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VMware Tools

VMware Workstation installs unmodified operating systems directly from floppy and/or CD-ROM devices.  This installation process is the first and only necessary step in building a virtual machine.

VMware highly recommends that you install the VMware Tools suite within each virtual machine as soon as it is installed.  The suite consists of two components:

  1. A graphics driver that is optimized for the VMware virtual graphics card.  For Linux guest operating systems, this consists of our own version of the XFree86 X-server. The graphics driver is installed by the wizard. Once installed, it will be used for subsequent reboots.
  2. A small background application that allows users to change configuration settings within the virtual machine. The VMware Tools application controls the cursor settings and the connection state of removable devices (such as floppy and CD-ROM drives). 
    The cursor settings allow users to transition the mouse cursor smoothly between the virtual machine and the host graphical user interface.  The miscellaneous settings allow users to copy and paste text buffers between virtual machines and the host.  Note that these enhancements are available only when the application is running.

An installation wizard will automatically install all the VMware Workstation software that needs to run within a virtual machine.

VMware Tools for Linux and VMware Tools for Windows are included with the product as floppy images. Choosing the VMware Tools Install... option from the Settings menu will automatically configure your virtual machine to use the appropriate floppy image for the guest operating system you are running. Note that while you are installing the VMware Tools, you should not attempt to change the configuration settings of your floppy drive, as these changes will be lost when the VMware Tools installation completes.


To install VMware Tools in a Linux guest operating system:

  1. Power on the virtual machine.

  2. Prepare your virtual machine to install the VMware Tools. This will reconfigure the first floppy drive in your virtual machine.
    Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install...

    If you decide not to proceed with the installation of the VMware Tools, you may cancel the operation.
    Choose Settings > Cancel VMware Tools Install

  3. As root, mount the VMware Tools floppy, copy the contents of the floppy to /tmp, and unmount the floppy.
        cd /
        mount -t vfat /dev/fd0 /mnt
        cp /mnt/vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz /tmp
        umount /dev/fd0

  4. Untar the VMware Tools tar file in /tmp, and install it.
        cd /tmp
        tar zxf vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz
        cd vmware-linux-tools
        ./install.pl

  5. Start X and your graphical environment if they are not started yet.

  6. In an X terminal, launch the VMware Tools background application.
        vmware-toolbox &

    The VMware Tools background application may be run as root or as a normal user. The application will have additional capabilities if run as root.


To install VMware Tools in a Windows guest operating system:

  1. Power on the virtual machine.

  2. Prepare your virtual machine to install the VMware Tools. This will reconfigure the first floppy drive in your virtual machine.
    Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install...

    If you decide not to proceed with the installation of the VMware Tools, you may cancel the operation.
    Choose Settings > Cancel VMware Tools Install

  3. Double-click the My Computer icon on your desktop.

  4. Double-click the A: device.

  5. Double-click VMwareTools.exe and follow the instructions.

  6. The VMware Tools background application will be launched automatically when you reboot the virtual machine.