Specifications

Moving Virtual Machines
You can move a virtual machine that was created in Player to a different host system or to a different
location on the same host system and connect to a virtual machine by using a VNC client.
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Move a Virtual Machine to a New Location or New Host on page 73
You can move a virtual machine that is created in Player to a different host system or to a different
location on the same host system. You can move a virtual machine to a host system that has a different
operating system.
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Configure a Virtual Machine for Compatibility on page 74
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.
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Using the Virtual Machine UUID on page 75
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 New Host
You can move a virtual machine that is created in Player to a different host system or to a different location
on the same host system. You can move a virtual machine to a host system that has a different operating
system.
Moving a virtual machine typically involves moving the files that make up the virtual machine. The
pathnames for all files associated with a Player virtual machine are relative to the virtual machine directory.
When you move a virtual machine, Player generates a new MAC address for the virtual network adapter.
Player also generates a new MAC address when you rename a directory in the path to the virtual machine
configuration (.vmx) file.
Prerequisites
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Familiarize yourself with how Player generates UUIDs for moved virtual machines. See “Using the
Virtual Machine UUID,” on page 75.
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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 74.
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If you configured the working directory to reside in a different location on the host system, move files
from the working directory into the virtual machine directory and change the working directory to this
location.
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Verify that virtual machine devices and any associated files point to locations that you can access from
the new location.
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Verify that all virtual machine files are stored in the virtual machine directory. Some files might reside
outside of the virtual machine directory.
Procedure
1 Shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.
2 Copy the virtual machine files to the new location.
3 Verify that you copied all of the virtual machine files to the new location.
Chapter 5 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines
VMware, Inc. 73