This section explains how to install VMware Tools in a Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris virtual machine.
To install VMware Tools in a Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris Virtual Machine 1 Power on the virtual machine.
2 After the guest operating system has started, prepare your virtual machine to install VMware Tools.
Choose VM > Install VMware Tools.
The remaining steps take place inside the virtual machine.
NOTE You can install VMware Tools either from a terminal in an X window session or in text mode.
3 As root (su -), mount the VMware Tools virtual CD‐ROM image, change to a working directory (for example, /tmp), uncompress the installer, and unmount the CD‐ROM image.
NOTE You do not use an actual CD‐ROM to install VMware Tools, and you do not need to download the CD‐ROM image or burn a physical CD‐ROM of this image file. The VMware Server software contains an ISO image that looks like a CD‐ROM to your guest operating system. This image contains all the files needed to install VMware Tools in your guest operating system.
Using the Tar Installer on Linux Guests: Some Linux distributions use different device names or organize the /dev directory differently. If your CD‐ROM drive is not /dev/cdrom or if the mount point for a CD‐ROM is not /mnt/cdrom, modify the following commands to reflect the conventions used by your distribution.
Also, some Linux distributions automatically mount CD‐ROMs. If your distribution uses automounting, do not use the mount and umount commands below. You still must untar the VMware Tools installer to /tmp.
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom cd /tmp
tar zxf /mnt/cdrom/vmware-linux-tools.tar.gz umount /mnt/cdrom
Go to step 4.
Using the RPM Installer on Linux Guests: Some Linux distributions use different device names or organize the /dev directory differently. If your CD‐ROM drive is not /dev/cdrom or if the mount point for a CD‐ROM is not /mnt/cdrom, modify the following commands to reflect the conventions used by your distribution.
Also, some Linux distributions automatically mount CD‐ROMs. If your distribution uses automounting, do not use the mount and umount commands below.
mount /dev/cdrom /mnt/cdrom
cp /mnt/cdrom/vmware-linux-tools-<xxxxx>.i386.rpm /tmp rpm -Uhv /tmp/vmware-linux-tools-<xxxxx>.i386.rpm umount /mnt/cdrom
where <xxxxx> is the build number of the VMware Server release.
Go to step 6.
Solaris Guests: The Solaris volume manager—vold—mounts the CD‐ROM under /cdrom/vmwaretools. If the CD‐ROM is not mounted, restart the volume manager using the following commands:
/etc/init.d/volmgt stop /etc/init.d/volmgt start
After the CD‐ROM is mounted, use the following commands to extract VMware Tools.
cd /tmp
gunzip c /cdrom/vmwaretools/vmwaresolaristools.tar.gz | tar xf -Go to step 4.
FreeBSD Guests: Some FreeBSD distributions automatically mount CD‐ROMs. If your distribution uses automounting, do not use the mount and umount commands below. You still must untar the VMware Tools installer to /tmp.
mount /cdrom cd /tmp
tar zxf /cdrom/vmware-freebsd-tools.tar.gz umount /cdrom
4 Run the VMware Tools installer.
cd vmware-tools-distrib ./vmware-install.pl
5 Answer the questions about default directories.
6 Run the configuration program.
vmware-config-tools.pl
7 To change your virtual machine’s display resolution, answer yes, and enter the number that corresponds to the desired resolution.
8 Log off of the root account.
exit
9 Start X and your graphical environment. If you installed VMware Tools in an X windows session, restart X windows.
10 In an X terminal, launch the VMware Tools background application.
vmware-toolbox &
You can run VMware Tools as root or as a normal user. To shrink virtual disks or to change any VMware Tools scripts, you must run VMware Tools as root (su -).
NOTE Always run vmware-toolbox in the guest operating system to ensure you have access to all VMware Tools features, such as copy and paste and mouse ungrab for operating systems for which X display driver is not available.
Starting VMware Tools Automatically
You might find it helpful to configure your guest operating system so VMware Tools starts when you start your X server. The steps for doing so vary depending on your Linux distribution and your desktop environment. Check your operating system documentation for the appropriate steps to take.
For example, in a Red Hat Linux 7.1 guest using GNOME, follow these steps.
1 Open the Startup Programs screen in the GNOME Control Center.
Main Menu (click the foot icon in the lower left corner of the screen) > Programs >
Settings > Session > Startup Programs 2 Click Add.
3 In the Startup Command field, enter vmware-toolbox.
4 Click OK, click OK again, and close the GNOME Control Center.
The next time you start X, VMware Tools also starts.
Starting VMware Tools in a FreeBSD 4.5 Guest Operating System
In a FreeBSD 4.5 guest operating system, sometimes VMware Tools does not start after you install VMware Tools, reboot the guest operating system, or start VMware Tools on the command line in the guest. An error message appears:
Shared object 'libc.so.3' not found.
The required library was not installed. This does not happen with full installations of FreeBSD 4.5, but does occur for minimal installations. To fix the problem of the missing library, take the following steps:
1 Insert and mount the FreeBSD 4.5 installation CD or access the ISO image file.
2 Change directories and run the installation script.
cd /cdrom/compat3x ./install.sh
Uninstalling VMware Tools
To remove VMware Tools from your Linux guest operating system, log on as root (su -) and run the following command:
vmware-uninstall-tools.pl