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Starting a Virtual Machine

  1. Start VMware Workstation by typing vmware and pressing Enter in a terminal window.
  2. Select the Open Existing Virtual Machine option, then on the next screen find the virtual machine configuration and highlight it. Then click OK.

    When a new virtual machine is created, the information collected is saved to a configuration file called <virtual_machine>.cfg. The configuration file is stored in the directory that was selected when the virtual machine was created. To access the same virtual machine in the future, navigate to this directory and select the configuration file.

  3. Click the Power On button or choose Power > Power On to start the virtual machine.

    When the virtual machine powers on, the BIOS is loaded and starts running. The VMware logo and the normal BIOS messages appear. Then the guest operating system that is installed in the virtual machine is started.

  4. Click anywhere inside the virtual machine window to give the virtual machine control of your mouse and keyboard.
  5. If you need to log on to a network, type in your name and password just as you would on a physical computer.

Note: The first time you run VMware Workstation, you may be required to enter a serial number. After your serial number is validated, you are invited to register your copy of VMware Workstation on the VMware web site. You may choose to register immediately or may do so at a later time by selecting the Register Now! option from the Help menu.

You can also run a virtual machine by typing the following command at a shell prompt when running X11:
vmware <name-of-configuration-file>

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