Previous, Next, Table of Contents.

VMware Tools

VMware 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 application controls the cursor settings and the connection state of removable devices (such as floppy and CD-ROM). 
    The cursor settings allow users to smoothly transition the mouse cursor between the virtual machine and the host graphical user interface.  The cursor settings also allow users to copy/paste text buffers between virtual machines and the host.  Note that these enhancements are only available when the application is running.

An Installation Wizard will automatically install all the VMware 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 "Insert Tools Floppy" option from the File menu will automatically configure your virtual machine to use the appropriate floppy image for the guest operating system you are running. After installation, choose the "Remove Tools Floppy" option from the File menu to return to the original virtual machine configuration. Note that while you are conducting the VMware Tools installation, you should not attempt to change the configuration settings of your floppy drive, as these changes will be lost when you return to the original configuration.


To install VMware Tools in a Linux guest operating system:

  1. Power on the virtual machine.

  2. Reconfigure your virtual machine to use the VMware Tools floppy.
    Choose File > Insert Tools Floppy

  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. 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. Reconfigure your virtual machine to use the VMware Tools floppy.
    Choose File > Insert Tools Floppy

  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. Before rebooting your virtual machine, restore the original configuration.
    Choose File > Remove Tools Floppy

  7. The VMware Tools background application will be automatically launched upon reboot of the virtual machine.