Getting Started with VMware Player VMware Player 4 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com Copyright © 2011 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws.
Contents Getting Started with VMware Player 5 1 Introduction and System Requirements 7 Host System Requirements 7 Virtual Machine Features and Specifications 9 2 Installing and Using Player 11 Install Player on a Windows Host 11 Install Player on a Linux Host 12 Uninstall Player 13 Start Player 13 Use the Player Window 14 3 Creating Virtual Machines 15 Understanding Virtual Machines 15 Preparing to Create a Virtual Machine 15 Create a Virtual Machine 19 Use Easy Install to Install a Guest Operating S
Getting Started with VMware Player Moving Virtual Machines 68 Delete a Virtual Machine 71 View the Message Log for a Virtual Machine 72 Using the VIX API 72 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 73 Configuring DVD, CD-ROM, and Floppy Drives 73 Configuring a USB Controller 75 Configuring and Maintaining Virtual Hard Disks 77 Configuring Virtual Ports 82 Configuring Generic SCSI Devices 87 Configuring Eight-Way Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing Configuring Keyboard Features 91 Modify Hardware Settings for a V
Getting Started with VMware Player ® Getting Started with VMware Player describes how to install and use VMware Player. Intended Audience This guide is intended for anyone who wants to install and use Player. Where to Find Additional Information For additional information about using Player, see the following documents. All of the documents are available from the VMware Web site. n Installing and Configuring VMware Tools contains complete information about using VMware Tools.
Getting Started with VMware Player 6 VMware, Inc.
Introduction and System Requirements 1 Player is a desktop application that lets you create, configure, and run virtual machines. You can also use Player to download and run virtual appliances. Host computers that run Player must meet specific hardware and software requirements. Virtual machines that run in Player support specific devices and provide certain features.
Getting Started with VMware Player If you have an Intel CPU that has VT-x support, you must verify that VT-x support is enabled in the host system BIOS. The BIOS settings that must be enabled for VT-x support vary depending on the system vendor. See the VMware knowledge base article at http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1003944 for information about how to determine if VT-x support is enabled. When you install a 64-bit operating system, Player performs checks to make sure the host system has a supported processor.
Chapter 1 Introduction and System Requirements Disk Drive Requirements for Host Systems Host systems must meet certain disk drive requirements. Guest operating systems can reside on physical disk partitions or in virtual disk files. Table 1-1. Disk Drive Requirements for Host Systems Drive Type Requirements Hard disk n n n Optical CD-ROM and DVD n n n Floppy IDE and SCSI hard drives are supported.
Getting Started with VMware Player Player is not listed, but the information for Workstation is applicable to Player. Operating systems that are not listed are not supported for use in a virtual machine. See the VMware Guest Operating System Installation Guide for information on installing the most common guest operating systems. Virtual Machine Processor Support Virtual machines support certain processor features. n The same as the processor on the host computer.
Installing and Using Player 2 You can install Player on a Linux or Windows host system. Installing Player typically involves running a standard GUI wizard.
Getting Started with VMware Player Install Player on a Linux Host You run the Linux bundle installer to install Player on a Linux host system. On most Linux distributions, the Linux bundle installer starts a GUI wizard. On some Linux distributions, including Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.1, the bundle installer starts a command-line wizard instead of a GUI wizard. You can also run the installer with the --console option to install Player in a terminal window.
Chapter 2 Installing and Using Player Linux Command Line Installation Options You can use command line installation options to install Player on a Linux host system. To use the installation options, you must be logged in as root. Exit from the root account after the installation is finished. Table 2-1. Linux Command Line Installation Options Option Description --gtk Opens the GUI-based VMware installer, which is the default option. --console Enables you to use the terminal for installation.
Getting Started with VMware Player When you start Player, the Player window opens. Use the Player Window You interact with Player and virtual machines through the Player window. The best way to learn how to use Player is to use it. The Player window is designed to be intuitive and easy to use. Procedure n Use the icons on the Home tab to create a new virtual machine, open an existing virtual machine, download a virtual appliance, or view the Player help system.
Creating Virtual Machines 3 You create a new virtual machine in Player by using the New Virtual Machine wizard and import third-party and Open Virtualization Format (OVF) virtual machines.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines Operating Systems that Support Easy Install Easy Install is available for certain Windows and Linux operating system versions. Table 3-1. 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player Table 3-3. Easy Install Information for Linux Guests Prompt Description Full name The name to use to register the guest operating system, if registration is required. Player 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.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 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. Disk space is not preallocated for the disk.
Getting Started with VMware Player n If you are installing the guest operating system from an installer disc, insert the installer disc in the CDROM drive in the host system. n 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. Procedure 1 Select File > Create a New Virtual Machine. 2 Select the source of the guest operating system.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 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 n 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player c Select Connect at power on. d Select Use ISO image file and browse to the location of the ISO image file. e 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.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 2 Type a name for the new virtual machine, type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files, and click Import. Player begins importing the Windows XP Mode virtual machine. After Player 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 Player.
Getting Started with VMware Player 3 Type a name for the virtual machine, type or browse to the directory for the virtual machine files, and click Import. After Player 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.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 2 Select when Player checks for software updates. You can select one, both, or neither option. If you deselect all of the software update options, automatic software updates are disabled. 3 4 Option Description Check for product updates on startup Checks for new versions of Player available to download and install when you start Player. This option is enabled by default. If you do not select this option, your system does not get the latest product updates.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 3 4 Select a VMware Tools update setting. Option Description Update manually (do nothing) You must update VMware Tools manually. The virtual machine status bar indicates when a new version of VMware Tools is available. Update automatically 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player n 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.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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. Install the latest version of VMware Tools to enhance the performance of the virtual machine's guest operating system and improve virtual machine management.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines Procedure 1 On the host, from the Player menu bar, select Virtual Machine > 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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 .
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines 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 n Power on the virtual machine. n Log in to the guest operating system. Procedure u Use the appropriate operating-system-specific procedure to uninstall VMware Tools. Operating System Action Windows 7 Use the guest operating system's Programs > Uninstall a program item.
Getting Started with VMware Player Table 3-6. Virtual Machine Files (Continued) Extension File Name Description .vmdk vmname.vmdk 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.
Using Virtual Machines 4 You can use Player to run new and existing virtual machines on the host system, including virtual machines and system images that were created by other VMware products and some non-VMware products. You can also stream virtual machines from a Web server. When you use virtual machines in Player, you can download virtual appliances, transfer files and text between virtual machines and the host system, print to host printers, connect removable devices, and change display settings.
Getting Started with VMware Player n Enable Autologon in a Windows Virtual Machine on page 37 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 in Player You can start a virtual machine from the Player window. Prerequisites Verify that the virtual machine files are accessible to the host system.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Procedure 1 Run the vmplayer command and specify the URL of the virtual machine. Both HTTP and HTTPS are supported. 2 Option Description Windows host vmplayer.exe http://path_to_vm.vmx Linux host vmplayer http://path_to_vm.vmx Select the virtual machine and select Virtual Machine > Power > Play Virtual Machine. Player fetches virtual disk data on demand so that you can begin using the virtual machine before it finishes downloading.
Getting Started with VMware Player Prerequisites n Verify that the guest operating system is Windows 2000 or later. n Verify that you have an existing user account to enable Autologon. The account must be a local machine account, not a domain account. n Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is running in the guest operating system. n Power on the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Select the virtual machine, select Virtual Machine > Virtual Machine Settings.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines n To power off a virtual machine without shutting down the guest operating system, select Virtual Machine > Power > Power Off. If soft power operations are configured for the virtual machine in Workstation, Power Off Guest appears in the menu instead of Power Off. Use Ctrl+Alt+Delete to Shut Down a Guest You can use the Ctrl+Alt+Delete key sequence to shut down or log off of a guest operating system. Prerequisites Power on the virtual machine.
Getting Started with VMware Player Procedure u Select Virtual Machine > Power > Reset. If soft power operations are configured for the virtual machine in Workstation, Reset Guest appears in the menu instead of Reset. Set Player Preferences for Virtual Machine Closing Behavior You can configure how virtual machines behave when you close them. Procedure 1 Select File > Player Preferences. 2 Select how Player behaves when you close a virtual machine. You can select one, both, or neither option.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines n Mapping a Virtual Disk to the Host System on page 47 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines n Mounting Shared Folders in a Linux Guest on page 45 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. n Change Shared Folder Properties on page 46 After you create a shared folder, you can change the folder name, the host path, and other attributes.
Getting Started with VMware Player 3 4 Select a folder sharing option. Option Description Always enabled Keep folder sharing enabled, even when the virtual machine is shut down, suspended, or powered off. Enabled until next power off or suspend 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Procedure n Depending on the Windows operating system version, look for VMware Shared Folders in My Network Places, Network Neighborhood, or Network. n If you mapped the shared folder as a network drive, open My Computer and look for Shared Folders on 'vmware-host' under Network Drives. n To view a specific shared folder, go directly to the folder by using the UNC path \\vmwarehost\Shared Folders\shared_folder_name.
Getting Started with VMware Player n ro (read only) n rw (read-write) rw is the default. If you are using a virtual machine that was created with the Windows version of Player, or a previous release of the Linux version of Player, 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines 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 Virtual Machine > Virtual Machine Settings. 2 On the Options tab, select Shared Folders. 3 Select Disabled to disable folder sharing. 4 Click OK to save your changes.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines n Connecting USB Devices to Virtual Machines on page 50 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Procedure 1 Select the virtual machine and select Virtual Machine > Virtual Machine 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 On Linux hosts, Player uses the USB device file system to connect to USB devices.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Solution 1 If you have problems with autoconnection, perform these steps. a Select the virtual machine and select Virtual Machine > 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Procedure 1 2 Find the global configuration file on the host system. Operating System Location Most Windows hosts C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\VMware\VMware Player\config.ini Windows Vista and Windows 7 hosts C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Player\config.ini Linux hosts /etc/vmware/config If the global configuration file does not yet exist on the host system, select File > Player Preferences and change at least one Player preference settings.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines 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 Player 3.
Getting Started with VMware Player n 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. n Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Unity mode is not available in full screen mode on Windows. Prerequisites n Verify that the virtual machine is a Player 3.x or later virtual machine. n Verify that the latest version of VMware Tools is installed in the guest operating system. n Verify that the guest operating system is Linux or Windows 2000 or later. n For Linux guests and hosts, verify that a modern version of Metacity or KDE is installed.
Getting Started with VMware Player 3 Select a Unity window decoration option. Option Description Show borders Set a window border that identifies the application as belonging to the virtual machine rather than to the host computer. Show badges Display a logo in the title bar. Use a custom color in window borders Use a custom color in window borders to help distinguish between the application windows that belong to various virtual machines.
Chapter 4 Using Virtual Machines Use Multiple Monitors for One Virtual Machine in Player 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. Prerequisites n Configure multiple monitors for one virtual machine. See “Configure Display Settings for a Virtual Machine,” on page 57. n Verify that the virtual machine is a Player 3.x or later virtual machine.
Getting Started with VMware Player Procedure u Select the virtual machine, right-click, and select Remove VM from the Library. The virtual machine is removed from the library without any confirmation. 62 VMware, Inc.
Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines 5 You can change virtual machine options, configure video and sound card settings, and move virtual machines to another host system or to a different location on the same host system.
Getting Started with VMware Player Change the Guest Operating System for a Virtual Machine If you upgrade the guest operating system that is installed in a virtual machine, or if you specify the wrong operating system version when you create the virtual machine, you must change the guest operating system type that is configured for the virtual machine. When you change the operating system type, the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file changes. The guest operating system itself does not change.
Chapter 5 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines 2 Select File > Open a Virtual Machine. 3 Browse to the new location of the .vmx file and click Open. Change the Memory Allocation for a Virtual Machine You can adjust the amount of memory that is allocated to a virtual machine. On 64-bit hosts, the maximum amount of memory for each virtual machine is 32GB. On 32-bit hosts, the maximum amount of memory for each virtual machine is 8GB.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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.
Chapter 5 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines 2 3 If you have a Windows host system, move the Hardware Acceleration slider to the Full position. Option Description Windows XP Right-click the desktop and select Properties > Settings > Advanced > Troubleshoot. Windows Vista Right-click the desktop and select Personalize > Display Settings > Advanced Settings > Troubleshoot > Change settings.
Getting Started with VMware Player Windows 2000, Windows XP, and most recent Linux distributions detect the sound device and install appropriate drivers for it. A sound driver is installed when you install VMware Tools in a 64-bit Windows Vista or Windows 7 guest operating system. For 32-bit Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 2003 Server, and Windows Server 2008 guests, you must use Windows Update to install a 32-bit driver.
Chapter 5 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines n Configure a Virtual Machine for Compatibility on page 70 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player 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. n 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. n Player 3.
Chapter 5 Configuring and Managing Virtual Machines 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.
Getting Started with VMware Player View the Message Log for a Virtual Machine You can view the message log to review information about a particular virtual machine. Messages include warning information about the virtual machine. Procedure 1 Power on the virtual machine. 2 Select Help > Message Log. 3 Select a message in the message log to a see a detailed description of the message.
Configuring and Managing Devices 6 You can use Player to add devices to virtual machines, including DVD and CD-ROM drives, floppy drives, USB controllers, virtual and physical hard disks, parallel and serial ports, generic SCSI devices, and processors. You can also modify settings for existing devices.
Getting Started with VMware Player 2 On the Hardware tab, click Add. 3 In the Add Hardware wizard, select DVD/CD Drive. 4 Select a physical drive or ISO image file to connect to the drive. 5 Option Description Use physical drive The virtual machine uses a physical drive. Use ISO image The drive connects to an ISO image file. Configure the physical drive or ISO image file.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 8 Click Finish to add the drive to the virtual machine. 9 Click OK to save your changes. Configure Legacy Emulation Mode for a DVD or CD-ROM Drive Use legacy emulation mode to work around direct communication problems between a guest operating system and a DVD or CD-ROM drive. In legacy emulation mode, you can read only from data discs in the DVD or CD-ROM drive. Legacy emulation mode does not provide the other capabilities of normal mode.
Getting Started with VMware Player You can connect USB human interface devices (HIDs), such as the keyboard and mouse, to a virtual machine by enabling the Show all USB input devices option. If you do not select this option, these devices do not appear in the Removable Devices menu and are not available to connect to the virtual machine, even though they are plugged in to USB ports on the host system. See “Connect USB HIDs to a Virtual Machine,” on page 51 for information on connecting HIDs.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 2 On the Hardware tab, select USB Controller. 3 Select Enable high-speed support for USB 2.0 devices. 4 Click OK to save your changes. Configuring and Maintaining Virtual Hard Disks You can use Player to configure virtual hard disk storage for virtual machines. A virtual disk is a file or set of files that appears as a physical disk drive to a guest operating system. The files can be on the host system or on a remote computer.
Getting Started with VMware Player To use SCSI hard disks in a 32-bit Windows XP virtual machine, you must download a special SCSI driver from the VMware Web site. Follow the instructions on the Web site to use the driver with a fresh installation of Windows XP. Growing and Allocating Virtual Disk Storage Space IDE and SCSI virtual hard disks can be up to 2TB. Depending on the size of the virtual hard disk and the host operating system, Player creates one or more files to hold each virtual disk.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 6 7 (Optional) To exclude the disk from snapshots, select Independent for the mode and select a persistence option. Option Description Persistent Disks in persistent mode behave like conventional disks on a physical computer. All data written to a disk in persistent mode is written permanently to the disk. Nonpersistent Changes to disks in nonpersistent mode are discarded when you power off or reset the virtual machine.
Getting Started with VMware Player 7 Click OK to save your changes. Compact a Virtual Hard Disk Compacting a virtual hard disk reclaims unused space in the virtual disk. If a disk has empty space, this process reduces the amount of space the virtual disk occupies on the host drive. Prerequisites n Power off the virtual machine. n Verify that the virtual disk is not mapped or mounted. You cannot compact a virtual disk while it is mapped or mounted.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 4 Set the new maximum size for the virtual disk. 5 Select Expand. 6 Click OK after the disk expansion process is complete. What to do next Use a disk management tool to increase the disk partition size to match the expanded virtual disk size. Defragment a Virtual Hard Disk Like physical disk drives, virtual hard disks can become fragmented.
Getting Started with VMware Player Using Lock Files to Prevent Consistency Problems on Virtual Hard Disks A running virtual machine creates lock files to prevent consistency problems on virtual hard disks. Without locks, multiple virtual machines might read and write to the disk, causing data corruption. Lock files have a .lck suffix and are created in subdirectories in the same directory as the virtual disk (.vmdk) files. A locking subdirectory and lock file are created for .vmdk files, .vmx files, and .
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices n Add a Virtual Serial Port to a Virtual Machine on page 85 You can add up to four serial (COM) ports to a virtual machine. Virtual serial ports can output to physical serial ports, files, or named pipes. n Change the Input Speed of a Serial Connection on page 86 You can increase the speed of a serial connection over a pipe to a virtual machine.
Getting Started with VMware Player What to do next If the guest operating system is Windows 95 or Windows 98, run the Add New Hardware wizard to detect and add the parallel port. Configure a Virtual Parallel Port on a Linux 2.6.x Kernel Host Linux 2.6.x kernels that support parallel ports use the modprobe modulename and modprobe parport_pc modules. Player requires that the parallel port PC-style hardware option (CONFIG_PARPORT_PC) is built and loaded as a kernel module. Linux kernels in the 2.6.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 3 On the line that defines the lp group, add the Player username. For example: lp::7:daemon,lp,player_username The changes take effect the next time the user logs in to the host system. Troubleshoot ECR Errors for Parallel Ports A parallel port on the host system does not have an Extended Control Register (ECR).
Getting Started with VMware Player 5 If you selected Output to named pipe, configure the named pipe. a (Windows host) Use the default pipe name, or type another pipe name. The pipe name must begin with \\.\pipe\ and must be the same on both the server and the client. For example: \\.\pipe\namedpipe b (Linux host) Type /tmp/socket or another UNIX socket name in the first text box. The pipe name must be the same on both the server and the client.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 2 Assuming that the serial port speed is set appropriately in the guest operating system, experiment with this setting by starting with a value of 100 and gradually decreasing it until you find the highest speed at which the connection works reliably.
Getting Started with VMware Player n On a 32-bit Windows XP virtual machine, install the special SCSI driver that VMware provides. You can download the driver from the VMware Web site. n On a Windows NT 4.0 virtual machine, install the BusLogic MultiMaster PCI SCSI Host Adapters driver. See “Install the BusLogic Driver in a Windows NT 4.0 Guest,” on page 88. Procedure 1 Select the virtual machine and select Virtual Machine > Virtual Machine Settings. 2 On the Hardware tab, click Add.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices To avoid concurrent access problems, do not specify /dev/st0 or /dev/sr0 when you specify which SCSI device to use in a virtual machine. IMPORTANT Do not attempt to use the same generic SCSI device in both the host system and guest operating system. Unexpected behavior and data loss or corruption might occur.
Getting Started with VMware Player 8 If the virtual machine does not contain any SCSI devices, or to add a generic SCSI device to a new virtual SCSI adapter, add the following lines to the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file. scsiZ:Y.present = "true" scsiZ.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices 4 Click OK to save your changes. Configuring Keyboard Features You can change key combinations for hot-key sequences in Player and the language for the keyboard that VNC clients use. You can also configure platform-specific keyboard features for Windows and Linux host systems.
Getting Started with VMware Player 3 4 Select an option from the Enhanced virtual keyboard drop-down menu. Option Description Off The virtual machine does not use the enhanced virtual keyboard feature. This is the default value. Use if available (recommended) The virtual machine uses the enhanced virtual keyboard feature, but only if the enhanced virtual keyboard driver is installed on the host system. Required The virtual machine must use the enhanced the virtual keyboard feature.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices n If Player does not recognize the remote server as an XFree86 server, add the xkeymap.usekeycodeMapIfXFree86 property and set it to TRUE. This property tells Player to use key code mapping if you are using an XFree86 server, even if it is remote. For example: usekeycodeMapIfXFree86 = "TRUE" Understanding X-Key Codes and Keysyms Pressing a key on a PC keyboard generates a PC scan code based roughly on the position of the key.
Getting Started with VMware Player 2 Add the xkeymap.keycode.code property and set it to the v-scan code. code must be a decimal number and the v-scan code must be a C-syntax hexadecimal number, such as 0x001. In this example, the properties swap left Ctrl and Caps Lock. xkeymap.keycode.64 = "0x01d # X Caps_Lock -> VM left ctrl" xkeymap.keycode.
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices n To use a different keysym mapping table that is not in the xkeymap directory, add the xkeymap.fileName property and set it to the path to the table. For example: xkeymap.fileName = "file_path" The table must list a keysym for each key by using the form sym="v-scan_code", where the sym value is an X keysym name and v-scan_code is a C-syntax hexadecimal number, for example, 0x001. Use a new line for each keysym.
Getting Started with VMware Player Table 6-1. V-Scan Codes for the 104-Key U.S. Keyboard (Continued) Symbol Shifted Symbol Location I 0x017 O 0x018 P 0x019 [ { 0x01a ] } 0x01b Enter 0x01c Ctrl left 0x01d A 0x01e S 0x01f D 0x020 F 0x021 G 0x022 H 0x023 J 0x024 K 0x025 L 0x026 ; 0x027 ' 0x028 ` 0x029 Shift \ 96 V-Scan Code left | 0x02a 0x02b Z 0x02c X 0x02d C 0x02e V 0x02f B 0x030 N 0x031 M 0x032 , < 0x033 .
Chapter 6 Configuring and Managing Devices Table 6-1. V-Scan Codes for the 104-Key U.S.
Getting Started with VMware Player Table 6-1. V-Scan Codes for the 104-Key U.S. Keyboard (Continued) Symbol Shifted Symbol Location V-Scan Code Delete function pad 0x153 Windows left 0x15b Windows right 0x15c Menu 0x15d The 84-key keyboard has a Sys Req key on the numeric pad. Its v-scan code is 0x054. Keyboards outside the U.S. usually have an extra key (often < > or < > |) next to the left Shift key. The v-scan code for this key is 0x056.
Configuring Network Connections 7 Player provides bridged networking, network address translation (NAT), and host-only networking to configure a virtual machine for virtual networking. The software that you need for all networking configurations is installed on the host system when you install Player.
Getting Started with VMware Player Virtual Network Adapters When you use the New Virtual Machine wizard to create a new virtual machine, the wizard creates a virtual network adapter for the virtual machine. The virtual network adapter appears in the guest operating system as an AMD PCNET PCI adapter or Intel Pro/1000 MT Server Adapter. In Windows Vista and Windows 7 guest operating systems, it is an Intel Pro/1000 MT Server Adapter. Player 3.
Chapter 7 Configuring Network Connections Configuring Bridged Networking When you install Player on a Windows or Linux host system, a bridged network (VMnet0) is set up for you. Bridged networking connects a virtual machine to a network by using the network adapter on the host system. If the host system is on a network, bridged networking is often the easiest way to give the virtual machine access to that network.
Getting Started with VMware Player 3 Select Bridged: Connected directly to the physical network. 4 If you use the virtual machine on a laptop or other mobile device, select Replicate physical network connection state. This setting causes the IP address to be renewed when you move from one wired or wireless network to another. 5 Click OK to save your changes. Configuring Network Address Translation When you install Player on a Windows or Linux host system, a NAT network (VMnet8) is set up for you.
Chapter 7 Configuring Network Connections Figure 7-3. Host-Only Networking Configuration virtual network adapter virtual machine virtual network switch (VMnet1) host network adapter DHCP server In the default configuration, a virtual machine in a host-only network cannot connect to the Internet.
Getting Started with VMware Player What to do next Assign IP addresses to the virtual network adapters. To see the IP address that a host-only network is using, use the ipconfig /all command on a Windows host or the ipconfig command on a Linux host. Changing a Networking Configuration You can determine the type of network that a virtual machine is using, add virtual network adapters to a virtual machine, and change the configuration of existing virtual network adapters.
Chapter 7 Configuring Network Connections 7 Verify that the guest operating system is configured to use an appropriate IP address on the new network. a If the virtual machine is using DHCP, release and renew the lease. b If the IP address is set statically, verify that the guest operating system has an address on the correct virtual network.
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Index A accelerated 3D graphics preparing a virtual machine 67 preparing the host system 66 using 66 acceleration, disabling 56 additional information 5 application shortcuts, creating in Unity mode 60 Autologon, configuring 37 B battery information 58 bridged networking assigning IP addresses 101 configuring 101 BusLogic driver, installing 88 C CD-ROM drives adding 73 configuring 73 configuring legacy emulation mode 75 close behavior, configuring 40 command line options, installing Workstation on Linux
Getting Started with VMware Player installing 11 installing Player Linux host 12 Windows host 11 installing VMware Tools FreeBSD (tar installer) 31 Linux (tar installer) 28 Microsoft Windows 27 NetWare (tar installer) 30 process overview 24 Solaris (tar installer) 30 intended audience 5 K key code mappings, configuring 94 key mappings, changing 93 keyboard features, configuring 91 keysyms defined 93 mapping 94 L Linux guest, VMware Tools installation or upgrade (tar installer) 28 local area networking, h
Index system requirements, host system 7 T tar installer 28 transferring files and text 40 U uninstalling, Windows host 13 uninstalling VMware Tools 33 Unity mode, setting preferences 59 Unity mode features 58 upgrading VMware Tools FreeBSD (tar installer) 31 Linux (tar installer) 28 Microsoft Windows 27 NetWare (tar installer) 30 process overview 25 Solaris (tar installer) 30 USB controller adding 76 configuring 75 USB devices connecting 50 disabling autoconnect 50 enabling high-speed support for USB 2.
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