VMWare Tools

[dlausch]

I created a virtual machine image for an Win XP system using VmWare Converter. As part of the conversion parameters, I opted for including VMWare Tools. The resulting image resides on a Win Vista 64-bit machine which I attempted to startup using a downloaded trail version of Workstation 6.5. The startup was unsuccessful and, as I understand, I won't be able to install VMWare Tools on a non-running virtual machine. Is there a way of installing these tools? Also, I am attempting to not have to deal with Sysprep for driver installation and heard that VMWare Tools alleviates dealing with Sysprep. Is this true? Thanks

dlausch

[birdie]

There's no need to integrate all VMWare tools into Windows installer and for SCSI disks you can use drivers which are available on a website.

In fact running VMWare tools are not strictly required for running guest - they just make life easier for you (proper video drivers, improved network throughput, smooth mouse and time synchronization).

[AWo]

But it is highly recommended to run the VMWare Tools as they also detect idle times and do some memory management.

If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful" answers/replies. Thanks!!

[Robert Chisholm]

Hello!  I just downloaded and installed VMWare version 17.5.2 - the latest one, in my Windows 10 host operating system. Then I used my Windows XP sp3 original CD to install this within my VMWare version 17.5.2  - with no problem. Then I installed MS Office 2000 within the Windows XP installation, followed by an old version of the MS Visual Basic programming language, again with no problems. I had to do the foregoing following problems with my computer which meant I had to wipe my hard drive and re-install Windows 10 from scratch.  Prior to this "disaster",  I  was using VMWare version 17.5.2 also having the same Windows XP installed, followed by the other software already referred to. Everything was working fine, including swapping user files between my Windows XP guest operating system and my Windows 10 host operating system - which I need to do continually. But following the re-installs just described, I find I now can't swap user files between Windows XP and Windows 10 like I did before. So obviously I've done something wrong - but can't figure out what it is. I believe I need VMWare Tools to enable this function. I'm using the "free" version of VMWare for personal use - and so I'm not planning on taking out a paid licence for business use. When I was using VMWare before, I never needed any paid licence to do what I needed to do. Please advise me on the solution to this problem. Thank you!

[Robert Chisholm]

Oh, hello again everybody!

I reckon some people are going to "...laugh like drains..." when they read what I'm going to say next.

I tried downloading the previous version of VMWare (version 17.5.1 - NOT version 17.5.2) from here:      https://vmware-player.software.informer.com/download/        - then installing it. 
And guess what? HEY PRESTO - IT WORKED FINE!

Meaning, I found I could swap user files between my Windows XP SP3 Virtual Machine and my Windows 10 host operating system, with no problem - like I used to before my "computer disaster" referred to in my first posting. 
I had noticed that the appearance of the icon for version 17.5.2. following the download and install differed from what I was used to. So I just thought, "uh-oh, something's changed, but WHAT?"

Then I noticed that the size of the downloaded install package for version 17.5.2. at 267,143 KB was much less than the one for version 17.5.1. at 576,213 KB.

And - when installing version 17.5.2 - I noticed that the VMWare Tools install appeared to do little or nothing, which made me think that some of the files needed to do the VMWare Tools install properly were in fact not included in the downloaded install package. Such a thing would account for the trouble that I reported in my first posting.

Anyway, I would recommend to VMWare to check this out for themselves.

Meanwhile, as for me personally, I'm out of trouble - thanks to being able to find and install version 17.5.1 !!

Moral:  if the new one (for ANYTHING) doesn't work, try the previous one! Hee hee!

[Robert Chisholm]

I notice that some other people are having difficulty with VMWare and VMWare Tools. But none of them appear to have seen my two previous postings, and one of the other people refers to difficulties specifically with VMWare version 17.5.2. I suggest that other people having difficulty with version 17.5.2. might like to try version 17.5.1. - like I did myself, and that move certainly got ME out of trouble, as I reported in my previous posting on August 6th in this discussion thread.

[Robert Chisholm]

It's quite possible that the other people having trouble with VMWare and VMWare Tools are simply not commenting in response to me -  because their own problems have nothing in common with mine, so that my own solution to my own problem is simply not relevant to what they are dealing with. I have no problem with this.