VMware

Installing VMware Tools in Linux
$ mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom $ rpm -Uhv /media/cdrom/VMwareTools-X.Y.Z-W.i386.rpm $ vmware-config-tools.pl
 * Start the linux using the VMware workstation.
 * Click on the menu VM-->Install VMware Tools.
 * Mount the cdrom:
 * Install the VMware Tools:
 * Configure VMware Tools.
 * Finally, reboot the system.

Updating VMware in Linux
If you update the linux kernel, you can notice that your vmware-workstation (or -player) doesn't work anymore, bacause during the installation of vmware some internal modules where compiled with a prior version of the linux kernel. A typical error message for this case can be viewed in the console, when you try to launch vmware:

ERROR MESSAGE if the kernel is updated:

vmware is installed, but it has not been (correctly) configured for this system. To (re-)configure it, invoke the following command: /usr/bin/vmware-config.pl.

Well, to upgrade your vmware version use the following command:

/usr/bin/vmware-config.pl.

You have to answer many questions, but you can simply press the ENTER key to use default values.

Management of Virtual Disks
VMware Virtual Disk Manager is a utility in VMware Workstation that allows you to create, manage and modify virtual disk files from the command line or within scripts.

You can use the virtual disk manager for the following tasks:


 * Automate the management of virtual disks with scripts.
 * Create virtual disks that are not associated with a particular virtual machine, to be used as templates, for example.
 * Switch the virtual disk type from preallocated to growable, or vice versa. When you change the disk type to growable, you reclaim some space on the virtual disk. You can shrink the virtual disk to reclaim even more disk space.
 * Expand the size of a virtual disk so it is larger than the size specified when you created it.
 * Defragment virtual disks.
 * Prepare and shrink virtual disks without powering on the virtual machine. (Windows hosts only.)

Some examples are mentioned below. More information can be found in the web pages Using VMware Virtual Disk Manager.

vmware-vdiskmanager
The syntax and use of the program VMware Virtual Disk Manager,, is described below:

Usage: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe OPTIONS  |  Offline disk manipulation utility Operations, only one may be specified at a time: -c                  : create disk. Additional creation options must be specified. Only local virtual disks can be                           created. -d                  : defragment the specified virtual disk. Only local virtual disks may be defragmented. -k                  : shrink the specified virtual disk. Only local virtual disks may be shrunk. -n     : rename the specified virtual disk; need to                            specify destination disk-name. Only local virtual disks may be renamed. -p                  : prepare the mounted virtual disk specified by                            the drive-letter for shrinking. -r     : convert the specified disk; need to specify destination disk-type. For local destination disks the disk type must be specified. -x    : expand the disk to the specified capacity. Only local virtual disks may be expanded. -R                  : check a sparse virtual disk for consistency and attempt to repair any errors. Other Options: -q                  : do not log messages Additional options for create and convert: -a        : (for use with -c only) adapter type (ide, buslogic or lsilogic) -s           : capacity of the virtual disk -t       : disk type id  Options for remote disks: -h       : hostname of remote server -u       : username for remote server -f       : file containing password -P           : optional TCP port number (default: 902) -S                  : specifies that the source disk is remote, by default the remote options are assumed to refer to the destination. Disk types: 0                  : single growable virtual disk 1                  : growable virtual disk split in 2GB files 2                  : preallocated virtual disk 3                  : preallocated virtual disk split in 2GB files 4                  : preallocated ESX-type virtual disk 5                  : compressed disk optimized for streaming The capacity can be specified in sectors, KB, MB or GB.    The acceptable ranges: ide adapter : [1MB, 950.0GB] scsi adapter: [1MB, 950.0GB] ex 1: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -c -s 850MB -a ide -t 0 myIdeDisk.vmdk ex 2: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -d myDisk.vmdk ex 3: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -r sourceDisk.vmdk -t 0 destinationDisk.vmdk ex 4: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -x 36GB myDisk.vmdk ex 5: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -n sourceName.vmdk destinationName.vmdk ex 6: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -r sourceDisk.vmdk -t 4 -h esx-name.mycompany.com \ -u username -f passwordfile "[storage1]/path/to/targetDisk.vmdk" ex 7: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -k myDisk.vmdk ex 8: vmware-vdiskmanager.exe -p  (A virtual disk first needs to be mounted at )

Expanding a Virtual Disk
To expand the size of a virtual disk, use a command like the following:

$ vmware-vdiskmanager -x 40GB myDisk.vmdk

This increases the maximum capacity of the virtual disk to 40GB.

Defragmenting a Virtual Disk
To defragment a virtual disk, use a command like the following:

$ vmware-vdiskmanager -d myDisk.vmdk

Remember, you cannot defragment a virtual disk if you allocated all the disk space when you created the virtual disk. You cannot defragment a physical disk.

Renaming a Virtual Disk
To rename a virtual disk, use a command like the following:

$ vmware-vdiskmanager -n myDisk.vmdk newName.vmdk

Remember to power off the vm, disconnect and remove the virtual disc. After renaming the disk, add the virtual disk to the vm again.

Shrinking a Virtual Disk
If you are using a preallocated virtual disk, the best way is to change the disk to growable. It will discard any unused space and the image will shrink. Use the command below:

vmware-vdiskmanager -r source.vmdk -t 0 target.vmdk

Two other solutions to shrink a virtual disk are described here. One of them is described below:

Requirements
 * The virtual disk must be located on a Windows host.
 * Before you can shrink the virtual disk, make sure you prepare all the volumes of the virtual disk for shrinking.
 * You cannot shrink a virtual disk if you allocated all the disk space when you created the virtual disk.
 * You cannot shrink a physical (raw) disk.
 * If the virtual disk has a snapshot, you must remove the snapshot before you shrink the virtual disk.

Then use the command below:

vmware-vdiskmanager -k myDisk.vmdk

Host Agent service terminated
If you got the error "The VMware Host Agent service terminated with service-specific error 4294967295" try the solutions below:

Solution 1

1) Locate the file in  or.

2) This file could be corrupted. Therefore, try to copy and rename the file, located in the same directory, to.

3) Restart the service VMware Host Agent.

Solution 2

1) Uninstall VMWare Server

2) Delete manually

3) Delete

4) Remove any the registry entry for vmware

5) Reboot

6) Reinstall VMWare Server