Hi, I want to try to install some distros in vmware but can't figure out how to do it, i managed to play some of the premade distros in vmplayer but don't know how to install any or play one of the pre-made ones in vmserver. When I use vmserver with one of this premade ditros, I get:

$ vmrun start /home/ffi/vmk520/vmk520.vmx
Error: Command failed: A file was not found

Which rpm do i need and how do I insert an iso or boot from a virtual machine?


[moved from Software by spinynorman]

If you've installed vmware-server, then you need to install the vmware-server-console for Linux. Then you can just run /usr/bin/vmware-server-console and open the machine through this.

If you're not sure if you've got it properly installed, see this:

http://www.howtoforge.com/vmware_server_mandriva_free2007

If you installed vmware-server from RPM you need, after the installation, to run "vmware-config.pl" so that the necessary modules are created.

Okay, I found the console, created the kernel module and created a virtual machine but I am still unable to boot a cd-rom nor .iso from it.

okay so wmware appears to be crashing because it doesnt have a page file.... i don't have any set up how can i still run wmware then?

Are you sure?
Vmware does not explicitly need a separate paging file to run (although it would be sane to have some, as a large percentage of your physical RAm woill be consumed by the virtual machine). 256MB of swap should be more than enough for some 95% of the cases, there's no need to set up more swap space.
Provided that you installed and configured it properly, what do you get if you run inside a terminal

There should be an error message if someting isn't set up properly.

$ vmware-server-console
bash: vmware-server-console: command not found

$ vmware
/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware: /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libpng12.so.0/libpng12.so.0: no version information available (required by /usr/lib/libcairo.so.2)



from the log file:

May 17 17:12:15: vcpu-0| Could not mmap paging file : No such device
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Could not mmap paging file : No such device
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Failed to allocate page for guest RAM!
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace:
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[0] 0xb2c6fe08 eip 0x805af90
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[1] 0xb2c70228 eip 0x80c03fb
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[2] 0xb2c702d8 eip 0x825b701
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[3] 0xb2c70308 eip 0x82b840c
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[4] 0xb2c70328 eip 0x82bcb79
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[5] 0xb2c70358 eip 0x82c554b
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[6] 0xb2c70368 eip 0x82bcc61
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[7] 0xb2c703d8 eip 0x8068449
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[8] 0xb2c704c8 eip 0xb7f17192
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Backtrace[9] 00000000 eip 0xb7cff90e
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Core dump limit is 51200 kb.
May 17 17:12:16: vcpu-0| Attempting to dump core...
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| Msg_Post: Error
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| [msg.log.error.unrecoverable] VMware Server unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| Failed to allocate page for guest RAM!
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| [msg.panic.haveLog] A log file is available in "/media/sda3/vmware/Virtual Machines/Ubuntu/vmware.log". [msg.panic.haveCore] A core file is available in "/media/sda3/vmware/Virtual Machines/Ubuntu/core.4039". [msg.panic.requestSupport.withLogAndCore] Please request support and include the contents of the log file and core file. [msg.panic.requestSupport.linux]
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| To collect files to submit to VMware support, run vm-support.
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| [msg.panic.response] We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| ----------------------------------------
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| POST(no connection): VMware Server unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| Failed to allocate page for guest RAM!
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| A log file is available in "/media/sda3/vmware/Virtual Machines/Ubuntu/vmware.log". A core file is available in "/media/sda3/vmware/Virtual Machines/Ubuntu/core.4039". Please request support and include the contents of the log file and core file.
May 17 17:12:17: vcpu-0| To collect files to submit to VMware support, run vm-support.

hmmm i installed on another partition (fat32 instead of ntfs-3g) and now is does power on but it complains about not having the vmware tools installed

You don't need the vmware tools installed. This is just for graphics drivers, mouse drivers, etc, etc to make the machine a bit better. Depending on what you have in the virtual machine, you normally only install these tools for Windows. I did for Red Hat once and it borked the vmware machine so I had to remove from console window.

Once it loads the VM it will always winge about the tools not being install & as Ian has stated this is only for the VM not the host. Once the tools are installed in the VM the message should disappear. I would disagree with Ian though on the 'you normally only install these tools for Windows' The tools once installed in the VM regardless of Windows or Linux will greatly enhance the experience for instance 'full screen' 'depth' 'nic drivers' etc...

So do we take it that you can now get to VM?

Typical, well documented failure case ( ...required by /usr/lib/libcairo.so.2... ).
Blame it half on crappy Cairo, and half on the crappy Mandriva GNOME implementation (although it happens with other distros as well, to be fair).
Fire it again using

...and it will run without major hiccups. It won't look very pretty, but hey, you need an emulator, not a beauty contest candidate...

And yes, vmware-tools are nice for the guest OS, but they don't mean a thing for the host.

AND: Putting a virtual machine to a FAT32 or NTFS partition is asking for trouble, more or less. Why don't you use a regular journaling linux-supported filesystem?

Yes, I guess there were 2 things, when I:

$ vm [tab]

I get:

vmnet-bridge vmnet-sniffer vmware/ vmware-loop
vmnet-dhcpd vmrun vmware-authtrusted vmware-mount.pl
vmnet-natd vmstat vmware-cmd vmware-ping
vmnet-netifup vm-support vmware-config.pl vmware-vdiskmanager


it didn't list the vmware command to start vmware and the fact it apperantly can't be installed on ntfs-3g partitions I only have plenty of space left on that partition and a little bit on a fat32

@scarecrow, it already started and picked up the correct gtk-theme, I didnt need to VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_GTK=force vmware

I have no problems with screen resolution in Linux without the drivers. I've always had problems installing them which is why I don't bother. The Linux ones tend to be a bit picky when you install them and what distros they are supported for.

On mine, I can tick the box to ignore the error, then I never see it again

There are a couple of other things that VMWare-tools does for you:

1. Allows you to synchronize time between your guest and host OS-es - This avoids having to run an NTP daemon on every guest instance and also allows the host OS to correct the clock drift that you get under VMWare with some Linux distros. VMware actually strongly discourage having any sort of software-based clock sync on guest instances. The ISP I work for has a huge VMWare ESX hosting farm and you wouldn't believe the problems we get when our clients sysadmins decide to install NTP on their hosted VMWare servers.

2. Enables copy and paste between the host and guest OS - probably a small thing as far as we on this forum are all concerned, but again, can be a huge time saver in a major 'Enterprise' VMWare deployment.

EDIT: I've just fired up my vmware-server install and launched an Ubuntu 7.x guest instance I've been playing with. The vmware-tools virtual CD that you get contains both RPM and tar.gz formats, which is exactly how ESX-server does things. You should find that the RPM install of vmware-tools will work without a hitch on most RPM-based distros, and it saves having to b*gg*r about compiling stuff.

EDIT #2: Just thought of something else that vmware-tools does for you - it enables the 'shared folders' feature, which allows you to have access to specified parts of the host filesystem from within your guest instance. This can be extremely useful for cross-platform development work. You code in Linux and flip over to your WinXP guest to check compatibility.