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Workstation FAQ - most of this applies to VMplayer 3 as well

Workstation-setup fails

random tips that may help ...

Error message: "The MSI fails"

Error message: failed to create the VMware group and user account on this system

Error message: unable to create a key

Can't start any VMs on Windows 7 - 64bit host
Bridged network does not work on Windows 7 host

Silent installation of VMplayer 3


Problems with VMs ...




Avanced Configurations ...

Need to have a guest with 8 Gb RAM but my host only has 2 GB ...

disable the top-bar when running VMplayer in Fullscreen-mode

NAT - service is unstable ...
Disable Snapshotmanager . . .and other Menu-options




Workstation-setup fails

random tips that may help ...

redirect %tmp% to C:\temp - make sure it has at least 600 Mb of free space
rename the VMware-workstation-*.exe file to "buggy.exe"
disable any Antivir and Firewall-programs

kill a running process named webcam.exe if you have such a process



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Error message: "The MSI fails"


this only applies to new installations of Workstation 7 or VMplayer 3 - not updates
run setup like this

VMware-*-203739.exe /z "action"="install"


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Error message: failed to create the VMware group and user account on this system

if you have not already done so run the clean-up-tool from knowledgebase 1308
next run setup with the /c option like this
VMware-*.exe /c
reboot

next open regedit and delete this keys if they are present

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM\Domains\Account\Aliases\Names\__vmware__
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SAM\SAM\Domains\Account\Users\Names\__vmware_user__
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY\SAM\Domains\Account\Aliases\Names\__vmware__
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SECURITY\SAM\Domains\Account\Users\Names\__vmware_user__


when done check this key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.

if it exists - delete it
if it does not exist - create it

now reboot another time

run the setup now - and cross your fingers
on Windows Vista or 7 install as administrator and use "run as administrator"


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Error message: unable to create a key

open regedit and check this key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc.

if it exists - delete it
if it does not exist - create it

 

run the setup now - and cross your fingers


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Can't start any VMs on Windows 7 - 64bit host


unistall "Windows7FirewallControl-Setup-x64" if you have that app installed

if you have Comodo Internet Security installed add VMware to safe applications


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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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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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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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Avanced Configurations ...

Need to have a guest with 8 Gb RAM but my host only has 2 GB ...

on Windows-hosts edit or add this lines to the vmx-file
mainmem.useNamedFile = "true"
memsize = "8000"

and edit or add this lines in config.ini
prefvmx.useRecommendedLockedMemSize = "TRUE"
prefvmx.minVmMemPct = "5"


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disable the top-bar when running VMplayer in Fullscreen-mode

on Windows-hosts add this line to preferences.ini in user-profile\application data\vmware ....
pref.vmplayer.fullscreen.nobar = "TRUE"

on Linux add to /home/user/.vmware/preferences
pref.vmplayer.fullscreen.nobar = "TRUE"

if the setting does not work - check vmware.log for syntax-errors while editing !


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NAT - service is unstable ...

if you are not satisfied with the buildin DHCP and NAT service don't use it.

Suggestion: use a m0n0wall VM instead - it runs happily with 64 MB of virtual RAM and can be configured with much more features than the build in services. AND it is rockstable.

Configuration of VMware-network:
launch VMware Network Editor
select vmnet0 : assign the network card that has access to the internet
select vmnet1 : set this to "hostonly" and uncheck "Use local DHCP to ..."
select vmnet8 : set this to "hostonly" and uncheck "Use local DHCP to ..."

Configuration of the VM:
assign 3 nics: vmnet0, vmnet1 and vmnet8
launch m0n0wall the first time: the firewall will detect nic0 , nic1 and nic2
first it asks for LAN-interface : assign nic1
then it asks for WAN-interface : assign nic0
last it asks for Optional 1 interface : assign nic2
now m0n0wall wants to reboot - allow this
after the reboot assign an IP for the admin-interface - this must be one from the same subnet
as used by the host for the vmnet1 virtual adapter.
finally create / reset the password for the WebGUI
now you can do the rest of the configuration via the WebGUI


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Do I need all this running services ?

No - probably you use the buildin Converter only rarely so you can set this services to manual start:
VMware Agent Service
VMware vCenter Converter Agent
VMware vCenter Converter Server

manually start them with a batch or Service-management

If you never use the buildin NAT-service for VMnet8 you can set this services to manual start:
VMware NAT Service

If you never use the buildin DHCP-service for VMnet1 and 8 you can set this services to manual start:
VMware DHCP Service


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Disable Snapshotmanager .... and other Menu-options


In case you do not want that the user has access to snapshotmanager - set this parameter in the vmx-file
gui.restricted = "TRUE"



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Silent installation of VMplayer 3

in earlier versions you could use the setup.exe with parameters - that no longer works.
Now you first have to extract the msi-file.
Extract the setup excutable like this
VMware-player-3.0.0-203739.exe /e .\vmplayer3

then call the msi like this

msiexec /i "vmware player.msi" /qr /norestart



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DISCLAIMER:

I can't take any responsibilty when you mess up your data following this tips.
This just lists up what I would do in such a case.




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