7.0
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
For Windows and Linux guest operating systems, you can configure the virtual machine to automatically
upgrade VMware Tools. Although the version check is performed when you power on the virtual machine,
on Windows guest operating systems, the automatic upgrade occurs when you power off or restart the
virtual machine. The status bar displays the message Installing VMware Tools ... when an upgrade is in
progress.
IMPORTANT When you upgrade VMware Tools on Linux guest operating systems, new network modules
are available but are not used until you either restart the guest operating system or stop networking, unload
and reload the VMware networking kernel modules, and restart networking. This behavior means that even
if VMware Tools is set to automatically upgrade, you must restart or reload network modules to make new
features available.
This strategy avoids network interruptions and allows you to install VMware Tools over SSH.
Some features in a particular release of a VMware product might depend on installing or upgrading to the
version of VMware Tools included in that release. Upgrading to the latest version of VMware Tools is not
always necessary. Newer versions of VMware Tools are compatible with several host versions. To avoid
unnecessary upgrades, evaluate whether the added features and capabilities are necessary for your
environment.
Configure Software Update Preferences
You can configure Player to automatically download software updates, including new versions of VMware
Tools. When you select automatic software updates, Player always includes the latest support for guest
operating systems and virtual machines always have the latest version of VMware Tools.
Procedure
1 Select Player > File > Player Preferences.
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.
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.
Check for software components as
needed
When a software component is required, for example, when you install
VMware Tools, Player checks for a new version of the component.
Download All Components Now
Immediately download all of the available software components to the
host system. This option is useful if you are planning to use the virtual
machine at a later time when you do not have access to the Internet.
Chapter 3 Creating Virtual Machines
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