Problems with VMs ...

Mouse is unusable in Linux-guests (especially LiveCDs) - pointer is displayed but uses random offsets

first of all check guestOS parameter in the vmx-file : "winxp" and other Windows-types will NOT work
in WS 6.5.* some Linux-LiveCDs will simply not work - in this case downgrade the VM to be WS 6 compatible

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Mouse is unusable on Windows 7- pointer is displayed but uses a predictable offset

make sure the "Make it easier to read what's on your screen" settings use value 100 %
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Can't install guest from CD ...

first of all - do not use "autodetect" - specify the driveletter or device directly
on Linux use - adjust to your needs
ide1:0.filename = "/dev/hdc"

on Windows use - adjust to your needs
ide1:0.filename = "E:"

if it still does not work change
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
to
ide1:0.deviceType = "atapi-cdrom"

if it still does not work try to use an ISO-file instead - use

ide1:0.present = "true"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-image"
ide1:0.filename = "myiso.iso"

ide1:0.startConnected = "TRUE"

if it still does not work use Deamon-tools and assign appropriate driveletter like this
- replace E: with the driveletter of the Daemon-tools-drive

ide1:0.present = "true"
ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"

ide1:0.filename = "E:"
ide1:0.startConnected = "TRUE"

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Can't install Solaris 32bit verions on 64 bit host . it always installs as 64bit ...

add this line to the vmx-file
monitor_control.disable_longmode = "1"

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Autoinstall does not produce localized results - I live in Transilvania ....

Create the VM as usual but don't let it start
Navigate to the VM-directory and find a *.flp file. Mount it or read it with WinImage and adjust the answer file to your needs.
Save the result and start the VM

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Why does the guest detect so many PCI bridge devices ?

A virtual machine configured with

virtualHW.version = "7"

has several PCI-bridges - this allows to use for example up to 10 networkcards or 4 SCSI-controllers.
If you want to disable those PCI-bridges add this lines to your vmx-file - and make sure you do not define those parameters twice

pciBridge1.present = "false"
pciBridge2.present = "false"
pciBridge3.present = "false"
pciBridge4.present = "false"
pciBridge5.present = "false"
pciBridge6.present = "false"
pciBridge7.present = "false"

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too many removable devices displayed in the guest ...

In recent virtual hardware versions a guest will detect more devices as "removable" than with earlier version.
In most cases you do not want the network card to appear as removable for example ...
Add this line to get back to the behaviour of older virtual hardware

devices.hotplug = "FALSE"

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Host crashes with hcmon.sys problem

check with devicemanager if some program has replaced the original USB-root-hub drivers: usbd.sys and usbhub.sys
if yes - roll the driver back to Windows-original

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Error message: Host USB device connections disabled

check with devicemanager if some program has replaced the original USB-root-hub drivers: usbd.sys and usbhub.sys
if yes - roll the driver back to Windows-original - also check

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class{36FC9E60-C465-11CF-8056-444553540000}

if this has a subkey "UpperFilter" delete the key - reboot

known thirdparty software that replaces the original USB-root-hub drivers:

Sony Ericsson PC Suite

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Autoprotect ...

don't use Autoprotect. It is a stupid feature that should have never been added to the product.
Autoprotect is nothing but a Snapshot-timer and when ever you use Snapshots you should be wide awake, not under the influence of alcohol or drugs ... you should exactly know if you have enough diskspace so that the operation does not fail in the middle ...

Take snapshots with care and do not allow Autoprotect to do this for you

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Serial ports ...

last versions of Workstation often write uncomplete vmx-entries while creating a new VM.
This can result in problems with serial ports - in such a case write complete entries to the vmx-file - read
http://sanbarrow.com/vmx/vmx-serial-ports.html

do not use "autodetect" - run as administrator or root

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Bridged network does not work on Windows 7 host

First rule out any firewall-issues - in some desktop firewalls you may need to allow VMware.
Some VPN clients also badly interact with the VMware bridge - disable them for testing.
Next rule out any miss-configuration.
Open the Virtual Network Editor and disable "automatic bridging"
Assign a physical nic to vmnet0 - use that one that should be used for the default bridge.
Assign a second physical nic to vmnet2.
Assign a third physical nic to vmnet3 and so on..

If that still does not help
check existance of this files in systemroot\system32
vnetinst.dll
vnetlib.dll
vmnetbridge.dll

check existance of this files in systemroot\system32\drivers
vmnetbridge.sys
vmnet.sys

if any of this files is missing or in case you can not start the service manually with

net start vmnetbridge

consider reinstalling it. To do that open a cmd and navigate to the installation directory and run

vnetlib -- uninstall bridge

this command will not give any feedback. Reboot now. After reboot re-install with

vnetlib -- install bridge

If you are prompted for a path to one of the listed files - provide the path to your installation directory - it should have copies of the files. You may also find them in the driverstore directory. Reboot a last time and test again.

If it still does not work re-install Workstation.

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