Specifications
Table Of Contents
- Getting Started with VMware Player
- Contents
- Getting Started with VMware Player
- Introduction and System Requirements
- Installing and Using Player
- Creating Virtual Machines
- Understanding Virtual Machines
- Preparing to Create a Virtual Machine
- Create a Virtual Machine
- Use Easy Install to Install a Guest Operating System
- Install a Guest Operating System Manually
- Importing Virtual Machines
- Installing and Upgrading VMware Tools
- Installing VMware Tools
- Upgrading VMware Tools
- Configure Software Update Preferences
- 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
- Starting Virtual Machines in Player
- Stopping Virtual Machines in Player
- Transferring Files and Text
- Using the Drag-and-Drop Feature
- Using the Copy and Paste Feature
- Using Shared Folders
- Mapping a Virtual Disk to the Host System
- Add a Host Printer to a Virtual Machine
- Using Removable Devices in Virtual Machines
- Install New Software in a Virtual Machine
- Changing the Virtual Machine Display
- Download a Virtual Appliance in Player
- Remove a Virtual Machine from the Library in Player
- Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines
- Change the Name of a Virtual Machine
- Change the Guest Operating System for a Virtual Machine
- Change the Working Directory for a Virtual Machine
- Change the Virtual Machine Directory for a Virtual Machine
- Change the Memory Allocation for a Virtual Machine
- Configuring Video and Sound
- Moving Virtual Machines
- Delete a Virtual Machine
- View the Message Log for a Virtual Machine
- Using the VIX API
- Configuring and Managing Devices
- Configuring DVD, CD-ROM, and Floppy Drives
- Configuring a USB Controller
- Configuring and Maintaining Virtual Hard Disks
- Configuring Virtual Ports
- Add a Virtual Parallel Port to a Virtual Machine
- Configure a Virtual Parallel Port on a Linux 2.6.x Kernel Host
- Configure Permissions for a Parallel Port Device on a Linux Host
- Troubleshoot ECR Errors for Parallel Ports
- Add a Virtual Serial Port to a Virtual Machine
- Change the Input Speed of a Serial Connection
- Configuring Generic SCSI Devices
- Configuring Eight-Way Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing
- Configuring Keyboard Features
- Modify Hardware Settings for a Virtual Machine
- Configuring Network Connections
- Index
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.
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16-color (VGA) mode
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8-bit pseudocolor
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16 bits per pixel (16 significant bits per pixel)
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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
15-bit 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 Player 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 Accelerated 3D Graphics
You must perform certain preparation tasks on the host system and on virtual machines to use accelerated
3D graphics.
Support for applications that use DirectX 9 accelerated graphics applies only to Windows XP, Windows
Vista, and Windows 7 guests on hosts running Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux.
OpenGL applications run in software emulation mode.
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
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Verify that the host operating system is Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, or Linux.
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On a Windows host, verify that the host has a video card that supports DirectX 9 and the latest DirectX
Runtime.
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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.
Getting Started with VMware Player
70 VMware, Inc.