to create than linked clones. Creating a full clone can take several minutes if the files involved are large.

Because a full clone duplicates only the state of the virtual machine at the instant of the cloning operation, it does not have access to snapshots of the parent virtual machine.

Enable Template Mode for a Parent Virtual Machine of Linked Clones

NOTE You cannot enable template mode for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

If the parent does not have at least one snapshot, create a snapshot. See “Taking Snapshots of Virtual

Machines,” on page 74.

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Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine to use as a parent of the linked clone and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Advanced.

3 Select Enable Template mode (to be used for cloning) and click OK.

Clone a Virtual Machine

The Clone Virtual Machine wizard guides you through the process of cloning a virtual machine. You do not need to locate and manually copy the parent virtual machine files.

Prerequisites

Familiarize yourself with the different types of clones. See “Using Full Clones,” on page 22 and “Using

Linked Clones,” on page 22.

Run a defragmentation utility in the guest operating system to defragment the drives on the parent virtual machine.

If the parent virtual machine is a Workstation 4.x and Workstation 4.x-compatible virtual machine, upgrade it to Workstation 5.x or later.

If you are creating a linked clone, enable template mode for the parent virtual machine. See “Enable

Template Mode for a Parent Virtual Machine of Linked Clones,” on page 22.

Power off the parent virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the parent virtual machine and select VM > Manage > Clone.

2 Select the state of the parent from which you want to create a clone.

You can create a clone from the current state of the parent virtual machine or from an existing snapshot. If you select the current state, Workstation creates a snapshot of the parent virtual machine before cloning it.

NOTE You cannot clone from the current state if template mode is enabled for the parent virtual machine.

3 Specify whether to create a linked clone or a full clone.

4 Type a name and a location for the cloned virtual machine.

5 Click Finish to create the clone and Close to exit the wizard.

A full clone can take several minutes to create, depending on the size of the virtual disk that is being duplicated.

6 If the parent virtual machine uses a static IP address, change the static IP address of the clone before the

clone connects to the network to prevent IP address conflicts.

Although the wizard creates a new MAC address and UUID for the clone, other configuration information, such as the virtual machine name and static IP address configuration, is identical to that of the parent virtual machine.

The summary view for a linked clone shows the path to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file of the parent virtual machine.

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Virtualize a Physical Machine

You can create a virtual machine from a Windows physical machine in Workstation. When you virtualize a physical machine, you capture all of the applications, documents, and settings on the physical machine in a new virtual machine. Workstation must be running on a Windows host system to use this feature.

Prerequisites

Verify that the physical machine that you want to virtualize is running Windows. You cannot create a virtual machine from a non-Windows physical machine in Workstation.

Verify that you have administrative access on the physical machine that you want to virtualize.

Verify that the Workstation host system has network access to the physical machine that you want to virtualize.

Turn off firewall applications running on the physical machine that you want to virtualize.

Prepare the physical machine for virtualization. See “Prepare a Windows Physical Machine for

Virtualization,” on page 25.

Procedure

1 Power on the physical machine that you want to virtualize.

2 On the Windows host system, in Workstation, select File > Virtualize a Physical Machine.

If you have never virtualized a physical machine or imported a third-party virtual machine in Workstation, Workstation installs VMware vCenter Converter Standalone. After the installation is finished, you must restart the virtualization wizard.

3 Type the hostname or IP address, user name, and password for the physical machine that you want to

virtualize.

You must use the Administrator account or a user account that is a member of the local Administrators group.

4 Type a name for the new virtual machine and specify a location on the host system in which to store the

virtual machine files.

5 Type the user name and password for your user account on the host system.

6 Click Finish to create a virtual machine from the physical machine.

The amount of time required to create the virtual machine depends on the size of the hard disk on the physical machine.

VMware Tools installation begins the first time you power on the new virtual machine.

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Prepare a Windows Physical Machine for Virtualization

To avoid problems related to permissions and network access, you must perform certain steps to prepare a Windows physical machine before you run the Virtualize a Physical Machine wizard.

Procedure

1 If the physical machine is running Windows XP, turn off simple file sharing on the physical machine.

Turning off simple file sharing does not turn off the Shared Documents feature. You can use the simple file sharing interface, which is located in folder properties, to configure share and file permissions.

NOTE On Windows XP systems that are part of a workgroup, the simple file sharing interface is turned on by default. Windows XP systems that are part of a domain use only the classic file sharing and security interface.

a Open the Folder Options control panel.

b On the View tab, deselect Use Simple File Sharing (Recommended).

2 If the physical machine is running Windows Vista or Windows 7, disable User Account Control (UAC).

On Windows Vista, open the User Accounts control panel, select Turn User Account Control On or Off, and deselect Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer.

On Windows 7, open the Change User Account Control Settings control panel and drag the slider to Never notify.

Troubleshoot Windows Authentication Problems During Physical Machine Virtualization

User authentication fails when the Virtualize a Physical Machine wizard attempts to connect a Windows physical machine.

Problem

After you provide user credentials for the physical machine, the Virtualize a Physical Machine wizard reports that your user credentials are incorrect or you have insufficient permissions to connect to the physical machine.

Cause

Simple file sharing or User Account Control (UAC) is enabled on the physical machine.

Solution

Perform the steps in “Prepare a Windows Physical Machine for Virtualization,” on page 25 and rerun the Virtualize a Physical Machine wizard.

Troubleshoot Windows Activation Problems

A virtual machine that you create from a physical machine prompts you to activate Windows when you use it in Workstation.

Problem

After you create a virtual machine from a Windows Vista or Windows 7 physical machine, or from a physical PC that came with Windows preinstalled, you were required to reactivate Windows in the virtual machine.

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Cause

When you create a virtual machine from a Windows Vista or Windows 7 physical machine, the operating system detects that the computer hardware has changed. When you make a significant hardware change, Microsoft requires you to activate Windows again.

The OEM versions of Windows that are preinstalled on some new computers are customized for those computers. OEM licenses of Windows are not transferrable.

Solution

Any virtual machine that was created from a physical machine that had its Windows license key successfully activated needs to be reactivated when you run it in Workstation.

The activation process in Windows Vista and Windows 7 is different from the Windows XP activation process. In Windows Vista and Windows 7, retail activation keys are good for only one use. If you enter the same activation key in Workstation that you used previously, you cannot successfully activate the virtual machine.

The activation wizard tells you that the activation key was already used and prompts you to call the Microsoft activation hotline to get a second key. If you did not previously call the hotline for the same license key, you should receive a new activation key. Your call is not transferred to an operator unless you call repeatedly for the same key.

See the Microsoft Web site for more information about why reactivation is necessary.

Importing Virtual Machines

You can import Windows XP Mode, Open Virtualization Format (OVF), and Windows Virtual PC virtual machines in Workstation.

Import a Windows XP Mode Virtual Machine

You can import a Windows XP Mode virtual machine and run it in Workstation. When you import a Windows XP Mode virtual machine, Workstation creates a new virtual machine in VMware runtime (.vmx) format.

You can power on only one Windows XP Mode virtual machine at a time in Workstation. If you move a Windows XP Mode virtual machine to another host system, it becomes a new virtual machine and you must activate it.

NOTE Changes made to the original Windows XP Mode virtual machine through Virtual PC do not affect the virtual machine imported in Workstation.

Prerequisites

Verify that the Windows 7 Professional, Enterprise, or Ultimate edition operating system is running on the host system. Importing Windows XP Mode virtual machines is not supported on Linux host systems or on host systems that are running other versions of Windows.

Download and install the Windows XP Mode virtual machine on the host system.

Procedure

1 Select File > Import Windows XP Mode VM, or select File > Open and browse to the virtual machine

configuration (.vmc) file.

If you have never imported a third-party virtual machine or virtualized a physical machine in Workstation, Workstation installs VMware vCenter Converter Standalone. After the installation is finished, you must restart the import.

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2 Type a name for the new virtual machine, type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files,

and click Import.

Workstation begins importing the Windows XP Mode virtual machine.

After Workstation successfully imports the Windows XP Mode virtual machine, a new virtual machine appears in the virtual machine library.

Import an Open Virtualization Format Virtual Machine

You can import an Open Virtualization Format (OVF) virtual machine and run it in Workstation. Workstation converts the virtual machine from OVF format to VMware runtime (.vmx) format. You can import both .ovf and .ova files.

OVF is a platform-independent, efficient, extensible, and open packaging and distribution format for virtual machines. For example, you can import OVF virtual machines exported from VMware Fusion™ into Workstation. You can import OVF 1.0 and later files only.

You can also use the standalone OVF Tool to convert an OVF virtual machine to VMware runtime format. The standalone version of the OVF Tool is installed in the Workstation installation directory under OVFTool. See the OVF Tool User Guide on the VMware Web site for information on using the OVF Tool.

Procedure

1 In Workstation, select File > Open.

2 Browse to the .ovf or .ova file and click Open.

3 Type a name for the virtual machine, type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files, and

click Import.

Workstation performs OVF specification conformance and virtual hardware compliance checks. A status bar indicates the progress of the import process.

4 If the import fails, click Retry to try again, or click Cancel to cancel the import.

If you retry the import, Workstation relaxes the OVF specification conformance and virtual hardware compliance checks and you might not be able to use the virtual machine in Workstation.

After Workstation successfully imports the OVF virtual machine, the virtual machine appears in the virtual machine library.

Import a Windows Virtual PC Virtual Machine

You can import a Windows Virtual PC virtual machine and run it in Workstation. Workstation converts the virtual machine from Virtual PC (.vmc) format to VMware runtime (.vmx) format. This feature is supported only on Windows host systems.

Prerequisites

Download and install the Virtual PC virtual machine on the Windows host system.

Procedure

1 In Workstation, select File > Open.

2 Browse to the .vmc file and click Open.

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3 Type a name for the virtual machine, type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files, and

click Import.

After Workstation successfully imports the Virtual PC virtual machine, the virtual machine appears in the virtual machine library.

Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools

Installing VMware Tools is part of the process of creating a new virtual machine. Upgrading VMware Tools is part of the process of keeping virtual machines up to current standards.

For the best performance and latest updates, install or upgrade VMware Tools to match the version of Workstation that you are using. Other compatibility options are also available.

See Installing and Configuring VMware Tools for complete information on installing, upgrading, and configuring VMware Tools.

Installing VMware Tools on page 28

VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the virtual machine’s guest operating system and improves management of the virtual machine.

Upgrading VMware Tools on page 29

You can upgrade VMware Tools manually, or you can configure virtual machines to check for and install newer versions of VMware Tools.

Configure Automatic Software Updates on page 29

You can configure Workstation to automatically download software updates, including new versions of VMware Tools. When automatic software updates are enabled, Workstation always includes the latest support for guest operating systems and virtual machines always have the latest version of VMware Tools.

Configure VMware Tools Updates for a Specific Virtual Machine on page 31

You can configure virtual machines that have Windows or Linux guest operating systems to update VMware Tools automatically. For other guest operating systems, you must manually update VMware Tools.

Manually Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools on page 31

You can manually install or upgrade VMware Tools on Windows, Linux, NetWare, Solaris, and FreeBSD virtual machines.

Start the VMware User Process Manually If You Do Not Use a Session Manager on page 37

One of the executables used by VMware Tools in Linux, Solaris, and FreeBSD guest operating systems is the VMware User process. This program implements the fit-guest-to-window feature and Unity mode, among other features.

Uninstall VMware Tools on page 37

Occasionally, an upgrade of VMware Tools is incomplete. You can usually solve the problem by uninstalling VMware Tools and then reinstalling.

Installing VMware Tools

VMware Tools is a suite of utilities that enhances the performance of the virtual machine’s guest operating system and improves management of the virtual machine.

Although the guest operating system can run without VMware Tools, many VMware features are not available until you install VMware Tools. For example, if you do not have VMware Tools installed in your virtual machine, you cannot use the shutdown or restart options from the toolbar. You can use only the power options.

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You can use the Windows Easy Install or Linux Easy Install feature to install VMware Tools as soon as the operating system is finished installing.

The installers for VMware Tools are ISO image files. An ISO image file looks like a CD-ROM to your guest operating system. There is an ISO image file for each type of guest operating system, including Windows, Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, and NetWare. When you select the command to install or upgrade VMware Tools, the virtual machine’s first virtual CD-ROM disk drive temporarily connects to the VMware Tools ISO file for your guest operating system.

The most recent versions of the ISO files are stored on a VMware Web site. When you select the command to install or upgrade VMware Tools, the VMware product determines whether it has downloaded the most recent version of the ISO file for the specific operating system. If the latest version has not been downloaded or if no VMware Tools ISO file for that operating system has ever been downloaded, you are prompted to download the file.

The installation procedure varies, depending on the operating system.

Upgrading VMware Tools

You can upgrade VMware Tools manually, or you can configure virtual machines to check for and install newer versions of VMware Tools.

The guest operating system checks the version of VMware Tools when you power on a virtual machine. The status bar of the virtual machine displays a message when a new version is available.

In Windows virtual machines, you can set VMware Tools to notify you when an upgrade is available. If this notification option is enabled, the VMware Tools icon in the Windows taskbar includes a yellow caution icon when a VMware Tools upgrade is available.

To install a VMware Tools upgrade, you can use the same procedure that you used for installing VMware Tools the first time. Upgrading VMware Tools means installing a new version.

For Windows and Linux guest operating systems, you can configure the virtual machine to automatically upgrade VMware Tools. Although the version check is performed when you power on the virtual machine, on Windows guest operating systems, the automatic upgrade occurs when you power off or restart the virtual machine. The status bar displays the message Installing VMware Tools ... when an upgrade is in progress.

IMPORTANT When you upgrade VMware Tools on Linux guest operating systems, new network modules are available but are not used until you either reboot the guest operating system or stop networking, unload and re-load the VMware networking kernel modules, and then restart networking. This behavior means that even if VMware Tools is set to automatically upgrade, you must reboot or re-load network modules to make new features available.

This strategy avoids network interruptions and allows you to work with VMware Tools over SSH.

For best performance and the latest updates, install or upgrade VMware Tools to the VMware Tools version that is included with the VMware product you are using. Other compatibility options are also available.

Configure Automatic Software Updates

Prerequisites

On a Linux host, become root. On Linux systems, non-root users are not allowed to modify the preference setting for VMware Tools updates.

Verify that the host system is connected to the Internet.

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Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences and select Updates.

2 Select a software update download option.

If you deselect all of the software update options, automatic software updates are disabled.

Option Description

Check for product updates on startup

Check for software components as needed

Download All Components Now

3 If you use a proxy server to connect to the Internet, click Connection Settings and select a proxy setting.

Option Description

No proxy

Windows proxy settings

Manual proxy settings

4 To update VMware Tools when you power on a virtual machine or shut down the guest operating system,

select Automatically update VMware Tools on a virtual machine.

When Workstation starts, it checks for new versions of the application and installed software components.

When a software component is needed, for example, when you install or upgrade VMware Tools on a virtual machine, Workstation checks for a new version of the component.

Click this button to download all software updates immediately. This option is useful if you are planning to use a virtual machine at a later time when you do not have access to the Internet.

Select this option if you do not use a proxy server. This is the default setting.

(Windows hosts only) Workstation uses the host proxy settings from the Connections tab in the Internet Options control panel to access the VMware Update Server. Click Internet Options to set the guest connection options. Type a username and password to use for proxy server authentication. If you leave either the Username or Password text box blank, Workstation does not use either value.

Select an HTTP or SOCKS proxy, specify the proxy server address and designate a port number to access the VMware Update Server. Type a username and password to use for proxy server authentication. If you leave either the Username or Password text box blank, Workstation does not use either value (Windows hosts) or it uses the username and password set in the gnome settings (Linux hosts).

You can override this setting for a specific virtual machine by modifying virtual machine settings.

When you power on a virtual machine, you are prompted to download VMware Tools if a new version is available.

5 Click OK to save your changes.

What to do next

To override the VMware Tools update setting for a specific virtual machine, edit the virtual machine settings. See “Configure VMware Tools Updates for a Specific Virtual Machine,” on page 31.

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Configure VMware Tools Updates for a Specific Virtual Machine

You can configure virtual machines that have Windows or Linux guest operating systems to update VMware Tools automatically. For other guest operating systems, you must manually update VMware Tools.

Automatic VMware Tools updates are supported for versions of VMware Tools included in Workstation 5.5 and later virtual machines only. Automatic updates are not supported for versions of VMware Tools included in virtual machines created with VMware Server 1.x.

IMPORTANT If you update VMware Tools in a Windows virtual machine that was created with Workstation 4 or 5.x, some new components are not installed. To install the new components, you must uninstall the old version of VMware Tools and install the new version of VMware Tools.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select VMware Tools.

3 Select a VMware Tools update setting.

Option Description

Update manually (do nothing)

Update automatically

Use application default (currently update manually)

4 Click OK to save your changes.

You must update VMware Tools manually. The virtual machine status bar indicates when a new version of VMware Tools is available.

VMware Tools is updated automatically. The virtual machine status bar indicates when an update is in progress. If you are logged in to a Windows guest, a restart prompt appears after the update is complete. If you are not logged in, the operating system restarts without prompting. An auto-update check is performed as part of the boot sequence when you power on the virtual machine. If the virtual machine was suspended and you resume it or restore it to a snapshot during the boot sequence before this check, the automatic update occurs as planned. If you resume the virtual machine or restore it to a snapshot after the check, the automatic update does not occur.

Use the default VMware Tools update behavior. The default behavior is set in Workstation preferences.

NOTE You cannot configure this option for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Manually Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools

You can manually install or upgrade VMware Tools on Windows, Linux, NetWare, Solaris, and FreeBSD virtual machines.

If you are installing VMware Tools in a number of Windows virtual machines, you can automate its installation by using the VMware Tools setup.exe at a command prompt in the guest operating system. See Installing and Configuring VMware Tools for more information.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine on page 32

All supported Windows guest operating systems support VMware Tools.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine on page 33

For Linux virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine on page 34

For NetWare virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

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Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Solaris Virtual Machine on page 35

For Solaris virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a FreeBSD Virtual Machine on page 36

For FreeBSD virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine

All supported Windows guest operating systems support VMware Tools.

Install the latest version of VMware Tools to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management. When you power on a virtual machine, if a new version of VMware Tools is available, you see a notification in the status bar of the guest operating system.

For Windows 2000 and later, VMware Tools installs a virtual machine upgrade helper tool. This tool restores the network configuration if you upgrade from virtual hardware version 4 to version 7 or higher.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Verify that the guest operating system is running.

If you connected the virtual machine’s virtual CD/DVD drive to an ISO image file when you installed the operating system, change the setting so that the virtual CD/DVD drive is configured to autodetect a physical drive.

The autodetect setting enables the virtual machine's first virtual CD/DVD drive to detect and connect to the VMware Tools ISO file for a VMware Tools installation. This ISO file looks like a physical CD to your guest operating system. Use the virtual machine settings editor to set the CD/DVD drive to autodetect a physical drive.

If the guest operating system is a Windows NT, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, Windows Vista, or Windows 7 operating system, log in as an administrator. Any user can install VMware Tools in a Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows Me guest operating system.

Procedure

1 On the host, from the Workstation menu bar, select VM > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

If an earlier version of VMware Tools is installed, the menu item is Update VMware Tools.

2 If you are installing VMware Tools for the first time, click OK in the Install VMware Tools information

screen.

If autorun is enabled for the CD-ROM drive in the guest operating system, the VMware Tools installation wizard appears.

3 If autorun is not enabled, to manually launch the wizard, click Start > Run and enter D:\setup.exe, where

D: is your first virtual CD-ROM drive.

4 Follow the on-screen instructions.

5 If the New Hardware wizard appears, go through the wizard and accept the defaults.

6 If you are installing a beta or RC version of VMware Tools and you see a warning that a package or driver

is not signed, click Install Anyway to complete the installation.

7 When prompted, reboot the virtual machine.

What to do next

If a new virtual hardware version is available for the virtual machine, upgrade the virtual hardware.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine

For Linux virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Verify that the guest operating system is running.

Because the VMware Tools installer is written in Perl, verify that Perl is installed in the guest operating system.

Procedure

1 On the host, from the Workstation menu bar, select VM > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

If an earlier version of VMware Tools is installed, the menu item is Update VMware Tools.

2 In the virtual machine, log in to the guest operating system as root and open a terminal window.

3 Run the mount command with no arguments to determine whether your Linux distribution automatically

mounted the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image.

If the CD-ROM device is mounted, the CD-ROM device and its mount point are listed as something like this:

/dev/cdrom on /mnt/cdrom type iso9660 (ro,nosuid,nodev)

4 If the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image is not mounted, mount the CD-ROM drive.

a If a mount point directory does not already exist, create it.

mkdir /mnt/cdrom

Some Linux distributions use different mount point names. For example, on some distributions the mount point is /media/VMware Tools rather than /mnt/cdrom. Modify the command to reflect the conventions that your distribution uses.

b Mount the CD-ROM drive.

mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom

Some Linux distributions use different device names or organize the /dev directory differently. If your CD-ROM drive is not /dev/cdrom or if the mount point for a CD-ROM is not /mnt/cdrom, modify the command to reflect the conventions that your distribution uses.

5 Change to a working directory (for example, /tmp).

cd /tmp

6 Delete any previous vmware-tools-distrib directory before you install VMware Tools.

The location of this directory depends on where you placed it during the previous installation. Often this directory is placed in /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib.

7 List the contents of the mount point directory and note the filename of the VMware Tools tar installer.

mount-point

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8 Uncompress the installer.

tar zxpf /mnt/cdrom/VMwareTools-

x.x.x-yyyy

.tar.gz

The value x.x.x is the product version number, and yyyy is the build number of the product release.

If you attempt to install a tar installation over an RPM installation, or the reverse, the installer detects the previous installation and must convert the installer database format before continuing.

9 If necessary, unmount the CD-ROM image.

umount /dev/cdrom

If your Linux distribution automatically mounted the CD-ROM, you do not need to unmount the image.

10 Run the installer and configure VMware Tools.

cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl

Usually, the vmware-config-tools.pl configuration file runs after the installer file finishes running.

11 Respond to the prompts by pressing Enter to accept the default values, if appropriate for your

configuration.

12 Follow the instructions at the end of the script.

Depending on the features you use, these instructions can include restarting the X session, restarting networking, logging in again, and starting the VMware User process. You can alternatively reboot the guest operating system to accomplish all these tasks.

What to do next

If a new virtual hardware version is available for the virtual machine, upgrade the virtual hardware.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine

For NetWare virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Verify that the guest operating system is running.

Because the VMware Tools installer is written in Perl, verify that Perl is installed in the guest operating system.

Procedure

1 On the host, from the Workstation menu bar, select VM > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

If an earlier version of VMware Tools is installed, the menu item is Update VMware Tools.

2 Load the CD-ROM driver so that the virtual CD-ROM device mounts the ISO image as a volume.

Operating System Command

NetWare 6.5

NetWare 6.0 or NetWare 5.1

NetWare 4.2 (not available in vSphere)

LOAD CDDVD

LOAD CD9660.NSS

load cdrom

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

When the installation finishes, the message VMware Tools for NetWare are now running appears in the Logger Screen for NetWare 6.5 and NetWare 6.0 guest operating systems and in the Console Screen for NetWare 4.2 and 5.1 operating systems.

3 If the VMware Tools virtual disc (netware.iso) is attached to the virtual machine, right-click the CD-ROM

icon in the status bar of the console window and select Disconnect to disconnect it.

What to do next

If a new virtual hardware version is available for the virtual machine, upgrade the virtual hardware.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Solaris Virtual Machine

For Solaris virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Verify that the guest operating system is running.

Because the VMware Tools installer is written in Perl, verify that Perl is installed in the guest operating system.

Procedure

1 On the host, from the Workstation menu bar, select VM > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

If an earlier version of VMware Tools is installed, the menu item is Update VMware Tools.

2 In the virtual machine, log in to the guest operating system as root and open a terminal window.

3 If the Solaris volume manager does not mount the CD-ROM under /cdrom/vmwaretools, restart the volume

manager.

/etc/init.d/volmgt stop /etc/init.d/volmgt start

4 Change to a working directory (for example, /tmp).

cd /tmp

5 Extract VMware Tools.

gunzip -c /cdrom/vmwaretools/vmware-solaris-tools.tar.gz | tar xf -

6 Run the installer and configure VMware Tools.

cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl

Usually, the vmware-config-tools.pl configuration file runs after the installer file finishes running.

7 Respond to the prompts by pressing Enter to accept the default values, if appropriate for your

configuration.

8 Follow the instructions at the end of the script.

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Using VMware Workstation

What to do next

If a new virtual hardware version is available for the virtual machine, upgrade the virtual hardware.

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a FreeBSD Virtual Machine

For FreeBSD virtual machines, you manually install or upgrade VMware Tools by using the command line.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Verify that the guest operating system is running.

Because the VMware Tools installer is written in Perl, verify that Perl is installed in the guest operating system.

Procedure

1 On the host, from the Workstation menu bar, select VM > Manage > Install VMware Tools.

If an earlier version of VMware Tools is installed, the menu item is Update VMware Tools.

2 In the virtual machine, log in to the guest operating system as root and open a terminal window.

3 If the distribution does not automatically mount CD-ROMs, mount the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM

image.

For example, type mount /cdrom.

4 Change to a working directory (for example, /tmp).

cd /tmp

5 Untar the VMware Tools tar file.

tar zxpf /cdrom/vmware-freebsd-tools.tar.gz

6 If the distribution does not use automounting, unmount the VMware Tools virtual CD-ROM image.

umount /cdrom

7 Run the installer and configure VMware Tools.

cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl

Usually, the vmware-config-tools.pl configuration file runs after the installer file finishes running.

8 Respond to the prompts by pressing Enter to accept the default values, if appropriate for your

configuration.

9 Follow the instructions at the end of the script.

What to do next

If a new virtual hardware version is available for the virtual machine, upgrade the virtual hardware.

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Chapter 1 Creating Virtual Machines

Start the VMware User Process Manually If You Do Not Use a Session Manager

Normally, this process is started automatically after you configure VMware Tools and then log out of the desktop environment and log back in. You must start the process manually in the following environments:

If you run an X session without a session manager (for example, by using startx and getting a desktop and not using xdm, kdm, or gdm).

If you are using certain older versions of GNOME without gdm or xdm.

If you are using any session manager or environment that does not support the Desktop Application Autostart Specification, available from http://standards.freedesktop.org.

If you upgrade VMware Tools.

Procedure

To have the VMware User process start when you start an X session, add vmware-user to the appropriate X startup script, such as the .xsession or .xinitrc file.

The vmware-user program is located in the directory where you selected to install binary programs, which defaults to /usr/bin. The startup script that needs to be modified depends on your particular system.

To start the process after a VMware Tools software upgrade or if you notice certain features are not working, open a terminal window and enter the vmware-user command.

Uninstall VMware Tools

Occasionally, an upgrade of VMware Tools is incomplete. You can usually solve the problem by uninstalling VMware Tools and then reinstalling.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure

Use the appropriate operating-system-specific procedure to uninstall VMware Tools.

Operating System Action

Windows 7

Windows Vista and Windows Server 2008

Windows XP and earlier

Linux

Linux, Solaris, FreeBSD, NetWare

Mac OS X Server

Use the guest operating system's Programs > Uninstall a program item.

Use the guest operating system's Programs and Features > Uninstall a program item.

Use the guest operating system's Add/Remove Programs item.

On a Linux guest operating system that has VMware Tools installed by using an RPM installer, enter the following command in a terminal window:

rpm -e VMwareTools

vmware-uninstall-tools.pl

Use the Uninstall VMware Tools application, found in /Library/Application Support/VMware Tools.

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Using VMware Workstation

What to do next

Reinstall VMware Tools.

Virtual Machine Files

When you create a virtual machine, Workstation creates a set of files for that specific virtual machine. Virtual machine files are stored in either the virtual machines directory or the working directory. Both directories are typically on the host system.

Table 1-9. Virtual Machine Files

Extension File Name Description

.vmx

.log

.nvram

.vmdk

.vmem

.vmsd

vmname

.vmx

vmname

.log

vmware.log

vmname

.nvram

nvram

vmname

.vmdk

vmname-s###

vmname-f###

vmname-disk-###

uuid

.vmem

snapshot_name_number

vmname

.vmsd

.vmdk

.vmem

The primary configuration file, which stores virtual machine settings. If you created the virtual machine with an earlier version of Workstation on a Linux host, this file might have a .cfg extension.

The main log file. If you need to troubleshoot a problem, refer to this file. This file is stored in the same directory as the .vmx file.

The NVRAM file, which stores the state of the virtual machine BIOS. This file is stored in the same directory as the .vmx file.

Virtual disk files, which store the contents of the virtual machine hard disk drive. These files are stored in the same directory as the .vmx file.

A virtual disk is made up of one or more virtual disk files. The virtual machine settings show the name of the first file in the set. This file contains pointers to the other files in the set.

If you specify that all disk space should be allocated when the virtual disk is created, these files start at the maximum size and do not grow. Almost all of the file content is virtual machine data. A small portion of the file is allotted to virtual machine overhead.

If the virtual machine is connected directly to a physical disk, the virtual disk file stores information about the partitions that the virtual machine is allowed to access.

NOTE Earlier VMware products use the .dsk extension for virtual disk files.

If you specified that the files can increase, filenames include an s in the file number, for example, Windows 7-s001.vmdk.

If you specified that the virtual disk is divided into 2GB sections, the number of files depends on the size of the virtual disk. As data is added to a virtual disk, the files increase to a maximum of 2GB each.

If all disk space was allocated when the disk was created, filenames include an f, for example, Windows 7-f001.vmdk.

If the virtual machine has one or more snapshots, some files are redo log files. These files store changes made to a virtual disk while the virtual machine is running. The ### indicates a unique suffix that Workstation adds to avoid duplicate file names.

The virtual machine paging file, which backs up the guest main memory on the host file system. This file exists only when the virtual machine is running or if the virtual machine fails. It is stored in the working directory.

Each snapshot of a virtual machine that is powered on has an associated .vmem file, which contains the guest operating system main memory, saved as part of the snapshot.

A centralized file for storing information and metadata about snapshots. It is stored in the working directory.

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Table 1-9. Virtual Machine Files (Continued)

Extension File Name Description

.vmsn

.vmss

vmname

.Snapshot.vmsn

vmname

.Snapshot

vmname

.vmss

###

.vmsn

The snapshot state file, which stores the running state of a virtual machine at the time you take that snapshot. It is stored in the working directory.

The file that stores the state of a snapshot.

The suspended state file, which stores the state of a suspended virtual machine. It is stored in the working directory.

Some earlier VMware products used the .std extension for suspended state files.

Other files, such as lock files, might also be present in the virtual machines directory. Some files are present only while a virtual machine is running.

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40 VMware, Inc.

Using Virtual Machines 2

When you use virtual machines in Workstation, you can transfer files and text between virtual machines and the host system, print to host printers, connect removable devices, and change display settings. You can use folders to manage multiple virtual machines, take snapshots to preserve virtual machine states, and create screenshots and movies of virtual machines.

You can also use Workstation to interact with remote virtual machines. See Chapter 6, “Using Remote

Connections and Sharing Virtual Machines,” on page 173 for more information.

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Starting Virtual Machines,” on page 41

“Stopping Virtual Machines,” on page 45

“Transferring Files and Text,” on page 48

“Add a Host Printer to a Virtual Machine,” on page 58

“Using Removable Devices in Virtual Machines,” on page 58

“Changing the Virtual Machine Display,” on page 65

“Using Folders to Manage Virtual Machines,” on page 71

“Taking Snapshots of Virtual Machines,” on page 74

“Install New Software in a Virtual Machine,” on page 81

“Take a Screenshot of a Virtual Machine,” on page 81

“Create a Movie of a Virtual Machine,” on page 82

“Delete a Virtual Machine,” on page 83

Starting Virtual Machines

When you start a virtual machine, the guest operating system starts and you can interact with the virtual machine. You can use Workstation to start virtual machines on the host system and on remote servers. You can also stream virtual machines from a Web server.

To start a virtual machine from the command line, use the vmware command. See Chapter 7, “Using the vmware

Command,” on page 191.

Start a Virtual Machine on page 42

You can start a virtual machine from the VM menu or from the toolbar. When you use the VM menu, you can select a soft or hard power option or start the virtual machine in BIOS setup mode.

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Using VMware Workstation

Start a Virtual Machine That Is Running in the Background on page 43

You can start a virtual machine that is running in the background when Workstation is not started.

Stream a Virtual Machine from a Web Server on page 43

When you stream a virtual machine, you can start the virtual machine as soon as the download process begins. When you power off a streamed virtual machine, you are prompted to save or discard changes. If you discard changes, the directory that was created on the local computer and all the virtual machine data are deleted.

Enable Autologon in a Windows Virtual Machine on page 44

With Autologon, you can save your login credentials and bypass the login dialog box when you power on a Windows virtual machine. The guest operating system securely stores the password.

Start a Virtual Machine

You can start a virtual machine from the VM menu or from the toolbar. When you use the VM menu, you can select a soft or hard power option or start the virtual machine in BIOS setup mode.

When virtual machines are in a folder, you can perform batch power operations. See “Using Folders to Manage

Virtual Machines,” on page 71.

You can use the AutoStart feature to configure shared and remote virtual machines to start when the host system starts. See “Configure Shared and Remote Virtual Machines to Start with the Host,” on page 184.

Prerequisites

If the virtual machine is on the local host, select File > Open and browse to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file.

If the virtual machine is on a remote host, connect to the remote server. See “Connect to a Remote

Server,” on page 176.

Procedure

To select a power option when you start the virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Power.

Option Description

Power On

Start Up Guest

Power On to BIOS

(Hard option) Workstation starts the virtual machine.

(Soft option) Workstation starts the virtual machine and VMware Tools runs a script in the guest operating system. On Windows guests, if the virtual machine is configured to use DHCP, the script renews the IP address of the virtual machine. On a Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris guest, the script starts networking for the virtual machine.

Workstation starts the virtual machine in BIOS setup mode.

To start the virtual machine from the toolbar, select the virtual machine and click the start button.

The start power control setting that is configured for the virtual machine determines whether Workstation performs a hard or soft power on operation. The configured behavior appears in a tooltip when you mouse over the button.

What to do next

Click anywhere inside the virtual machine console to give the virtual machine control of the mouse and keyboard on the host system.

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Chapter 2 Using Virtual Machines

Start a Virtual Machine That Is Running in the Background

You can start a virtual machine that is running in the background when Workstation is not started.

Prerequisites

Set the virtual machine to run in the background. See “Closing Virtual Machines and Exiting Workstation,” on page 46.

Procedure

1 On the host system, click the virtual machine status icon that is located in the notification area of the

taskbar.

A list of the virtual machines that are running in the background appears in a tooltip. The list contains the virtual machines that belong to the currently logged in user.

2 Select a virtual machine from the list in the tooltip.

Workstation starts and displays the console view of the virtual machine.

Stream a Virtual Machine from a Web Server

NOTE You cannot stream a remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Make the virtual machine available for streaming. See “Make a Virtual Machine Available for

Streaming,” on page 44.

Determine the URL of the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Run the vmware command and specify the URL of the virtual machine.

Both HTTP and HTTPS are supported.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

vmware.exe http://

vmware http://

path_to_vm

.vmx

A tab for the virtual machine opens in the Workstation window.

2 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Power > Power On.

Workstation fetches virtual disk data on demand so that you can start using the virtual machine before it finishes downloading. The status bar indicates the progress of the download. When you point to the VM streaming icon on the status bar, a tooltip indicates whether streaming is active and provides the URL of the Web server.

3 (Optional) To save the virtual machine so that you can use it when you do not have access to the Web

server, select VM > Save for Offline Use.

Using this setting also allows you to pause downloading by powering off the virtual machine before streaming is finished, restart it later by powering on the virtual machine, and open the virtual machine in Workstation after you close it.

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Make a Virtual Machine Available for Streaming

You can make a virtual machine available for streaming from a Web server.

Prerequisites

(Optional) To improve streaming performance, use Virtual Disk Manager (vmware-diskmanager) to compress the virtual disk (.vmdk) files for the virtual machine. See the Virtual Disk Manager User’s Guide for more information. This guide is available on the VMware Web site.

If the virtual machine has any snapshots, delete them.

Procedure

1 Configure the Web server to support HTTP keep-alive connections.

Option Description

Apache HTTP Server 1.2 and later

Microsoft Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 or later

2 If you use a proxy server, set the proxy connection to Keep-alive.

Turn the KeepAlive option on, set MaxKeepAliveRequest to 2000 to 5000, and set KeepAliveTimeout to 2000 to 5000 seconds, depending on server load.

Set the connection timeout to a value above 300 seconds and load HTTP Keep-Alives.

3 Upload the virtual machines directory to the Web server.

Do not compress the directory. Depending on the size of the virtual machine, downloading a virtual machine in a .zip or .tar file from a Web server can take a considerable amount of time.

After it is uploaded to the Web server, users can use a URL to stream the virtual machine and start it in Workstation.

Enable Autologon in a Windows Virtual Machine

With Autologon, you can save your login credentials and bypass the login dialog box when you power on a Windows virtual machine. The guest operating system securely stores the password.

Use the Autologon feature if you restart the guest operating system frequently and want to avoid entering your login credentials. You can also use the Autologon feature to grant users access to the guest operating system without sharing your password.

Prerequisites

Verify that the guest operating system is Windows 2000 or later.

Verify that you have an existing user account to enable Autologon. The account must be a local machine account, not a domain account.

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is running in the guest operating system.

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine, select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Autologon.

3 Click Enable, type your login credentials, and click OK.

If you type an incorrect or expired password, you must type your login credentials when you power on the virtual machine.

44 VMware, Inc.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

When you enable Autologon or change your login credentials, the Autologon settings are saved immediately. Clicking Cancel in the Virtual Machine Settings dialog box does not affect the changes applied to the Autologon settings.

Stopping Virtual Machines

You can use Workstation to stop virtual machines on the host system and on remote servers. You can shut down, pause, and suspend virtual machines. You can also close virtual machines and continue running them in the background.

Shut Down a Virtual Machine on page 45

You can shut down a virtual machine from the VM menu or from the toolbar. When you use the VM menu, you can select a hard or soft power option.

Closing Virtual Machines and Exiting Workstation on page 46

You can close a virtual machine that is running on the local host system without powering it off. By default, Workstation prompts you to select an action when you close a powered-on virtual machine and when you exit Workstation while virtual machines are running on the local host system.

Pause and Unpause a Virtual Machine on page 46

You can pause a virtual machine multiple times for a few seconds, or up to several minutes. The pause feature is useful when a virtual machine is engaged in an lengthy, processor-intensive activity that prevents you from using the host system to do a more immediate task.

Chapter 2 Using Virtual Machines

Suspend and Resume a Virtual Machine on page 47

You suspend a virtual machine when you want to save its current state. When you resume the virtual machine, applications that were running before the virtual machine was suspended resume in their running state and their content is unchanged.

Shut Down a Virtual Machine

You can shut down a virtual machine from the VM menu or from the toolbar. When you use the VM menu, you can select a hard or soft power option.

You are not required to power off a virtual machine that is running on the local host system before you exit Workstation. You can exit Workstation and leave the virtual machine running in the background. See “Closing

Virtual Machines and Exiting Workstation,” on page 46.

When virtual machines are in a folder, you can perform batch power operations. See “Using Folders to Manage

Virtual Machines,” on page 71.

Procedure

To select a power option when you shut down the virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Power.

Option Description

Power Off

Shut Down Guest

(Hard option) Workstation powers off the virtual machine abruptly with no consideration for work in progress.

(Soft option) Workstation sends a shut down signal to the guest operating system. An operating system that recognizes the signal shuts down gracefully. Not all guest operating systems respond to a shutdown signal from Workstation. If the guest operating system does not respond to the signal, shut down from the guest operating system as you would a physical machine.

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To shut down the virtual machine from the toolbar, select the virtual machine and click the stop button.

The stop power control setting that is configured for the virtual machine determines whether Workstation performs a hard or soft power off operation. The configured behavior appears in a tooltip when you mouse over the button.

Closing Virtual Machines and Exiting Workstation

NOTE When you close a remote virtual machine, the virtual machine tab closes. If the virtual machine is powered on, it continues to run on the remote host.

Table 2-1. Close and Exit Actions

Action Description

Run in Background Continue to run the virtual machine in the background. You can interact

with the virtual machine through VNC or some other service.

By default, a virtual machine status icon appears in the notification area of the taskbar on the host system. When you mouse over this icon, a tooltip shows the number of virtual machines running in the background that belong to the currently logged in user.

Suspend Suspend the virtual machine and save its current state.

Power Off Power off the virtual machine. By default, Workstation powers off the

virtual machine abruptly. The effect is the same as using the power button on a physical machine.

You can configure Workstation preference settings so that virtual machines always run in the background and you are not prompted to select an action. You can also configure virtual machine option settings to control power off behavior.

Configure Virtual Machines to Always Run in the Background

You can configure Workstation preference settings so that virtual machines always run in the background and you are not prompted to select an action when you close powered-on virtual machines.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences.

2 Select Workspace and select Keep VMs running after Workstation closes.

3 Click OK to save your changes.

Pause and Unpause a Virtual Machine

NOTE You cannot pause a remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Familiarize yourself with the restrictions and limitations of the pause feature. See “Pause Feature Restrictions

and Limitations,” on page 47.

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Procedure

To pause a virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Pause.

The virtual machine display dims and a play button appears over the display. Paused virtual machines that are configured to display on more than one monitor have a play button on each monitor.

To pause all of the powered-on virtual machines without interacting with the Workstation user interface, right-click the virtual machine status icon located in the notification area on the task bar of the host computer and select Pause All Virtual Machines.

To unpause a virtual machine, click the play button on the virtual machine display or deselect VM > Pause.

Pause Feature Restrictions and Limitations

The pause feature has certain restrictions and limitations.

You cannot switch to Unity mode when a virtual machine is paused.

When paused, a virtual machine does not send or receive network packets. If a virtual machine is paused for more than a few minutes, some network connections might be interrupted.

If you take a snapshot when the virtual machine is paused, the virtual machine is not paused when you restore that snapshot. Similarly, if you suspend a virtual machine while it is paused, it is not paused when you resume the virtual machine.

If you initiate soft power operations when a virtual machine is paused, those operations do not take effect until the virtual machine is unpaused.

While a virtual machine is paused, LEDs and devices remain enabled, but device connection changes do not take effect until the virtual machine is unpaused.

You cannot pause a remote virtual machine.

Suspend and Resume a Virtual Machine

How quickly the suspend and resume operations perform depends on the how much data changed after you started the virtual machine. The first suspend operation typically takes longer than subsequent suspend operations. When you suspend a virtual machine, Workstation creates a virtual machine suspended state (.vmss) file in the working directory.

After you resume a virtual machine and do more work, you cannot return to the state that the virtual machine was in when you suspended it. To return to the same state repeatedly, you must take a snapshot.

When virtual machines are in a folder, you can perform batch power operations. See “Using Folders to Manage

Virtual Machines,” on page 71.

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Procedure

To select a suspend option when you suspend a virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Power.

Option Description

Suspend

Suspend Guest

To suspend a virtual machine from the toolbar, select the virtual machine and click the suspend button.

The suspend power control setting that is configured for the virtual machine determines whether Workstation performs a hard or soft suspend operation. The configured behavior appears in a tooltip when you mouse over the button.

To select a resume option when you resume a suspended virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Power.

Option Description

Resume

Resume Guest

To resume a virtual machine from the toolbar, select the virtual machine and click the resume button.

(Hard option) Workstation suspends the virtual machine and leaves it connected to the network.

(Soft option) Workstation suspends the virtual machine and disconnects it from the network. VMware Tools runs a script in the guest operating system. On Windows guests, if the virtual machine is configured to use DHCP, the script releases the IP address of the virtual machine. On Linux, FreeBSD, and Solaris guests, the script stops networking for the virtual machine.

(Hard option) Workstation resumes the virtual machine from the suspended state.

(Soft option) Workstation resumes the virtual machine from the suspended state and reconnects it to the network.

The suspend power control setting that is configured for the virtual machine determines whether Workstation performs a hard or soft resume operation. The configured behavior appears in a tooltip when you mouse over the button.

Using the Guest ACPI S1 Sleep Feature on Windows Hosts

On Windows hosts, Workstation provides experimental support for guest operating system ACPI S1 sleep. Not all guest operating systems support this feature. Common guest operating system interfaces for entering standby mode are supported.

By default, ACPI S1 sleep is implemented in Workstation as suspend. You can use the Workstation Resume button to wake the guest operating system.

You can implement ACPI S1 sleep as power-on suspend. The guest operating system is not fully powered down. This feature can be useful for test and development scenarios. You can wake the virtual machine through keyboard input, mouse input, or by programming the CMOS external timer.

Transferring Files and Text

You can use the drag-and-drop feature, the copy and paste feature, shared folders, and mapped drives to transfer files and text between the host system and virtual machines and between virtual machines.

Using the Drag-and-Drop Feature on page 49

You can use the drag-and-drop feature to move files and directories, email attachments, plain text, formatted text, and images between the host system and virtual machines. Dragging email attachments is especially useful in Unity mode.

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Using the Copy and Paste Feature on page 50

You can cut, copy, and paste text between virtual machines and between applications running in virtual machines.

Using Shared Folders on page 51

You can use shared folders to share files among virtual machines and between virtual machines and the host system. The directories that you add as shared folders can be on the host system, or they can be network directories that are accessible from the host computer.

Mapping a Virtual Disk to the Host System on page 56

Instead of using shared folders or copying data between a virtual machine and the host system, you can map a virtual disk to the host system. In this case, you map a virtual disk in the host file system as a separate mapped drive. Using a mapped drive lets you connect to the virtual disk without going into a virtual machine.

Using the Drag-and-Drop Feature

You can drag files or directories between the following locations.

File managers, such as Windows Explorer, on the host system and virtual machines.

A file manager to an application that supports drag-and-drop.

Applications, such as zip file managers, which support drag-and-drop extraction of individual files.

Different virtual machines.

When you drag a file or folder between the host and a virtual machine, Workstation copies the file or folder to the location where you drop it. For example, if you drop a file on the desktop icon of a word processor, the word processor opens a copy of the original file. The original file does not include changes that you make to the copy.

Initially, the application opens a copy of the file that is stored in the temp directory. On Windows, the temp directory is specified in the %TEMP% environment variable. On Linux and Solaris, the temp directory is /tmp/VMwareDnD. Save the file in a different directory to protect changes that you make.

Drag-and-Drop Requirements and Restrictions

The drag-and-drop feature has certain requirements and restrictions.

You must install VMware Tools in a virtual machine to use the drag-and-drop feature.

The drag-and-drop feature requires Linux hosts and guests to run X Windows and Solaris 10 guests to run an Xorg X server and JDS/Gnome.

You can drag images between applications on Windows hosts and applications on Windows guests only. Dragging images is not supported for Linux hosts or guests.

You can drag files and directories, email attachments, plain text, and formatted text between Linux and Windows hosts and Linux, Windows, and Solaris 10 guests only.

Dragging email attachments is restricted to images or files smaller than 4MB.

Dragging plain text and formatted text (including the formatting) is restricted to amounts less than 4MB.

Dragging text is restricted to text in languages that can be represented by Unicode characters.

Workstation uses the PNG format to encode images that are dragged. Dragging images is restricted to images smaller than 4MB after conversion to PNG format.

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On Windows 95 and Windows 98 guests, the drag-and-drop feature is supported only for files and directories.

Disable the Drag-and-Drop Feature

The drag-and-drop feature is enabled by default when you create a virtual machine in Workstation. To prevent dragging and dropping between a virtual machine and the host system, disable the drag-and-drop feature.

NOTE You cannot enable or disable the drag-and-drop feature for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Guest Isolation.

3 Deselect Enable drag and drop.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Using the Copy and Paste Feature

You can cut, copy, and paste text between virtual machines and between applications running in virtual machines.

You can also cut, copy, and paste images, plain text, formatted text, and email attachments between applications running on the host system and applications running in virtual machines.

Copying and pasting email attachments is especially useful in Unity mode. Use the normal hot keys or menu choices to cut or copy and paste.

Copy and Paste Requirements and Restrictions

The copy and paste feature has certain requirements and restrictions.

You must install VMware Tools in a virtual machine to use the copy and paste feature.

The copy and paste feature works with Linux and Windows hosts and Linux, Windows, and Solaris 10 guests only.

The copy and paste feature requires Linux hosts and guests to run X Windows and Solaris 10 guests to run an Xorg X server and JDS/Gnome.

Copying and pasting email attachments is restricted to images or files smaller than 4MB.

Copying and pasting plain text and formatted text (including the formatting) is restricted to amounts less than 4MB.

Copying and pasting text is restricted to text in languages that can be represented by Unicode characters.

Workstation uses the PNG format to encode images that are copied and pasted. Copying and pasting images is restricted to images smaller than 4MB after conversion to PNG format.

You cannot copy and paste files between virtual machines.

On Windows 95 and Windows 98 guests, copying and pasting is restricted to plain text in amounts less than 64KB.

Disable the Copy and Paste Feature

The copy and paste feature is enabled by default when you create a virtual machine in Workstation. To prevent copying and pasting between a virtual machine and the host system, disable the copy and paste feature.

NOTE You cannot enable or disable the copy and paste feature for a shared or remote virtual machine.

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Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Guest Isolation.

3 Deselect Enable copy and paste.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Using Shared Folders

IMPORTANT You cannot open a file in a shared folder from more than one application at a time. For example, do not open the same file in an application on the host operating system and in another application in the guest operating system. If one of the applications writes to the file, data might be corrupted.

Guest Operating Systems that Support Shared Folders on page 51

To use shared folders, a virtual machine must have a supported guest operating system.

Enable a Shared Folder for a Virtual Machine on page 52

You can enable folder sharing for a specific virtual machine. To set up a folder for sharing between virtual machines, you must configure each virtual machine to use the same directory on the host system or network share.

Enable Shared Folders for Virtual Machines Created By Other Users on page 53

If a shared folder is not created by the user who powers on the virtual machine, it is disabled by default. This is a security precaution.

View Shared Folders in a Windows Guest on page 53

In a Windows guest operating system, you can view shared folders by using desktop icons.

Mounting Shared Folders in a Linux Guest on page 54

After you have enabled a shared folder, you can mount one or more directories or subdirectories in the shared folder to any location in the file system in addition to the default location of /mnt/hgfs.

Change Shared Folder Properties on page 55

After you create a shared folder, you can change the folder name, the host path, and other attributes.

Change the Folders That a Virtual Machine Can Share on page 56

You can change the folders that a specific virtual machine is allowed to share.

Disable Folder Sharing for a Virtual Machine on page 56

You can disable folder sharing for a specific virtual machine.

Guest Operating Systems that Support Shared Folders

To use shared folders, a virtual machine must have a supported guest operating system.

The following guest operating systems support shared folders.

Windows Server 2003

Windows XP

Windows 2000

Windows NT 4.0

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Windows Vista

Windows 7

Linux with a kernel version of 2.6 or later

Solaris x86 10

Solaris x86 10 Update 1 and later

Enable a Shared Folder for a Virtual Machine

NOTE You cannot enable a shared folder for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machines use a guest operating system that supports shared folders. See “Guest

Operating Systems that Support Shared Folders,” on page 51.

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Verify that permission settings on the host system allow access to files in the shared folders. For example, if you are running Workstation as a user named User, the virtual machine can read and write files in the shared folder only if User has permission to read and write them.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Shared Folders.

3 Select a folder sharing option.

Option Description

Always enabled

Enabled until next power off or suspend

Keep folder sharing enabled, even when the virtual machine is shut down, suspended, or powered off.

Enable folder sharing temporarily, until you power off, suspend, or shut down the virtual machine. If you restart the virtual machine, shared folders remain enabled. This setting is available only when the virtual machine is powered on.

4 (Optional) To map a drive to the Shared Folders directory, select Map as a network drive in Windows

guests.

This directory contains all of the shared folders that you enable. Workstation selects the drive letter.

5 Click Add to add a shared folder.

On Windows hosts, the Add Shared Folder wizard starts. On Linux hosts, the Shared Folder Properties dialog box opens.

6 Type the path on the host system to the directory to share.

If you specify a directory on a network share, such as D:\share, Workstation always attempts to use that path. If the directory is later connected to the host on a different drive letter, Workstation cannot locate the shared folder.

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7 Specify the name of the shared folder as it should appear inside the virtual machine.

Characters that the guest operating system considers illegal in a share name appear differently when viewed inside the guest. For example, if you use an asterisk in a share name, you see %002A instead of * in the share name on the guest. Illegal characters are converted to their ASCII hexadecimal value.

8 Select shared folder attributes.

Option Description

Enable this share

Read-only

Enable the shared folder. Deselect this option to disable a shared folder without deleting it from the virtual machine configuration.

Make the shared folder read-only. When this property is selected, the virtual machine can view and copy files from the shared folder, but it cannot add, change, or remove files. Access to files in the shared folder is also governed by permission settings on the host computer.

9 Click Finish to add the shared folder.

The shared folder appears in the Folders list. The check box next to folder name indicates that the folder is being shared. You can deselect this check box to disable sharing for the folder.

10 Click OK to save your changes.

What to do next

View the shared folder. On Linux guests, shared folders appear under /mnt/hgfs. On Solaris guests, shared folders appear under /hgfs. To view shared folders on a Windows guest, see “View Shared Folders in a

Windows Guest,” on page 53.

Enable Shared Folders for Virtual Machines Created By Other Users

If a shared folder is not created by the user who powers on the virtual machine, it is disabled by default. This is a security precaution.

Folder sharing is also disabled by default for Workstation 4 and 5.x virtual machines, regardless of who creates the folder.

IMPORTANT Enabling shared folders on all virtual machines can pose a security risk because a shared folder might enable existing programs inside the virtual machine to access the host file system without your knowledge.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences.

2 Select Workspace and select Enable all shared folders by default.

This setting applies to shared folders on all virtual machines that are created by other users.

View Shared Folders in a Windows Guest

In a Windows guest operating system, you can view shared folders by using desktop icons.

NOTE If the guest operating system has VMware Tools from Workstation 4.0, shared folders appear as folders on a designated drive letter.

Procedure

Depending on the Windows operating system version, look for VMware Shared Folders in My Network Places, Network Neighborhood, or Network.

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If you mapped the shared folder as a network drive, open My Computer and look for Shared Folders on 'vmware-host' under Network Drives.

To view a specific shared folder, go directly to the folder by using the UNC path \\vmware-

host\Shared Folders\

Mounting Shared Folders in a Linux Guest

Use the mount command to mount all shares, one share, or a subdirectory within a share to any location in the file system.

Table 2-2. Mount Command Syntax

Command Description

mount -t vmhgfs .host:/ /home/user1/shares

mount -t vmhgfs .host:/foo /tmp/foo

mount -t vmhgfs .host:/foo/bar /var/lib/bar

You can use VMware-specific options in addition to the standard mount syntax. For usage information for the host-guest file system options, type the command /sbin/mount.vmhgfs -h.

shared_folder_name

Mounts all shares to /home/user1/shares

Mounts the share named foo to /tmp/foo

Mounts the subdirectory bar within the share foo to /var/lib/bar

When you install VMware Tools, an entry is made to etc/fstab to specify the location of shared folders. You can edit this file to change or add entries. For example, to auto-mount at startup, edit /etc/fstab and add the line .host :/ /mnt/hgfs vmhgfs defaults 0 0.

The VMware Tools services script loads a driver that performs the mount. If the mount fails, a message appears regarding mounting HGFS shares.

NOTE The mount can fail if shared folders are disabled or if the share does not exist. You are not prompted to run the VMware Tools vmware-config-tools.pl configuration program again.

Optimizing Read and Write Access to Shared Files on Linux

Host-guest file sharing is integrated with the guest page cache. Files in shared folders are cached for reading and can be written to asynchronously.

Files that are being actively written to from the guest do not experience read caching benefits. To improve performance, you can use the mount command time-to-live (ttl) option to specify the interval that the hostguest file system (hgfs) driver uses for validating file attributes.

For example, to validate attributes every 3 seconds instead of every 1 second, which is the default, use the following command.

mount -o ttl=3 -t vmhgfs .host:/

sharemountpoint

NOTE Lengthening the interval involves some risk. If a process in the host modifies file attributes, the guest operating system might not get the modifications as quickly and the file can become corrupted.

Using Permissions to Restrict Access to Shared Files in a Linux Guest

You can use permissions to restrict access to the files in a shared folder on a Linux guest operating system.

On a Linux host, if you create files that you want to share with a Linux guest operating system, the file permissions shown on the guest operating system are the same as the permissions on the host system. You can use the fmask and dmask commands to mask permissions bits for files and directories.

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If you create files on a Windows host system that you want to share with a Linux guest operating system, readonly files are displayed as having read and execute permission for everyone and other files are shown as fully writable by everyone.

If you use a Linux guest operating system to create files for which you want to restrict permissions, use the

mount program with the following options in the guest operating system.

uid

gid

fmask

dmask

ro (read only)

rw (read-write)

rw is the default.

If you are using a virtual machine that was created with the Windows version of Workstation, or a previous release of the Linux version of Workstation, you can change the owner permissions only.

Change Shared Folder Properties

After you create a shared folder, you can change the folder name, the host path, and other attributes.

Prerequisites

Create a shared folder. See “Enable a Shared Folder for a Virtual Machine,” on page 52.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Shared Folders.

3 Select the shared folder in the folders list and click Properties.

4 To change the name of the shared folder as it appears inside the virtual machine, type the new name in

the Name text box.

5 To change the host path for the shared folder, browse to or type the new path in the Host path text box.

6 To change an attribute for the shared folder, select or deselect the attribute.

Option Description

Enabled

Read-only

Enable the shared folder. Deselect this option to disable a shared folder without deleting it from the virtual machine configuration.

7 Click OK to save your changes.

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Change the Folders That a Virtual Machine Can Share

You can change the folders that a specific virtual machine is allowed to share.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Shared Folders.

3 In the folders list, select the check boxes next to the folders to share and deselect the check boxes next to

the folders to disable.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Disable Folder Sharing for a Virtual Machine

You can disable folder sharing for a specific virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Shared Folders.

3 Select Disabled to disable folder sharing.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Mapping a Virtual Disk to the Host System

Map or Mount a Virtual Disk to a Drive on the Host System

When you map a virtual disk and its associated volume to a drive on the host system, you can connect to the virtual disk without opening a virtual machine.

After you map the virtual disk to a drive on the host system, you cannot power on any virtual machine that uses the disk until you disconnect the disk from the host system.

NOTE You cannot map a virtual hard disk for a shared or remote virtual machine.

IMPORTANT If you mount a virtual disk that has a snapshot and then write to the disk, you can irreparably

damage a snapshot or linked clone created from the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off all virtual machines that use the virtual disk.

Verify that the virtual disk (.vmdk) files on the virtual disk are not compressed and do not have read-only permissions.

On a Windows host, verify that the volume is formatted with FAT (12/16/32) or NTFS. Only FAT (12/16/32) and NTFS formatting is supported. If the virtual disk has mixed partitions, for example, one partition is formatted with a Linux operating system and another partition is formatted with a Windows operating system, you can map the Windows partition only.

Verify that the virtual disk is unencrypted. You cannot map or mount encrypted disks.

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Procedure

1 Mount the virtual disk to a drive on the host system.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

Select File > Map Virtual Disks.

Select File > Mount Virtual Disks.

2 Map or mount the virtual disk.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

In the Map or Disconnect Virtual Disks dialog box, click Map.

In the Mount or Unmount Virtual Disks dialog box, click Mount Disk.

3 On a Windows host, leave the check box Open file in read-only mode selected in the Map Virtual Disk

dialog box.

This setting prevents you from accidentally writing data to a virtual disk that might be the parent of a snapshot or linked clone. Writing to such a disk might make the snapshot or linked clone unusable.

4 On a Linux host, select the Mount in read-only mode check box in the Mount Disk dialog box.

5 Browse to a virtual disk (.vmdk) file, select it, and click Open.

6 Select the volume to map or mount and select an unused drive letter on the host system.

7 (Optional) On a Windows host, if you do not want the drive to open in Windows Explorer after it is

mapped, deselect the Open drive in Windows Explorer after mapping check box.

8 Click OK or Mount.

The drive appears on the host system. You can read from or write to files on the mapped virtual disk on the host system.

9 (Optional) View the mapped or mounted drive.

Option Description

Windows host

Linux host

Select File > Map Virtual Disks.

Select File > Mount Virtual Disks.

Disconnect a Virtual Disk from the Host System

To use a virtual disk from a virtual machine after it has been mapped or mounted on the host system, you must disconnect it from the host system.

On Windows hosts, you must use Workstation to disconnect the drive from the host system. The mapped drive letter does not appear in the list of network drives when you use the Windows Disconnect Network Drive command.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Hard Disk, click Utilities, and select Disconnect.

You can now power on any virtual machine that uses this disk.

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Add a Host Printer to a Virtual Machine

You can print from a virtual machine to any printer available to the host computer without having to install additional drivers in the virtual machine.

The Workstation printer feature uses ThinPrint technology to replicate the host system printer mapping in the virtual machine. When you enable the virtual machine printer, Workstation configures a virtual serial port to communicate with the host printers.

NOTE You cannot add a printer to a shared or remote virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Add.

3 In the Add Hardware wizard, select Printer and Finish.

The default device setting is to connect the virtual machine printer when the virtual machine is powered on.

Using Removable Devices in Virtual Machines

You can use removable devices such as floppy drives, DVD and CD-ROM drives, USB devices, and smart card readers in virtual machines.

Some devices cannot be used by the host system and a guest operating system, or by multiple guest operating systems, simultaneously.

For example, if the host system is using a floppy drive, you must connect the floppy drive to the virtual machine before you can use it in the virtual machine. To use the floppy drive on the host again, you must disconnect it from the virtual machine. By default, a floppy drive is not connected when a virtual machine powers on.

Use a Removable Device in a Virtual Machine

You can connect and disconnect removable devices in a virtual machine. You can also change the settings for a removable device by modifying virtual machine settings.

Prerequisites

Power on the virtual machine.

If you are connecting or disconnecting a USB device, familiarize yourself with the way Workstation handles USB devices. See “Connecting USB Devices to Virtual Machines,” on page 59.

If you are connecting or disconnecting a USB device on a Linux host and the USB device file system is not located in /proc/bus/usb, mount the USB file system to that location. See “Mount the USB File System on

a Linux Host,” on page 60.

Procedure

To connect a removable device, select the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices, select the device, and select Connect.

If the device is connected to the host system through a USB hub, the virtual machine sees only the USB device, not the hub.

A check mark appears next to the name of the device when the device is connected to the virtual machine and a device icon appears on the virtual machine taskbar.

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To change the settings for a removable device, select VM > Removable Devices, select the device, and select Settings.

To disconnect a removable device, select the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices, select the device, and select Disconnect.

You can also disconnect the device by clicking or right-clicking the device icon on the virtual machine taskbar. Using the taskbar icon is especially useful if you run the virtual machine in full screen mode.

Connecting USB Devices to Virtual Machines

When a virtual machine is running, its window is the active window. If you plug a USB device into the host system, the device connects to the virtual machine instead of the host by default. If a USB device connected to the host system does not connect to a virtual machine at power on, you must manually connect the device to the virtual machine.

When you connect a USB device to a virtual machine, Workstation retains the connection to the affected port on the host system. You can suspend or power off the virtual machine, or unplug the device. When you plug in the device again or resume the virtual machine, Workstation reconnects the device. Workstation retains the connection by writing an autoconnect entry to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file.

If Workstation cannot reconnect to the device, for example, because you disconnected the device, the device is removed and Workstation displays a message to indicate that it cannot connect to the device. You can connect to the device manually if it is still available.

Follow the device manufacturer's procedures for unplugging the device from the host computer when you physically unplug the device, move the device from host system to a virtual machine, move the device between virtual machines, or move the device from a virtual machine to the host computer. Following these procedures is especially important for data storage devices, such as zip drives. If you move a data storage device too soon after saving a file and the operating system did not actually write the data to the disk, you can lose data.

Installing USB Drivers on Windows Hosts on page 59

When a particular USB device is connected to a virtual machine for the first time, the host detects it as a new device named VMware USB Device and installs the appropriate VMware driver.

Disable Automatic Connection of USB Devices on page 60

You can disable the autoconnect feature if you do not want USB devices to connect to a virtual machine when you power it on.

Mount the USB File System on a Linux Host on page 60

On Linux hosts, Workstation uses the USB device file system to connect to USB devices. If the USB device file system is not located in /proc/bus/usb, you must mount the USB file system to that location.

Connect USB HIDs to a Virtual Machine on page 60

To connect USB human interface devices (HIDs) to a virtual machine, you must configure the virtual machine to show all USB input devices in the Removable Devices menu.

Install a PDA Driver and Synchronize With a Virtual Machine on page 61

To install a PDA driver in a virtual machine, you must synchronize the PDA with the virtual machine.

Installing USB Drivers on Windows Hosts

When a particular USB device is connected to a virtual machine for the first time, the host detects it as a new device named VMware USB Device and installs the appropriate VMware driver.

On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 host systems, the operating system prompts you to run the Microsoft Windows Found New Hardware wizard. Select the default action to install the software automatically. After the software is installed, the guest operating system detects the USB device and searches for a suitable driver.

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Disable Automatic Connection of USB Devices

You can disable the autoconnect feature if you do not want USB devices to connect to a virtual machine when you power it on.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select USB Controller.

3 Deselect Automatically connect new USB devices to disable automatic connection of USB devices.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Mount the USB File System on a Linux Host

IMPORTANT Do not attempt to add a USB drive device node directory, for example, /dev/sda, to the virtual machine as a hard disk.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have root access to the host system.

Procedure

1 As root, mount the USB file system.

mount -t usbfs none /proc/bus/usb

2 Connect the USB device to the host system.

Connect USB HIDs to a Virtual Machine

To connect USB human interface devices (HIDs) to a virtual machine, you must configure the virtual machine to show all USB input devices in the Removable Devices menu.

By default, USB HIDs, such as USB 1.1 and 2.0 mouse and keyboard devices, do not appear in the Removable Devices menu in a virtual machine, even though they are plugged in to USB ports on the host system.

An HID that is connected to a virtual machine is not available to the host system.

NOTE You cannot configure a shared or remote virtual machine to show all USB input devices.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

If you are using a KVM switch for a mouse or keyboard, disable automatic connection of USB devices. See

“Disable Automatic Connection of USB Devices,” on page 60.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select USB Controller.

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3 Select Show all USB input devices.

This option allows users to use special USB HIDs inside the virtual machine.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

5 Power on the virtual machine.

HIDs appear in the Removable Devices menu.

Install a PDA Driver and Synchronize With a Virtual Machine

To install a PDA driver in a virtual machine, you must synchronize the PDA with the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Connect the PDA to the host system and synchronize it with the host system.

The PDA driver should begin installing in the virtual machine.

2 Allow the virtual machine to install the PDA driver.

3 If connection warning messages appear, dismiss them.

4 If the PDA disconnects from the host system before the virtual machine can synchronize with it,

synchronize the PDA with the host system again.

The total time required to load the VMware USB device driver in the host system and install the PDA driver in the virtual machine might exceed the device connection timeout value. A second synchronization attempt usually succeeds.

Troubleshooting USB Device Control Sharing

Only the host system or the virtual machine can have control of a particular USB device at any one time. Device control operates differently, depending on whether the host system is a Linux or a Windows computer.

When you connect a device to a virtual machine, it is disconnected from the host system or from the virtual machine that previously had control of the device. When you disconnect a device from a virtual machine, it is returned to the host system.

Under some circumstances, if a USB storage device is in use on the host system, for example, one or more files stored on the device are open on the host, an error appears in the virtual machine when you try to connect to the device. You must let the host system complete its operation or close any application connected to the device on the host system and connect to the device in the virtual machine again.

On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003 host systems, a message might appear that says the device can be removed safely when you connect a USB network or storage device to a virtual machine. This is normal behavior and you can dismiss the dialog box, but do not remove the device from the physical computer. If the network or storage device does not disconnect from the host system, use the appropriate system tray icon to disconnect it. On Windows XP and Windows Server 2003, the system tray icon is called Safely Remove Hardware.

Troubleshoot USB Device Control Issues on a Linux Host

You have problems connecting or disconnecting USB devices on a Linux host system.

Problem

You are prompted to disconnect the driver on the host system when you connect a USB device to the virtual machine or disconnecting the device fails.

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Cause

On Linux host systems, guest operating systems can use devices that are not claimed by a host operating system driver. A related issue sometimes affects devices that rely on automatic connection, such as PDAs. Occasionally, even if you successfully use autoconnection to connect the device to the virtual machine, you might experience problems with the connection to the device.

Solution

1 If you have problems with autoconnection, perform these steps.

a Select the virtual machine and select VM > Removable Devices to disconnect and reconnect the

device.

b If the problem persists, unplug the device and plug it in again.

c If a warning message indicates that the device is in use, disable the device in the hotplug configuration

files in the /etc/hotplug directory.

The documentation for the Linux distribution contains information on editing these configuration files.

2 If disconnection fails, either disable the driver or unload the driver manually.

Option Description

Disable the driver

Unload the driver manually

If the driver was automatically loaded by hotplug, disable it in the hotplug configuration files in the /etc/hotplug directory. See the documentation for your Linux distribution for information on editing these configuration files.

Become root (su -) and use the rmmod command.

Using Smart Cards in Virtual Machines

Virtual machines can connect to smart card readers that interface to serial ports, parallel ports, USB ports, PCMCIA slots, and PCI slots. A virtual machine considers a smart card reader to be a type of USB device.

A smart card is a plastic card that has an embedded computer chip. Many government agencies and large enterprises use smart cards to send secure communication, digitally sign documents, and authenticate users who access their computer networks. Users plug a smart card reader into their computer and insert their smart card in the reader. They are then prompted for their PIN to log in.

You can select a smart card reader from the Removable Devices menu in a virtual machine. A smart card can be shared between virtual machines, or between the host system and one or more virtual machines. Sharing is enabled by default.

When you plug a smart card reader into the host system, the reader appears as two separate USB devices in Workstation. This is because you can use smart cards in one of two mutually exclusive modes.

Shared mode

(Recommended) The smart card reader device is available as Shared smart_card_reader_model in the Removable Devices menu. In Windows XP guest operating systems, the shared reader appears as USB Smart Card Reader after it is connected to the virtual machine. In Windows Vista and

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Windows 7 guest operating systems, the generic smart card reader device name appears under the Windows Device Manager list. The smart card reader can be shared among applications on the host system and among applications in different guest operating systems.

USB passthrough mode

The smart card reader device is available as smart_card_reader_model in the Removable Devices menu. In USB passthrough mode, a single virtual machine directly controls the physical smart card reader. A USB passthrough smart card reader cannot be used by applications on the host system or by applications in other virtual machines. You should use USB passthrough mode only if connection in shared mode does not work well for your scenario. You might need to install the driver provided by the manufacturer to use USB passthrough mode.

You can use smart cards with Windows operating systems and most Linux distributions. VMware provides full smart card support for Windows virtual machines running on Linux hosts. Using smart cards in Linux typically requires third-party software to effectively authenticate to a domain or enable secure communications.

NOTE Although smart cards should work with common Linux browsers, email applications, and directory services, these products have not been tested or certified by VMware.

Use a Smart Card in a Virtual Machine

You can configure a virtual machine to use the smart card reader on the host system.

Prerequisites

On a Windows host, start the SCardSvr.exe service.

On a Linux host, verify that the libpcsclite library is installed and that the pcscd daemon is running.

Verify that the virtual machine has a USB controller. A USB controller is required, regardless of whether the smart card reader is a USB device. A USB controller is added by default when you create a virtual machine.

Connect the smart card reader to the host system.

Start the virtual machine

Procedure

To connect the smart card reader to the virtual machine, select the virtual machine and select VM > Removable Devices > Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Connect.

If the smart card reader is a USB device, two items appear for it in the menu. Both items use the model name of the reader, but one item name begins with Shared.

To disconnect the smart card reader from the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices > Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Disconnect.

To remove the smart card from the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices > Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Remove Smart Card.

The smart card is removed from the virtual machine, but it remains connected on the host system. If the smart card is physically removed from the smart card reader, this option is disabled.

To insert the smart card to the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices > Shared <smart_card_reader_model> > Insert Smart Card.

If the smart card is physically inserted in the smart card reader, the smart card is also inserted in the virtual machine.

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Disable Smart Card Sharing

By default, you can share a smart card between virtual machines or between the host system and one or more virtual machines. You might want to disable smart card sharing if you are using a PCMCIA smart card reader, deploying virtual machines for enterprise use and do not want to support drivers for various smart card readers, or the host system has drivers but the virtual machines do not.

The setting that controls smart card sharing is located in the Workstation global configuration file.

Procedure

1 Find the global configuration file on the host system.

Operating System Location

Most Windows hosts

Windows Vista and Windows 7 hosts

Linux hosts

2 If the global configuration file does not yet exist on the host system, select Edit > Preferences and change

at least one Workstation preference settings.

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Workstation\config.ini

C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Workstation\config.ini

/etc/vmware/config

Workstation creates the global configuration file when you change Workstation preference settings.

3 Open the global configuration file in a text editor and set the usb.ccid.useSharedMode property to FALSE.

For example: usb.ccid.useSharedMode = "FALSE"

4 Save and close the global configuration file.

5 Set permissions on the global configuration file so that other users cannot change it.

Switch to a Virtual Smart Card Reader on a Linux Host

Because of the way smart card reader functionality is implemented on Linux hosts, you must exit Workstation and restart the pcscd daemon on the host system before you can switch from the non-virtual smart card reader to the virtual smart card reader.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices, select the smart card reader, and select

Disconnect.

2 Power off the virtual machine and exit Workstation.

3 Physically disconnect the smart card reader from the host system.

4 Restart the pcscd daemon on the host system.

5 Physically connect the smart card reader to the host system.

6 Start Workstation and start the virtual machine.

7 Select the virtual machine, select VM > Removable Devices, select the smart card reader, and select

Connect.

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Changing the Virtual Machine Display

You can change the way Workstation displays virtual machines and virtual machine applications. You can use full screen mode to make the virtual machine display fill the screen and use multiple monitors, and you can use Unity mode to display applications directly on the host system desktop.

You can also match the Workstation console with the guest operating system display size.

Use Full Screen Mode on page 65

In full screen mode, the virtual machine display fills the screen and you cannot see the borders of the Workstation window.

Use Exclusive Mode on page 66

Like full screen mode, exclusive mode causes the Workstation virtual machine display to fill the screen. You might want to use exclusive mode to run graphics-intensive applications, such as games, in full screen mode.

Use Unity Mode on page 67

You can switch virtual machines that have Linux or Windows 2000 or later guest operating systems to Unity mode to display applications directly on the host system desktop.

Use Multiple Monitors for One Virtual Machine on page 68

If the host system has multiple monitors, you can configure a virtual machine to use multiple monitors. You can use the multiple-monitor feature when the virtual machine is in full screen mode.

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Use Multiple Monitors for Multiple Virtual Machines on page 69

If the host system has multiple monitors, you can run a different virtual machine on each monitor.

Fit the Workstation Console to the Guest Operating System Display on page 70

You can control the size of the virtual machine display and match the Workstation console with the display size of the guest operating system for an active virtual machine.

Use Full Screen Mode

In full screen mode, the virtual machine display fills the screen and you cannot see the borders of the Workstation window.

You can configure the guest operating system to report battery information. This feature is useful when you run a virtual machine in full screen mode on a laptop. See “Report Battery Information in the Guest,” on page 66.

Prerequisites

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Verify that the guest operating system display mode is larger than the host system display mode. If the guest operating system display mode is smaller than the host system display mode, you might not be able to enter full screen mode. If you cannot enter full screen mode, add the line mks.maxRefreshRate=1000 to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file.

Power on the virtual machine.

If you have multiple monitors, move the Workstation window onto the monitor to use for full screen mode.

Procedure

To enter full screen mode, select the virtual machine and select View > Full Screen.

Press Ctrl+Alt+right arrow to switch to the next powered-on virtual machine and Ctrl+Alt+left arrow to switch to the previous powered-on virtual machine.

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Use the left and right arrows on the full screen toolbar to switch among tabs.

To hide the full screen toolbar while you are using full screen mode, click the push pin icon on the full screen toolbar and move the mouse pointer off of the toolbar.

The toolbar is unpinned and slides up to the top of the monitor and disappears.

To show the full screen toolbar after it has been hidden, point to the top of the screen until the toolbar appears and click the push pin icon.

To exit full screen mode, select View > Full Screen on the full screen toolbar and deselect Full Screen.

Report Battery Information in the Guest

If you run a virtual machine on a laptop in full screen mode, configure the option to report battery information in the guest so that you can determine when the battery is running low.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Power.

3 Select Report battery information to guest.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Use Exclusive Mode

Exclusive mode has certain advantages and limitations.

The full screen toolbar is not engaged when you move the mouse to the top of the screen. To configure virtual machine settings, you must exit exclusive mode.

When input is grabbed by the virtual machine, only the ungrab shortcut is respected. You can change the ungrab shortcut to reduce the chance of unintentionally pressing it.

On a Windows host, exclusive mode does not use multiple monitors.

Prerequisites

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Power on the virtual machine.

If you have multiple monitors, move the Workstation window onto the monitor to use for exclusive mode.

Enter full screen mode. See “Use Full Screen Mode,” on page 65.

Procedure

To enter exclusive mode, select View > Exclusive Mode from the full screen toolbar.

To exit exclusive mode, press Ctrl+Alt.

On a Windows host, pressing Ctrl+Alt also exits full screen mode. On a Linux host, pressing Ctrl+Alt returns to full screen mode.

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Use Unity Mode

You can switch virtual machines that have Linux or Windows 2000 or later guest operating systems to Unity mode to display applications directly on the host system desktop.

In Unity mode, virtual machine applications appear on the host system desktop, you can use the virtual machine Start or Applications menu from the host system, and the virtual machine console view is hidden. Items for open virtual machine applications appear on the host system taskbar in the same way as open host applications.

On host system and virtual machine applications that are displayed in Unity mode, you can use keyboard shortcuts to copy, cut, and paste images, plain text, formatted text, and email attachments between applications. You can also drag and drop and copy and paste files between the host system and the guest operating system.

If you save a file or attempt to open a file from an application in Unity mode, the file system you see is the file system inside the virtual machine. You cannot open a file from the host operating system or save a file to the host operating system.

For some guest operating systems, application windows in Unity mode can appear only on the monitor that is set as the primary display when you have multiple monitors. If the host and guest operating systems are Windows XP or later, the application windows can appear on additional monitors.

Unity mode is not available in full screen mode on Windows.

NOTE You cannot use Unity mode with a remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is a Workstation 6.x or later virtual machine.

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Verify that the guest operating system is Linux or Windows 2000 or later.

For Linux guests and hosts, verify that a modern version of Metacity or KDE is installed. Performance on Linux depends on a combination of variables such as the system, the applications that are running, and the amount of RAM.

Power on the virtual machine.

If you are entering Unity mode, open applications in the virtual machine to use in Unity mode.

Procedure

To enter Unity mode, select the virtual machine and select View > Unity.

The console view in the Workstation window is hidden, and open applications appear in application windows on the host system desktop. A check mark appears next to Unity in the View menu.

To display the virtual machine Start menu on a Windows host system, point to the Start menu on a Windows host system.

To display the virtual machine Applications menu on a Linux host system, point to the upper-left corner of the primary monitor on the Linux host system.

To navigate between multiple Start or Applications menus when multiple virtual machines are in Unity mode, press the arrow keys, Tab, or Shift+Tab to cycle through the virtual machine menus and press Enter and the spacebar to select a virtual machine.

To exit Unity mode, select View > Unity and deselect Unity.

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Create Virtual Machine Application Shortcuts on the Host in Unity Mode

You can create a shortcut for a virtual machine application on the host system in Unity mode.

You open the application in the same way that you open an application on the host system. You can open a virtual machine application shortcut from the host system even when the virtual machine is powered off or suspended.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is configured to display the virtual machine Start or Application menu on the host system desktop. See “Set Preferences for Unity Mode,” on page 90.

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is running in the guest operating system.

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select View > Unity.

2 Select a virtual machine application.

Option Action

Windows host

Linux host

3 Create a shortcut to the application on the host system.

Point to the Start button to display the virtual machine Start menu on the host system desktop, click the Start menu, and select the application.

Point to the upper-left corner of the primary monitor to display the virtual machine Applications menu on the host system desktop, click Applications menu, and select the application.

Option Action

Windows host

Linux host

Right-click the application and select Create Shortcut on Desktop, or drag the application to the host system.

Drag the application to the host system.

Use Multiple Monitors for One Virtual Machine

If the host system has multiple monitors, you can configure a virtual machine to use multiple monitors. You can use the multiple-monitor feature when the virtual machine is in full screen mode.

NOTE You do not need to use the Windows display properties settings in a Windows guest operating system to configure multiple monitors.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is a Workstation 6.x or later virtual machine.

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Verify that the guest operating system is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux.

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences.

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2 Select Display, select Autofit guest, and click OK.

This setting causes the virtual machine display settings to match the application window when the application window is resized.

3 If the virtual machine is set to be restored from a snapshot and background snapshots are enabled, select

Edit > Preferences, select Priority, deselect Take and restore snapshots in the background, and click OK.

Displaying the virtual machine on two monitors might not work correctly if this setting is enabled.

4 Power on the virtual machine and select View > Full Screen.

5 On the full screen toolbar, click the Cycle multiple monitors button.

On a Windows host, you can mouse over a button on the toolbar to see its name.

The guest operating system desktop extends to the additional monitor or monitors.

6 If the virtual machine display does not resize correctly, select View > Autosize > Autofit Guest.

7 If the host system has more than two monitors and you want the virtual machine to use all of the monitors,

click the Cycle multiple monitors button again.

The order in which the virtual machine uses the monitors depends on the order in which the monitors were added to the host operating system. If you continue to click the button, you return to fewer monitors.

Use Multiple Monitors for Multiple Virtual Machines

If the host system has multiple monitors, you can run a different virtual machine on each monitor.

Prerequisites

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Procedure

1 Open a second Workstation window.

Option Description

Open a new Workstation window from Workstation

(Linux hosts only) Run a separate Workstation process in a different X server

2 Start one or more virtual machines in each Workstation window.

3 Drag each Workstation window to the monitor on which you want to use it.

If a virtual machine is running in one Workstation window and you want to run that virtual machine in another Workstation window, you must close the virtual machine in the first window before you attempt to open it in the other window.

4 To switch mouse and keyboard input from the virtual machine on the first monitor to the virtual machine

on the second monitor, move the mouse pointer from one screen to the other screen and click inside the second monitor.

Select File > New Window. On Linux hosts, the windows operate in a single Workstation process.

Use the vmware command with the -W flag, for example, vmware -W &.

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Fit the Workstation Console to the Guest Operating System Display

You can control the size of the virtual machine display and match the Workstation console with the display size of the guest operating system for an active virtual machine.

The fit options are redundant if the corresponding Autofit option is active because the console and the guest operating system display are the same size.

Prerequisites

For a Linux virtual machine, familiarize yourself with the considerations for resizing displays. See

“Considerations for Resizing Displays in Linux Virtual Machines,” on page 70.

For a Solaris virtual machine, familiarize yourself with the considerations for resizing displays. See

“Considerations for Resizing Displays in Solaris Virtual Machines,” on page 71.

Procedure

To configure a display size option, select View > Autosize and select an Autofit option.

Option Description

Autofit Guest

Stretch Guest

Center Guest

Autofit Window

To configure a fit option, select View and select a fit option.

The virtual machine resizes the guest display resolution to match the size of the Workstation console.

The virtual machine changes the guest display to fit the full screen. The guest display resolution is not changed.

The virtual machine centers the guest display in the full screen. The guest display resolution is not changed.

The Workstation console maintains the size of the virtual machine display resolution. If the guest operating system changes its resolution, the Workstation console resizes to match the new resolution.

Option Description

Fit Window Now

Fit Guest Now

The Workstation console changes to match the current display size of the guest operating system.

The guest operating system display size changes to match the current Workstation console.

Considerations for Resizing Displays in Linux Virtual Machines

Certain considerations apply to resizing displays in Linux virtual machines.

If you have virtual machines that were suspended under a version of VMware Tools earlier than version

5.5, display resizing does not work until the virtual machines are powered off and powered on again. Rebooting the guest operating system is not sufficient.

To use the resizing options, you must update VMware Tools to the latest version in the guest operating system.

You cannot use the Autofit Guest and Fit Guest Now options unless VMware Tools is running in the guest operating system.

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The resizing restrictions that the X11 Windows system imposes on physical host systems also apply to guest operating systems.

You cannot resize to a mode that is not defined. The VMware Tools configuration script can add a large number of mode lines, but you cannot resize in 1-pixel increments as you can in Windows. VMware Tools adds modelines in 100-pixel increments. This means that you cannot resize a guest larger than the largest mode defined in the X11 configuration file. If you attempt to resize larger than that mode, a black border appears and the guest operating system size stops increasing.

The X server always starts up in the largest defined resolution. The XDM/KDM/GDM login screen always appears at the largest size. Because Gnome and KDE allow you to specify your preferred resolution, you can reduce the guest display size after you log in.

Considerations for Resizing Displays in Solaris Virtual Machines

Certain considerations apply to resizing displays in Solaris virtual machines.

To use the display resizing options, you must update VMware Tools to the latest version in the guest operating system.

You cannot use the Autofit Guest and Fit Guest Now options unless VMware Tools is running in the guest operating system.

Solaris 10 guests must be running an Xorg X server and JDS/Gnome.

Working with Nonstandard Resolutions

A guest operating system and its applications might react unexpectedly when the Workstation console size is not a standard VESA resolution.

For example, you can use Autofit Guest and Fit Guest Nowto set the guest operating system screen resolution smaller than 640×480, but some installers do not run at resolutions smaller than 640×480. Programs might refuse to run. Error messages might include phrases such as VGA Required to Install or You must have VGA to

install.

If the host computer screen resolution is high enough, you can enlarge the window and select Fit Guest Now. If the host computer screen resolution does not allow you to enlarge the Workstation console sufficiently,

you can manually set the guest operating system’s screen resolution to 640×480 or larger.

Using Folders to Manage Virtual Machines

You can use folders to organize and manage multiple virtual machines in the library. When virtual machines are in a folder, you can manage them on the folder tab and perform batch power operations.

Add a Virtual Machine to a Folder on page 72

When you add a virtual machine to a folder, it remains an independent entity, but you can also perform batch power operations. For example you can power on, suspend, and resume each virtual machine in a folder separately, or you can power on, suspend, and resume all of the virtual machines in a folder at the same time.

Remove a Virtual Machine from a Folder on page 72

You can remove a virtual machine from a folder or move it to a different folder or subfolder.

Manage Virtual Machines in a Folder on page 72

When virtual machines are in a folder, you can manage them as a unit. For example, you can select multiple virtual machines on the folder tab and perform power operations on several virtual machines at the same time.

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Change the Power On Delay on page 73

By default, when you power on several virtual machines in a folder, Workstation delays 10 seconds before powering on the next virtual machine. The power on delay avoids overloading the CPU on the host system when you power on multiple virtual machines. You can change the default power on delay setting by modifying a Workstation preference.

Convert a Team on page 73

If you created a team in an earlier version of Workstation, you must convert the team before you can use the virtual machines in the current version of Workstation.

Add a Virtual Machine to a Folder

Procedure

1 If the folder does not already exist, create it.

Option Description

Create a folder at the top level of the library

Create a subfolder

You can create an unlimited number of folders or subfolders.

Right-click My Computer, select New Folder, and type a name for the folder. The folder appears under My Computer in the library.

Right-click the folder, select New Folder, and type a name for the folder. The new folder appears under the folder in the library.

2 To add a virtual machine to a folder, select the virtual machine in the library and drag it to the folder.

The virtual machine appears under the folder in the library. You can add an unlimited number of virtual machines to a folder.

Remove a Virtual Machine from a Folder

You can remove a virtual machine from a folder or move it to a different folder or subfolder.

Procedure

To remove a virtual machine from a folder, select the virtual machine in the library and drag it to My Computer.

The virtual machine appears under My Computer in the library.

To move a virtual machine to a different folder or subfolder, select the virtual machine in the library and drag it to the folder or subfolder.

The virtual machine appears under the folder or subfolder in the library.

Manage Virtual Machines in a Folder

When you power on several virtual machines at the same time, Workstation delays 10 seconds before powering on the next virtual machine by default. Workstation performs power operations on virtual machines in the order in which they appear on the folder tab.

You can change the default power on delay setting by modifying a Workstation preference. See “Change the

Power On Delay,” on page 73.

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Procedure

To perform a power operation on several virtual machines at the same time, use Ctrl-Click to select the virtual machines on the folder tab and select the power operation from the toolbar or from the VM menu.

All of the virtual machines that you select must be in the same power state.

To perform a power operation on all of the virtual machines at the same time, select the folder in the library and select the power operation from the toolbar or from the VM menu.

All of the virtual machines in the folder must be in the same power state.

To display thumbnails for virtual machines on the folder tab, select a thumbnail size from the drop-down menu on the folder tab.

When a virtual machine is powered on, Workstation updates the thumbnail in real time to show the actual content of the virtual machine. When a virtual machine is suspended, the thumbnail shows a screenshot of the virtual machine at the time that it was suspended.

To display virtual machine names on the folder tab, select Details from the drop-down menu on the folder tab.

To open the tab for a virtual machine, double-click the virtual machine on the folder tab.

Change the Power On Delay

Chapter 2 Using Virtual Machines

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences and select Workspace.

2 Select the number of seconds for the delay from the Seconds between powering on multiple VMs drop-

down menu.

3 Click OK to save your changes.

Convert a Team

If you created a team in an earlier version of Workstation, you must convert the team before you can use the virtual machines in the current version of Workstation.

Procedure

1 Open the team in Workstation or browse to the location of the virtual machine team configuration

(.vmtm) file and drag it to the library.

A dialog box appears that prompts you to convert the team.

2 Click Convert Team to convert the team.

After the team is converted, the .vmtm file is deleted and the virtual machines are added to a new folder in the library.

After you convert a team, the virtual machines keep their packet loss and bandwidth settings. LAN segment information appears in the network adapter settings for each virtual machine, where you can modify it.

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Taking Snapshots of Virtual Machines

Taking a snapshot of a virtual machine saves its current state and enables you to return to the same state repeatedly. When you take a snapshot, Workstation captures the entire state of the virtual machine. You can use the snapshot manager to review and act on the snapshots for an active virtual machine.

Using Snapshots to Preserve Virtual Machine States on page 74

A snapshot includes the contents of the virtual machine memory, virtual machine settings, and the state of all the virtual disks. When you revert to a snapshot, you return the memory, settings, and virtual disks of the virtual machine to the state they were in when you took the snapshot.

Using the Snapshot Manager on page 75

You can review all snapshots for a virtual machine and act on them directly in the snapshot manager.

Take a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine on page 76

When you take a snapshot, you preserve the state of a virtual machine at a specific moment in time and the virtual machine continues to run. Taking a snapshot enables you to return to the same state repeatedly. You can take a snapshot while a virtual machine is powered on, powered off, or suspended.

Revert to a Snapshot on page 77

You can restore a virtual machine to a previous state by reverting to a snapshot.

Take or Revert to a Snapshot at Power Off on page 77

You can configure a virtual machine to revert to a snapshot or take a new snapshot when you power off the virtual machine. This feature is useful if you need to discard changes when a virtual machine is powered off.

Enable AutoProtect Snapshots on page 77

The AutoProtect feature preserves the state of a virtual machine by taking snapshots at regular intervals that you specify. This process is in addition to manual snapshots, which you can take at any time.

Enable Background Snapshots on page 78

When you enable background snapshots, you can continue working while Workstation preserves the state of a virtual machine. A progress indicator for the background snapshot appears in a corner of the Workstation window.

Exclude a Virtual Disk from Snapshots on page 79

You can configure snapshots so that Workstation preserves states only for certain virtual disks.

Delete a Snapshot on page 79

When you delete a snapshot, you delete the state of the virtual machine that you preserved and you can never return to that state again. Deleting a snapshot does not affect the current state of the virtual machine.

Troubleshooting Snapshot Problems on page 80

You can use a variety of procedures for diagnosing and fixing problems with snapshots.

Using Snapshots to Preserve Virtual Machine States

You might want to take snapshots in a linear process if you plan to make changes in a virtual machine. For example, you can take a snapshot, continue to use the virtual machine from that point, take another snapshot at a later point, and so on. You can revert to the snapshot of a previous known working state of the project if the changes do not work as expected.

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Windows operating

system

baseline

IE base

Firefox base

SP1

IE base1 You Are

Here

Firefox base1

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For local virtual machines, you can take more than 100 snapshots for each linear process. For shared and remote virtual machines, you can take a maximum of 31 snapshots for each linear process.

If you are testing software, you might want to save multiple snapshots as branches from a single baseline in a process tree. For example, you can take a snapshot before installing different versions of an application to make sure that each installation begins from an identical baseline.

Figure 2-1. Snapshots as Restoration Points in a Process Tree

Multiple snapshots have a parent-child relationship. The parent snapshot of a virtual machine is the snapshot on which the current state is based. After you take a snapshot, that stored state is the parent snapshot of the virtual machine. If you revert to an earlier snapshot, the earlier snapshot becomes the parent snapshot of the virtual machine.

In a linear process, each snapshot has one parent and one child, except for the last snapshot, which has no children. In a process tree, each snapshot has one parent, one snapshot can have more than one child, and many snapshots have no children.

Using the Snapshot Manager

You can review all snapshots for a virtual machine and act on them directly in the snapshot manager.

You must use the snapshot manager to perform the following tasks.

Show AutoProtect snapshots in the Snapshot menu.

Prevent an AutoProtect snapshot from being deleted.

Rename a snapshot or change its description.

Delete a snapshot.

All other snapshot actions are available as menu items in the Snapshot menu under the VM menu.

When you open the snapshot manager for a virtual machine, the snapshot tree appears. The snapshot tree shows all of the snapshots for the virtual machine and the relationships between the snapshots.

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The You Are Here icon in the snapshot tree shows the current state of the virtual machine. The other icons that appear in the snapshot tree represent AutoProtect snapshots, snapshots of powered-on virtual machines, snapshots of powered-off virtual machines, and snapshots that are used to create linked clones.

The snapshot manager is available as a menu item in the Snapshot menu under the VM menu.

Take a Snapshot of a Virtual Machine

Avoid taking snapshots when applications in the virtual machine are communicating with other computers, especially in production environments. For example, if you take a snapshot while the virtual machine is downloading a file from a server on the network, the virtual machine continues downloading the file after you take the snapshot. If you revert to the snapshot, communications between the virtual machine and the server are confused and the file transfer fails.

NOTE Workstation 4 virtual machines do not support multiple snapshots. You must upgrade the virtual machine to Workstation 7.x or later to take multiple snapshots.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual is not configured to use a physical disk. You cannot take a snapshot of a virtual machine that uses a physical disk.

To have the virtual machine revert to suspend, power on, or power off when you start it, be sure it is in that state before you take the snapshot. When you revert to a snapshot, you return the memory, settings, and virtual disks of the virtual machine to the state they were in when you took the snapshot.

Complete any suspend operations.

Verify that the virtual machine is not communicating with another computer.

For better performance, defragment the guest operating system drives.

If the virtual machine has multiple disks in different disk modes, power off the virtual machine. For example, if a configuration requires you to use an independent disk, you must power off the virtual machine before you take a snapshot.

If the virtual machine was created with Workstation 4, delete any existing snapshots or upgrade the virtual machine to Workstation 5.x or later.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Snapshot > Take Snapshot.

2 Type a unique name for the snapshot.

3 (Optional) Type a description for the snapshot.

The description is useful for recording notes about the virtual machine state captured in the snapshot.

4 Click OK to take the snapshot.

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Revert to a Snapshot

You can restore a virtual machine to a previous state by reverting to a snapshot.

If you take a snapshot of a virtual machine and add any kind of disk, reverting to the snapshot removes the disk from the virtual machine. If associated disk (.vmdk) files are not used by another snapshot, the disk files are deleted.

IMPORTANT If you add an independent disk to a virtual machine and take a snapshot, reverting to the snapshot does not affect the state of the independent disk.

Procedure

To revert to the parent snapshot, select the virtual machine and select VM > Snapshot > Revert to Snapshot.

To revert to any snapshot, select the virtual machine, select VM > Snapshot, select the snapshot, and click Go To.

Take or Revert to a Snapshot at Power Off

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Snapshots.

3 Select a power off option.

Option Description

Just power off

Revert to snapshot

Take a new snapshot

Ask me

Powers off the virtual machine without making any changes to snapshots.

Reverts to the parent snapshot of the current state of the virtual machine.

Takes a snapshot of the virtual machine state after it is powered off. The snapshot appears in the Snapshot Manager. The name of the snapshot is the date and time that the virtual machine was powered off and the description is Automatic snapshot created when powering off.

NOTE You cannot configure this option for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Prompts you to power off, revert, or take a snapshot when the virtual machine is powered off.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

Enable AutoProtect Snapshots

When AutoProtect snapshots are enabled for a virtual machine, Workstation shows an estimate of the minimum amount of disk space taken by AutoProtect snapshots on the Virtual Machine Settings window. This minimum is affected by the memory settings for the virtual machine. The more virtual machine memory a virtual machine has, the more disk space is available for AutoProtect snapshots.

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The AutoProtect feature has certain restrictions.

Because AutoProtect takes snapshots only while a virtual machine is powered on, AutoProtect snapshots cannot be cloned. You can clone a virtual machine only if it is powered off.

AutoProtect snapshots are not taken in VMware Player, even if AutoProtect is enabled for the virtual machine in Workstation.

You cannot configure the AutoProtect feature for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select AutoProtect and select Enable AutoProtect.

3 Select the interval between snapshots.

Option Description

Half-Hourly

Hourly

Daily

The interval is measured only when the virtual machine is powered on. For example, if you set AutoProtect to take snapshots hourly and then power off the virtual machine five minutes later, the next AutoProtect snapshot takes place 55 minutes after you power on the virtual machine again, regardless of the length of time the virtual machine was powered off.

Snapshots are taken every half hour.

Snapshots are taken every hour.

Snapshots are taken daily.

Workstation saves only one snapshot per tier, even if a snapshot matches more than one tier.

4 Select the maximum number of AutoProtect snapshots to retain.

After the maximum number of AutoProtect snapshots is reached, Workstation deletes the oldest AutoProtect snapshot each time a new AutoProtect snapshot is taken. This setting does not affect the number of manual snapshots that you can take and keep.

5 Select OK to save your changes.

Enable Background Snapshots

IMPORTANT Enabling background snapshots for a host with slow hard disks can adversely affect performance. If you experience significant performance problems when taking or restoring snapshots, disable background snapshots.

Prerequisites

On a Linux host, run Workstation as the root user. Only root users are allowed to change background snapshot settings.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences.

2 On the Priority tab, select Take snapshots in the background.

3 Click OK to save your changes.

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4 Restart the virtual machines.

Virtual machines must be restarted for background snapshot changes to take effect.

Exclude a Virtual Disk from Snapshots

You can configure snapshots so that Workstation preserves states only for certain virtual disks.

In certain configurations, you might want to revert some disks to a snapshot while other disks retain all changes. For example, you might want a snapshot to preserve a disk with the operating system and applications, but always keep the changes to a disk with documents.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Delete existing snapshots.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select the drive to exclude and click Advanced.

3 Select Independent and select the disk mode.

Option Description

Persistent

Nonpersistent

Changes are immediately and permanently written to the disk. Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on a physical computer.

Changes to the disk are discarded when you power off or restore a snapshot. In nonpersistent mode, a virtual disk is in the same state every time you restart the virtual machine. Changes to the disk are written to and read from a redo log file that is deleted when you power off or reset the virtual machine.

Delete a Snapshot

If a snapshot is used to create a clone, the snapshot becomes locked. If you delete a locked snapshot, the clones created from the snapshot no longer operate.

You cannot delete a snapshot if the associated virtual machine is designated as a template for cloning.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Snapshot > Snapshot Manager.

2 If you are deleting an AutoProtect snapshot, select Show AutoProtect snapshots.

3 Select the snapshot.

4 Select an option to delete the snapshot.

Option Action

Delete a single snapshot

Delete the snapshot and all of its children

Delete all snapshots

Click Delete.

Right-click and select Delete Snapshot and Children.

Right-click, select Select All, and click Delete.

5 Click Close to close the snapshot manager.

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Troubleshooting Snapshot Problems

You can use a variety of procedures for diagnosing and fixing problems with snapshots.

Guest Operating System Has Startup Problems

The guest operating system experiences problems during startup.

Problem

The guest operating system does not start up properly.

Cause

Keeping more than 99 snapshots for each branch in a process tree can cause startup problems.

Solution

Delete some snapshots or create a full clone of the virtual machine.

Take Snapshot Option Is Disabled

The Snapshot Manager Take Snapshot option is disabled.

Problem

You cannot select the Take Snapshot option in the Snapshot Manager.

Cause

The virtual machine might have multiple disks in different disk modes.

Solution

If your configuration requires an independent disk, you must power off the virtual machine before you take a snapshot.

Performance Is Slow When You Take a Snapshot

Significant performance problems occur when you take or restore snapshots.

Problem

Performance is slow when you take or restore snapshots.

Cause

The host operating system has a slow hard disk.

Solution

Upgrade the hard disk or disable background snapshots to improve performance. See “Enable Background

Snapshots,” on page 78 for information on background snapshots.

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Install New Software in a Virtual Machine

Installing new software in a virtual machine is similar to installing new software on a physical computer. Only a few additional steps are required.

Prerequisites

Verify that VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system. Installing VMware Tools before installing the software minimizes the likelihood that you will have to reactivate the software if the virtual machine configuration changes.

Verify that the virtual machine has access to the CD-ROM drive, ISO image file, or floppy drive where the installation software is located.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Memory, set the final memory size for the virtual machine, and click OK.

Some applications use a product activation feature that creates a key based on the virtual hardware in the virtual machine where it is installed. Changes in the configuration of the virtual machine might require you to reactivate the software. Setting the memory size minimizes the number of significant changes.

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3 Install the new software according to the manufacturer’s instructions.

Disable Acceleration if a Program Does Not Run

When you install or run software inside a virtual machine, Workstation might appear to stop responding. This problem typically occurs early in the program's execution. In many cases, you can get past the problem by temporarily disabling acceleration in the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Processors.

3 Select Disable acceleration for binary translation to disable acceleration.

4 Click OK to save your changes.

What to do next

After you pass the point where the program encountered problems, re-enable acceleration. Because disabling acceleration slows down virtual machine performance, you should use it only for getting past the problem with running the program

Take a Screenshot of a Virtual Machine

You can take a screenshot of a virtual machine and save it to the clipboard, to a file, or to both a file and the clipboard.

When a take a screenshot of a virtual machine, the image is saved as a portable network graphics (.png) file by default. On Windows hosts, you can also save the screenshot as a bitmap (.bmp) file.

On Linux hosts, saving a screenshot to the clipboard is supported only on systems running Gnome 2.12 or later.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences.

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2 Select Workspace and select a save screenshots option.

You can select both options to save screenshots to both a file and the clipboard.

Option Description

Clipboard

File

Save the screenshot to the clipboard.

Save screenshots to a file. You can select whether to save the file to the desktop or to be prompted for a location when you take the screenshot. If you save the file to the desktop, the filename is generated from the virtual machine name and the time at which the screenshot is taken. The screenshot is saved as a .png file. On Windows hosts, if you are prompted for a location, you can change the file format to bitmap.

3 Click OK to save your changes.

4 To take the screenshot, select the virtual machine, select VM > Capture Screen.

Create a Movie of a Virtual Machine

You can capture a movie of screen activity in a virtual machine.

NOTE You cannot create a movie of a remote virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Verify that you have the VMware movie decoder. Although you can capture a movie on a Linux virtual machine, you must play it back on a Windows system. The VMware CODEC is installed with Workstation on Windows host systems. A separately downloadable installer is also available to play back movies on Windows systems that do not have Workstation installed. You can download the installer from the VMware Workstation download page on the VMware Web site.

Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Capture Movie.

2 In the Save File dialog box, type a file name and select the file type and quality.

The quality setting determines the compression and file size of the movie. If you select Omit frames in which nothing occurs, the movie includes only those periods when something is actually happening in the virtual machine. This setting reduces the file size and length of the movie.

3 Click Save to start capturing the movie.

While movie capture is active, a red circle appears in the notification area of the taskbar.

4 In the virtual machine, perform the actions to appear in the movie.

5 To stop the movie, select the virtual machine and select VM > Stop Movie Capture.

If you are using the virtual machine in full screen mode, you can right-click the movie capture icon and select Stop Movie Capture.

Workstation saves the movie as an .avi file on the host system.

What to do next

Play the movie in any compatible media player.

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Delete a Virtual Machine

You can delete a virtual machine and all of its files from the host file system.

IMPORTANT Do not delete a virtual machine if it was used to make a linked clone and you want to continue to use the linked clone. A linked clone stops working if it cannot find the virtual disk files for the parent virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

Select the virtual machine and select VM > Manage > Delete from Disk.

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Configuring and Managing Virtual

Machines 3

You can configure virtual machine power, display, video, and sound card settings, encrypt a virtual machine to secure it from unauthorized use, and restrict the Workstation user interface to limit virtual machine operations.

You can also move a virtual machine to another host system or to a different location on the same host system, configure a virtual machine as a VNC server, change the hardware compatibility of a virtual machine, and export a virtual machine to Open Virtualization Format (OVF).

This chapter includes the following topics:

“Configure Power Options and Power Control Settings,” on page 85

“Set Workstation Display Preferences,” on page 87

“Configure Display Settings for a Virtual Machine,” on page 88

“Set Preferences for Unity Mode,” on page 90

“Setting Screen Color Depth,” on page 90

“Using Advanced Linux Sound Architecture,” on page 91

“Encrypting Virtual Machines,” on page 92

“Moving Virtual Machines,” on page 94

“Configure a Virtual Machine as a VNC Server,” on page 99

“Change the Hardware Compatibility of a Virtual Machine,” on page 102

“Export a Virtual Machine to OVF Format,” on page 103

“Writing and Debugging Applications That Run In Virtual Machines,” on page 104

Configure Power Options and Power Control Settings

You can configure how a virtual machine behaves when it is powered on, powered off, and closed. You can also configure the behavior of the power controls and specify which power options appear in the context menu when you right-click the virtual machine in the library.

You can configure a soft or hard setting for each power control. A soft setting sends a request to the guest operating system, which the guest operating system can ignore or, in the case of a deadlocked guest, it might not be able to handle. A guest operating system cannot ignore a hard power control. Hard power control settings are configured by default.

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Power control settings affect the behavior of the stop, suspend, start, and reset buttons. The behavior you select for a power control appears in a tooltip when you mouse over the button. Power control settings also determine which power options appear in the context menu. For example, if you select the hard setting for the start control, Power On appears in the context menu when you right-click the virtual machine in the library. If you select the soft setting, Start Up Guest appears instead.

Not all guest operating systems respond to a shutdown or restart signal. If the guest operating system does not respond to the signal, shut down or restart from within the guest operating system.

You can pass X toolkit options when you power on a virtual machine for a Linux guest operating system. See

Chapter 7, “Using the vmware Command,” on page 191 for more information.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Power.

3 Select a power option.

NOTE You cannot configure these options for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Option Description

Enter full screen mode after powering on

Close after powering off or suspending

Report battery information to guest

4 Select a setting for the power off control.

The virtual machine enters full screen mode after it is powered on.

The virtual machine closes after it is powered off or suspended.

Battery information is reported to the guest operating system. If you run the virtual machine on a laptop in full screen mode, this option enables you to determine when the battery is running low. This option is available only for Workstation 6.x and later virtual machines.

Option Description

Power Off

Shut Down Guest

(Hard option) Workstation powers off the virtual machine abruptly with no consideration for work in progress.

5 Select a setting for the suspend control.

Option Description

Suspend

Suspend Guest

(Hard option) Workstation suspends the virtual machine and leaves it connected to the network.

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6 Select a setting for the start control.

NOTE You cannot configure start control settings for a shared or remote virtual machine.

Option Description

Power On

Start Up Guest

(Hard option) Workstation starts the virtual machine.

7 Select a setting for the reset control.

Option Description

Reset

Restart Guest

(Hard option) Workstation resets the virtual machine abruptly with no consideration for work in progress.

(Soft option) Workstation shuts down and restarts the guest operating system gracefully. VMware Tools runs scripts before the virtual machine shuts down and when the virtual machine starts up.

8 Click OK to save your changes.

Set Workstation Display Preferences

You can configure Workstation display preferences to control how the display settings of all virtual machines adjust to fit the Workstation window. These adjustments occur when you resize the Workstation window or when you change the display settings in the guest operating system.

Prerequisites

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in all guest operating systems.

Procedure

1 Select Edit > Preferences and select Display.

2 Configure the Autofit options.

You can select one option, both options, or no options.

Option Description

Autofit window

Autofit guest

Resize the application window to match the virtual machine display settings when the virtual machine display settings are changed.

Change the virtual machine settings to match the application window when the application window is resized.

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3 Select a full screen option.

Option Description

Autofit guest (change guest resolution)

Stretch guest (no resolution change)

Center guest (no resolution change)

4 Select menu and toolbar options.

You can select one or more options, or no options.

Option Description

Use a single button for power controls

Combine toolbar with menubar in windowed mode

Show toolbar edge when unpinned

5 Click OK to save your changes.

Virtual machine resolution settings change to match the display settings of the host system when you are in full screen mode.

Virtual machine resolution settings are retained, but the display still changes to fill the full screen. Select this setting if you need to retain low-resolution settings, for example, when playing older computer games that run only at low resolutions.

The host system and virtual machines retain their own display settings when you are in full screen mode.

(Windows hosts only) When this setting is selected, the start, stop, suspend, and reset power controls appear on the toolbar as a single button with a dropdown menu. When this setting is deselected, each power control has a separate button on the toolbar.

Show the Workstation menus and toolbar on a single bar when Workstation is in windowed mode.

Show the edge of the full screen toolbar. When this setting is deselected, the edge of the full screen toolbar is not visible. The full screen toolbar appears for a few seconds when you place your cursor near the top of the screen.

Configure Display Settings for a Virtual Machine

You can specify monitor resolution settings, configure multiple monitors, and select accelerated graphics capabilities for a virtual machine. You can use the multiple-monitor feature when the virtual machine is in full screen mode.

To use DirectX 9 accelerated graphics, the guest operating system must be Windows XP, Windows Vista, or Windows 7.

Only Workstation 6.x and later virtual machines support specifying resolution settings and setting the number of monitors that the guest operating system can use.

Prerequisites

Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.

Verify that the guest operating system in the virtual machine is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux.

If you plan to use DirectX 9 accelerated graphics, prepare the host system. See “Prepare the Host System

to Use DirectX 9 Accelerated Graphics,” on page 89.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Display.

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3 Specify whether host settings determine the number of monitors.

Option Description

Use host setting for monitors

Specify monitor settings

When you select this setting, the SVGA driver uses two monitors, a maximum bounding box width of 3840, and a maximum bounding box height of 1920. The virtual machine is configured to have a minimum of two 1920x1200 monitors, in a side-by-side topology, in both normal and rotated orientations. If the host system has more than two monitors, the virtual machine uses the number of monitors on the host system instead. If the host system's bounding box is wider or taller than the defaults, the virtual machine uses the larger size. You should select this setting in most cases.

Set the number of monitors that the virtual machine will see, regardless of the number of monitors on the host system. This setting is useful if you use a multimonitor host system and you need to test in a virtual machine that has only one monitor. It is also useful if you are developing a multimonitor application in a virtual machine and the host system has only one monitor. After you power on the virtual machine, the guest operating system sees the number of monitors that you specified. Select a resolution from the list or type a setting that has the format width x height, where width and height are the number of pixels.

NOTE You cannot configure the resolution setting for a remote virtual machine.

4 (Optional) To run applications that use DirectX 9 accelerated graphics, select Accelerate 3D graphics.

5 Click OK to save your changes.

Prepare the Host System to Use DirectX 9 Accelerated Graphics

You must perform certain preparation tasks on the host system to use DirectX 9 accelerated graphics in a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Verify that the host operating system is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux.

On a Windows host, verify that the host has a video card that supports DirectX 9 and the latest DirectX Runtime.

On a Linux host, verify that the host has a video card that can run accelerated OpenGL 2.0.

Procedure

1 Upgrade the video drivers on the host system to the latest versions.

ATI Graphics drivers are available from the AMD Web site. NVIDIA drivers are available from the NVIDIA Web site.

2 If you have a Windows host system, move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the Full position.

Option Description

Windows XP

Windows Vista

Windows 7

Right-click the desktop and select Properties > Settings > Advanced > Troubleshoot.

Right-click the desktop and select Personalize > Display Settings > Advanced Settings > Troubleshoot > Change settings.

Right-click the desktop and select Personalize > Screen resolution > Advanced Settings > Troubleshoot > Change settings.

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3 If you have a Linux host system, run commands to test the host for compatibility.

a Verify that direct rendering is enabled.

glxinfo | grep direct

b Verify that 3-D applications work.

glxgears

Set Preferences for Unity Mode

You can set preferences for Unity mode to control whether that the virtual machine Start or Applications menu is available from the host system desktop. You can also select the border color that appears around applications that run in Unity mode when they appear on the host system desktop.

When you use the virtual machine Start or Applications menu from the host system desktop, you can start applications in the virtual machine that are not open in Unity mode. If you do not enable this feature, you must exit Unity mode to display the virtual machine Start or Applications menu in the console view.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options, select Unity.

3 Select a Unity window decoration option.

Option Description

Show borders

Show badges

Use a custom color in window borders

Set a window border that identifies the application as belonging to the virtual machine rather than to the host computer.

Display a logo in the title bar.

Use a custom color in window borders to help distinguish between the application windows that belong to various virtual machines. For example, you can set the applications for one virtual machine to have a blue border and set the applications for another virtual machine to have a yellow border. On Linux hosts, click the colored rectangle to use the color chooser. On Windows hosts, click Choose color to use the color chooser.

4 To control whether the virtual machine Start or Application menu available on the host system desktop,

select or deselect Enable applications menu.

5 Click OK to save your changes.

6 (Optional) To minimize the Workstation window when you enter Unity mode, edit the Workstation Unity

preference setting.

Workstation preference settings apply to all virtual machines.

a Select Edit > Preferences and select Unity.

b Select Minimize Workstation when entering Unity.

c Click OK to save your changes.

Setting Screen Color Depth

The number of screen colors available in the guest operating system depends on the screen color setting of the host operating system.

Virtual machines support the following screen colors.

16-color (VGA) mode

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8-bit pseudocolor

16 bits per pixel (16 significant bits per pixel)

32 bits per pixel (24 significant bits per pixel)

If the host operating system is in 15-bit color mode, the guest operating system color setting controls offer 15bit mode in place of 16-bit mode. If the host operating system is in 24-bit color mode, the guest operating system color setting controls offer 24-bit mode in place of 32-bit mode.

If you run a guest operating system set for a greater number of colors than the host operating system, the colors in the guest operating system might not be correct or the guest operating system might not be able to use a graphical interface. If these problems occur, you can either increase the number of colors in the host operating system or decrease the number of colors in the guest operating system.

To change color settings on the host operating system, power off all virtual machines and close Workstation and then follow standard procedures for changing color settings.

How you change color settings in a guest operating system depends on the type of guest operating system. In a Windows guest, the Display Properties control panel offers only those settings that are supported. In a Linux or FreeBSD guest, you must change the color depth before you start the X server, or you must restart the X server after making the changes.

For best performance, use the same number of colors in the host and guest operating systems.

Using Advanced Linux Sound Architecture

Workstation 7.x and later versions support Advanced Linux Sound Architecture (ALSA). You might need to perform certain preparation tasks before you can use ALSA in a virtual machine.

To use ALSA, the host system must meet certain requirements.

The ALSA library version on the host system must be version 1.0.16 or later.

The sound card on the host system must support ALSA. The ALSA project Web site maintains a current listing of sound cards and chipsets that support ALSA.

The ALSA sound card on the host system must not be muted.

The current user must have the appropriate permissions to use the ALSA sound card.

Override the ALSA Library Version Requirement for a Virtual Machine

If the host system has an earlier version of the ALSA library, you can override the requirement for version

1.0.16.

If the host system does not meet ALSA requirements, or for some other reason cannot use ALSA, Workstation uses the OSS API for sound playback and recording. Depending on the sound card in the host system, the sound quality might not be as good when an older version of the ALSA library is used.

You should upgrade the host system to use the latest sound drivers and libraries.

Procedure

1 Open the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in a text editor.

2 Add the sound.skipAlsaVersionCheck property and set it to TRUE.

For example: sound.skipAlsaVersionCheck = "TRUE"

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Obtain ALSA Sound Card Information

You can type commands at the command prompt on a Linux host system to obtain information about the ALSA sound card and determine whether the current user has the appropriate permissions to access it.

Prerequisites

Obtain the documentation for the alsamixer program. The documentation is available on the Internet.

Procedure

Use the alsamixer program to determine whether the current user has the appropriate permissions to access the ALSA sound card.

If the user does not have the appropriate permissions, an error similar to alsamixer: function

snd_ctl_open failed for default: No such device. appears.

If a user does not have the appropriate permissions to access the ALSA sound card, give the user read, write, and execute permissions to the directory that contains the ALSA sound card.

The ALSA sound card is usually located in /dev/snd/. This location can vary depending on the Linux distribution.

To list the name and type of sound chipset on the host system, type the command lspci | grep -I

audio.

To list the sound cards on the host system, type the command cat /proc/asound/cards.

If the ALSA sound card is muted, use the alsamixer program to unmute it.

Configure a Virtual Machine to Use an ALSA Sound Card

You can configure a virtual machine to use an ALSA sound card by modifying virtual machine settings.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Hardware tab, select Sound Card.

3 Select Connected and Connect at power on.

4 Select Specify host sound card and select the ALSA sound card.

5 If the ALSA sound card does not appear in the list, use the alsa-utils package to list the ALSA sound

cards on the host system and select Specify host sound card again.

For example: aplay -L

6 Click OK to save your changes.

Encrypting Virtual Machines

Encrypting a virtual machine secures it from unauthorized use.

When you encrypt a virtual machine, Workstation prompts you for a password. After the virtual machine is encrypted, you must enter the password to open the virtual machine or to remove encryption from it. Workstation displays the encrypted virtual machine with a lock icon until you enter the password to open the virtual machine.

IMPORTANT Make sure you record the encryption password. Workstation does not provide a way to retrieve the password.

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Encryption applies to all snapshots in a virtual machine. If you restore a snapshot in an encrypted virtual machine, the virtual machine remains encrypted whether or not it was encrypted when the snapshot was taken. If you change the password for an encrypted virtual machine, the new password applies to any snapshot that you restore, regardless of the password in effect when the snapshot was taken.

Virtual Machine Encryption Restrictions on page 93

The encryption feature has certain restrictions and limitations.

Encrypt a Virtual Machine on page 93

You can encrypt a virtual machine to secure it from unauthorized use by encrypting it. Depending on the size of the virtual machine, the encryption process can take several minutes or several hours.

Remove Encryption from a Virtual Machine on page 94

You can remove encryption from a virtual machine.

Change the Password for an Encrypted Virtual Machine on page 94

You can change the password for an encrypted virtual machine.

Virtual Machine Encryption Restrictions

The encryption feature has certain restrictions and limitations.

You must power off a virtual machine before you add or remove encryption or change the encryption password.

The encryption feature supports virtual machines that have virtual hardware version 5.x or later only.

If you create a linked clone from an encrypted virtual machine, Workstation disables encryption for the parent virtual machine.

If more than one unencrypted virtual machine shares the same virtual disk and you encrypt one of the virtual machines, the virtual disk becomes unusable for the unencrypted virtual machine.

You cannot encrypt a shared or remote virtual machine.

You cannot upload an encrypted virtual machine to a remote server.

You cannot share an encrypted virtual machine.

Encrypt a Virtual Machine

You can encrypt a virtual machine to secure it from unauthorized use by encrypting it. Depending on the size of the virtual machine, the encryption process can take several minutes or several hours.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Familiarize yourself with the encryption feature limitations. See “Virtual Machine Encryption

Restrictions,” on page 93.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Encryption.

3 Click Encrypt.

4 Type the encryption password and click Encrypt.

Make sure that you record the password. If you forget the password, Workstation does not provide a way to retrieve it.

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5 Select Encrypt.

Workstation begins encrypting the virtual machine.

Remove Encryption from a Virtual Machine

You can remove encryption from a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Remove any sensitive information from the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Encryption.

3 Click Remove Encryption.

4 Type the encryption password.

5 Click Remove Encryption.

Change the Password for an Encrypted Virtual Machine

You can change the password for an encrypted virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select Encryption.

3 Select Change Password.

4 Type the current password and the new password.

Make sure that you record the password. If you forget the password, Workstation does not provide a way to retrieve it.

Moving Virtual Machines

You can move a virtual machine that was created in Workstation to a different host system or to a different location on the same host system. You can also use a virtual machine that was created in Workstation in VMware Player.

Move a Virtual Machine to a New Location or Host on page 95

You can move a virtual machine that was created in Workstation to a different host system or to a different location on the same host system. You can also move a virtual machine to a host system that has a different operating system.

Use a Virtual Machine in VMware Player on page 96

VMware® Player opens and plays virtual machines created in other VMware products. On Windows hosts, Player can also open and play Microsoft Virtual PC and Virtual Server virtual machines and Symantec LiveState Recovery and system images.

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Chapter 3 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines

Configure a Virtual Machine for Compatibility on page 97

When you create a virtual machine that you intend to distribute to other users, you should configure the virtual machine for maximum compatibility with all expected host systems. Users might be limited in their ability to make changes in a virtual machine so that it is compatible with their host systems.

Using the Virtual Machine UUID on page 98

Each virtual machine has a universal unique identifier (UUID). The UUID is generated when you initially power on the virtual machine.

Move a Virtual Machine to a New Location or Host

Moving a virtual machine typically involves moving the files that make up the virtual machine. The path names for all files associated with a Workstation virtual machine are relative to the virtual machine directory.

When you move a virtual machine to a different host system or to a different location on the same host system, Workstation generates a new MAC address for the virtual network adapter. Workstation also generates a new MAC address when you rename a directory in the path to the virtual machine configuration file.

Prerequisites

Familiarize yourself with how Workstation generates UUIDs for moved virtual machines. See “Using the

Virtual Machine UUID,” on page 98.

If you are moving the virtual machine to a different host system, familiarize yourself with the limitations of moving a virtual machine to a new host. see “Limitations of Moving a Virtual Machine to a Different

Host,” on page 96.

If you are moving a linked clone or a parent virtual machine, verify that the clone can access the parent virtual machine. See “Moving Linked Clones,” on page 96 for more information.

Make backup copies of the files in the virtual machine directory for the virtual machine that you are moving.

Procedure

1 Verify that all virtual machine files are stored in the virtual machines directory.

Some files might reside outside of the virtual machines directory.

2 Shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.

3 Copy the virtual machine files to the new location.

4 If you moved the virtual machine to a different location on the same host system, remove the virtual

machine from the library, select File > Open, and browse to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in its new location.

5 If you moved the virtual machine to a different host system, start Workstation on the new host system,

select File > Open and browse to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file.

6 When you are certain that the virtual machine works correctly in its new location, delete the virtual

machine files from its original location.

7 If the virtual machine does not work correctly, verify that you copied all of the virtual machine files to the

new location.

You can examine virtual machine device settings to determine whether any associated files point to locations that cannot be accessed from the new location.

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Using VMware Workstation

Limitations of Moving a Virtual Machine to a Different Host

You should be aware of certain limitations before you move a virtual machine to a different host system.

The guest operating system might not work correctly if you move a virtual machine to a host system that has significantly different hardware, for example, if you move a virtual machine from a 64-bit host to a 32-bit host or from a multiprocessor host to a uniprocessor host.

Workstation 7.x and later virtual machines support up to eight-way virtual symmetric multiprocessing (SMP) on multiprocessor host systems. You can assign up to eight virtual processors to virtual machines running on host systems that have at least two logical processors. If you attempt to assign two processors to a virtual machine that is running on a uniprocessor host system, a warning message appears. You can disregard this message and assign two processors to the virtual machine, but you must move it to a host that has at least two logical processors before you can power it on.

You can move a virtual machine from a 32-bit host to a 64-bit host. You cannot move a virtual machine from a 64-bit host to a 32-bit host unless the 32-bit host has a supported 64-bit processor.

Moving Linked Clones

If you move a linked clone, or if you move its parent virtual machine, make sure that the clone can access the parent virtual machine.

You cannot power on a linked clone if Workstation cannot locate the original virtual machine.

For example, if you put a linked clone on a laptop and the parent remains on another machine, you can use the clone only when the laptop connects to the network or drive where the parent is stored.

To use a cloned virtual machine on a disconnected laptop, you must use a full clone, or you must move the parent virtual machine to the laptop.

Use a Virtual Machine in VMware Player

Player is included with Workstation. When you install Workstation, the Player application file is stored with the Workstation program files. On Windows hosts, the file is called vmplayer.exe. On Linux hosts, the file is called vmplayer.

NOTE You can download the standalone version of Player for free from the VMware Web site.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine compatible with Player. See “Configure a Virtual Machine for

Compatibility,” on page 97.

Procedure

1 Start Player.

Option Action

From the GUI on a Windows host

From the command line on a Windows host

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Select Start > Programs > VMware > VMware Player.

Type

path

\vmplayer.exe, where path is the path to the application file.

Chapter 3 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines

Option Action

From a Linux X session

From the command line on a Linux host

Select VMware Player from the corresponding program menu, such as the System Tools menu.

Type vmplayer &.

2 Select File > Open a Virtual Machine and browse to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file.

3 Select the virtual machine and select Virtual Machine > Power > Play Virtual Machine to start the virtual

machine in Player.

Configure a Virtual Machine for Compatibility

Procedure

Install VMware Tools in the virtual machine.

VMware Tools significantly improves the user’s experience working with the virtual machine.

Determine which virtual devices are actually required, and do not include any that are not needed or useful for the software you are distributing with the virtual machine.

Generic SCSI devices are typically not appropriate.

To connect a physical device to a virtual device, use the Auto detect options when you configure the virtual machine.

The Auto detect options allow the virtual machine to adapt to the user’s system, and they work whether the host operating system is Windows or Linux. Users who have no physical device receive a warning message.

To connect a CD-ROM or floppy to an image file that you ship with the virtual machine, make sure the image file is in the same directory as the virtual machine.

A relative path, rather than an absolute path, is used.

For both a physical CD-ROM and an image, provide two virtual CD-ROM devices in the virtual machine.

For example, Player does not provide an option to switch a single CD-ROM device between a physical CD-ROM and an image, and the user cannot switch between them if you plan to ship multiple images.

Choose a reasonable amount of memory to allocate to the virtual machine.

For example, if the host system does not have enough physical memory to support the memory allocation, the user cannot power on the virtual machine.

Choose a reasonable screen resolution for the guest.

A user is likely to find it easier to increase the resolution manually than to deal with a display that exceeds the user’s physical screen size.

To ensure that CD-ROMs work properly in virtual machines that you intend to distribute and play on Player, configure CD-ROM devices in legacy mode.

Some host operating systems do not support CD-ROMs in non-legacy mode.

When you configure a snapshot option for the virtual machine, select Just power off or Revert to snapshot.

The Revert to snapshot option is useful if you want to distribute a demo virtual machine that resets itself to a clean state when it is powered off. Player does not allow taking snapshots.

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Using VMware Workstation

Using the Virtual Machine UUID

Each virtual machine has a universal unique identifier (UUID). The UUID is generated when you initially power on the virtual machine.

You can use the UUID of a virtual machine for system management in the same way that you use the UUID of a physical computer. The UUID is stored in the SMBIOS system information descriptor, and you can access it by using standard SMBIOS scanning software, including SiSoftware Sandra or IBM smbios2.

If you do not move or copy the virtual machine to another location, the UUID remains constant. When you power on a virtual machine that was moved or copied to a new location, you are prompted to specify whether you moved or copied the virtual machine. If you indicate that you copied the virtual machine, the virtual machine receives a new UUID.

Suspending and resuming a virtual machine does not trigger the process that generates a UUID. The UUID in use at the time the virtual machine was suspended remains in use when the virtual machine is resumed, even if it was copied or moved. You are not prompted to specify whether you moved or copied the virtual machine until the next time you reboot the virtual machine.

Configure a Virtual Machine to Always Receive a New UUID

You can configure a virtual machine to always receive a new UUID when it is copied or moved so that you are not prompted when you move or copy the virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Open the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in a text editor.

2 Add the uuid.action property to the .vmx file and set it to create.

For example: uuid.action = "create"

Configure a Virtual Machine to Keep the Same UUID

You can configure a virtual machine to always keep the same UUID, even when it is moved or copied. When a virtual machine is set to always keep the same UUID, you are not prompted when a virtual machine is moved or copied.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

Procedure

1 Open the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in a text editor.

2 Add the uuid.action property and set it to keep.

For example: uuid.action = "keep"

Override the Generated UUID for a Virtual Machine

You can override the generated UUID and assign a specific UUID to a virtual machine.

Prerequisites

Power off the virtual machine.

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Chapter 3 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines

Procedure

1 Open the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file in a text editor.

2 Search for the line that contains uuid.bios.

The format of the line is uuid.bios = " separated by spaces, except for a dash between the eighth and ninth hexadecimal pairs.

For example: uuid.bios = "00 11 22 33 44 55 66 77-88 99 aa bb cc dd ee ff"

3 Replace the existing UUID value with the specific UUID value.

4 Power on the virtual machine.

The virtual machine uses new UUID is used when it reboots.

uuid_value

". The UUID is a 128-bit integer. The 16 bytes are

Configure a Virtual Machine as a VNC Server

You can use Workstation to configure a virtual machine to act as a VNC server so that users on other computers can use a VNC client to connect to the virtual machine. You do not need to install specialized VNC software in a virtual machine to set it up as a VNC server.

NOTE You cannot configure a shared or remote virtual machine as a VNC server.

Procedure

1 Select the virtual machine and select VM > Settings.

2 On the Options tab, select VNC Connections and select Enable VNC.

3 (Optional) To allow VNC clients to connect to multiple virtual machines on the same host system, specify

a unique port number for each virtual machine.

Use should use a port number in the range from 5901 to 6001. Other applications use certain port numbers, and some port numbers are privileged. For example, the VMware Management Interface uses ports 8333 and 8222 and VMware Workstation Server uses port 443. On Linux, only the root user can listen to ports up to port number 1024.

4 (Optional) Set a password for connecting to the virtual machine from a VNC client.

The password can be up to eight characters long. Because it is not encrypted when the VNC client sends it, do not use a password that you use for other systems.

5 (Optional) Click View VNC Connections to see a list of the VNC clients that are remotely connected to

the virtual machine and find out how long they have been connected.

6 Click OK to save your changes.

What to do next

If you do not VNC clients use to use the US101 keyboard map (U.S. English) when they connect to the virtual machine, specify a different language. See “Specify a Language Keyboard Map for VNC Clients,” on page 99.

Specify a Language Keyboard Map for VNC Clients

If you set a virtual machine to act as a VNC server, you can specify which language to use for the keyboard that VNC clients use. By default, the US101 keyboard map (U.S. English) is used.

Prerequisites

Verify that the virtual machine is set to act as a VNC server.

Determine the language code to use. See “Language Codes,” on page 100.

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Using VMware Workstation

Procedure

1 In a text editor, open the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx) file for the virtual machine and add the

RemoteDisplay.vnc.enabled and RemoteDisplay.vnc.port properties.

a Set RemoteDisplay.vnc.enabled to TRUE.

b Set RemoteDisplay.vnc.port to the port number to use.

For example:

RemoteDisplay.vnc.enabled = "TRUE" RemoteDisplay.vnc.port = "

2 Determine the location of the keymap file to use.

Default keymap files are included in the Workstation installation directory.

Host System Keymap File Location

Windows XP host

Windows Vista and Windows 7 hosts

Linux host

3 In the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file, add a property to specify the location of the keymap file.

portnumber

C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\vnckeymap

C:\ProgramData\VMware\vnckeymap

Option Description

To use the default keymap file included in the Workstation installation directory

To use a keyboard map file in another location

Add RemoteDisplay.vnc.keyMap = "xx", where xx is the code for the language to use, such as jp for Japanese.

Add RemoteDisplay.vnc.keyMapFile = " the absolute file path.

filepath

", where filepath is

4 Start the virtual machine and connect to it from a VNC client.

Language Codes

When you specify a language keyboard map for VNC clients, you must specify a language code.

Table 3-1. Language Codes

Code Language

de-ch

fr-be

fr-ch

nl-be

German

German (Switzerland)

Spanish

Finnish

French

French (Belgium)

French (Switzerland)

Icelandic

Italian

Japanese

Dutch (Belgium)

Norwegian

Polish

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VMware Workstation - 8.0 Instruction Manual

Specifications and Main Features

Frequently Asked Questions

User Manual

Contents

Using VMware Workstation

Creating Virtual Machines 1

Understanding Virtual Machines

Preparing to Create a New Virtual Machine

Selecting a Virtual Machine Configuration

Selecting the Virtual Machine Hardware Compatibility Setting

Selecting a Guest Operating System

Operating Systems that Support Easy Install

Providing Easy Install Information

Specifying the Virtual Machine Name and File Location

Virtual Machines Directory

Shared Virtual Machines Directory

Selecting the Number of Processors for a Virtual Machine

Allocating Memory for a Virtual Machine

Selecting the Network Connection Type for a Virtual Machine

Selecting the I/O Controller Type for a Virtual Machine

Selecting a Hard Disk for a Virtual Machine

Selecting the Virtual Hard Disk Type for a Virtual Machine

Selecting the Disk Mode

Prepare to Use a Physical Disk or Unused Partition

Specifying Disk Capacity for a Virtual Machine

Specifying the Name and Location of Virtual Disk Files

Customizing Virtual Machine Hardware

Worksheet for Creating a Virtual Machine

Create a New Virtual Machine on the Local Host

Use Easy Install to Install a Guest Operating System

Install a Guest Operating System Manually

Installing a Guest Operating System on a Physical Disk or Unused Partition

Cloning Virtual Machines

Using Linked Clones

Using Full Clones

Enable Template Mode for a Parent Virtual Machine of Linked Clones

Clone a Virtual Machine

Virtualize a Physical Machine

Prepare a Windows Physical Machine for Virtualization

Troubleshoot Windows Authentication Problems During Physical Machine Virtualization

Troubleshoot Windows Activation Problems

Importing Virtual Machines

Import a Windows XP Mode Virtual Machine

Import an Open Virtualization Format Virtual Machine

Import a Windows Virtual PC Virtual Machine

Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools

Installing VMware Tools

Upgrading VMware Tools

Configure Automatic Software Updates

Configure VMware Tools Updates for a Specific Virtual Machine

Manually Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Windows Virtual Machine

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Linux Virtual Machine

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a NetWare Virtual Machine

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a Solaris Virtual Machine

Manually Install or Upgrade VMware Tools in a FreeBSD Virtual Machine

Start the VMware User Process Manually If You Do Not Use a Session Manager

Uninstall VMware Tools

Virtual Machine Files

Using Virtual Machines 2

Starting Virtual Machines

Start a Virtual Machine

Start a Virtual Machine That Is Running in the Background

Stream a Virtual Machine from a Web Server

Make a Virtual Machine Available for Streaming

Enable Autologon in a Windows Virtual Machine

Stopping Virtual Machines

Shut Down a Virtual Machine

Closing Virtual Machines and Exiting Workstation

Configure Virtual Machines to Always Run in the Background

Pause and Unpause a Virtual Machine

Pause Feature Restrictions and Limitations

Suspend and Resume a Virtual Machine

Using the Guest ACPI S1 Sleep Feature on Windows Hosts

Transferring Files and Text

Using the Drag-and-Drop Feature

Drag-and-Drop Requirements and Restrictions

Disable the Drag-and-Drop Feature

Using the Copy and Paste Feature