How do I install VMware Player?

Question

I can't install VMwarePlayer 4.0.3 on Ubuntu 12.04 64Bit. For Version 4.0.2, I found a script that I have to run and after that i could install 4.0.2. Is there an similar solution for Version 4.0.3?

Answer 1

I ran into the same problem, and I was able to make the same patch work by editing a version number in the script which applies it. WARNING: I don't actually know what I'm talking about when it comes to VMware patching, I just made an educated guess that seems to work. Whether you want to try this yourself depends on how risk-averse you are. But hey, your VMware Player install is already broken, right? I figured worst-case scenario I could uninstall and reinstall version 4.0.2.

I based this on the instructions I found here: vmware player compile issue. To boil it down to the simplest steps:

1. Download this tarball: http://weltall.heliohost.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/vmware802fixlinux320.tar.gz
2. Extract the tarball in your home directory
3. Edit the file patch-modules_3.2.0.sh. Look for the line plreqver=4.0.2 and change it to plreqver=4.0.3
4. Save the file, then run it. sudo ./patch-modules_3.2.0.sh

If you have run the same patch on version 4.0.2 before, you may get this error: "/usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/.patched found. You have already patched your sources. Exiting". If you see that, just delete the /usr/lib/vmware/modules/source/.patched file and try again.

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Please remember to have patch packet installed: apt-get install patch. My default installation of latest Kubuntu didn't have it, so I got error:

./patch-modules_3.2.0.sh: line 42: patch: command not found

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Sometimes, the version check does not properly. In this case, you could remove it by deleting the 4 lines following "unset product", all of them begin with "[". This again may increse the risk of breaking something.

Answer 2

Since VMware Player is not provided by the repositories, you have to instead download it here at the VMware website.

To install VMware Player, download the latest version for your architecture (newer versions are at the top of that list. That is, if you're running the 32-bit version of Ubuntu, get the 32-bit version, and if you're running the 64-bit version of Ubuntu, get the 64-bit version. If you're not sure which version of Ubuntu you're running, press Ctrl+Alt+T to open a Terminal window, then type in uname -m and press enter. If it says x86_64, you're running the 64-bit version of Ubuntu. If it says i686, you're running the 32-bit version of Ubuntu.

After the download completes, go to the folder to which you downloaded it in the Terminal. You can do this with the cd command. For example, if you put it in your Downloads folder, run:

cd ~/Downloads

(In the Terminal, the ~ character at the beginning of a file path represents your home folder.)

Now make this installer file executable with the chmod command. Currently, VMware Player 4.0.3 Build 703057 is the latest version, so for the 32-bit installer you'd run:

chmod +x VMware-Player-4.0.3-703057.i386.txt

Or for the 64-bit installer you'd run:

chmod +x VMware-Player-4.0.3-703057.x86_64.txt

(For future versions, the naming convention might change. In particular, the installers are usually named .bundle rather than .txt, since they are not true text files. Just use the full name of whatever file you download.)

The installer may need to build and install kernel modules, so it's advisable to make sure you have the necessary packages to facilitate this. Run uname -r. The output should end in generic, generic-pae, server, or virtual. If it doesn't end in generic, replace generic below with whatever it does end in.

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-generic

Now run the installer. You have to run it as root, so use sudo:

sudo ./VMware-Player-4.0.3-703057.i386.txt

Or for the 64-bit version:

sudo ./VMware-Player-4.0.3-703057.x86_64.txt

The rest of the installation process is guided and graphical. While you had to run the installer as root, you do not generally need to (and should not generally) run VMware Player as root after you've installed it. Occasionally, after an update to your kernel or VMware Player, VMware Player may ask you to allow it to build and install new kernel modules as root. That's OK.

Note: You may get a kernel error when running it for the first time, if so try:

cd /tmp
wget http://communities.vmware.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/1553530-39784/patch-modules.sh
wget http://communities.vmware.com/servlet/JiveServlet/download/1553530-39785/vmware-7.1-2.6.35-3-generic.patch
sudo sh patch-modules.sh

If that doesn't work (and it asks you for the patch location) try this for the location:

/tmp/patch-modules.sh

This extra information was taken from here, and all I did was add the /tmp/patch-modules.sh. If it doesn't work try referring to the forum link above.

Answer 3

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/desktop_end_user_computing/vmware_player/4_0

Click on download Then Register IT Complete Registration Then Download The Version You Want To I Have Ubuntu 11.10 x64 bit Download Once Downloaded then run the Following Command

  sudo apt-get install build-essential linux-headers-`uname -r`

then go to your Download Directory

cd Download   (full command will be cd /home/your-user-name/Download)
ls -l
gksudo bash ./VMware-Player-4.0.2-591240.x86_64.bundle

Help Taken

http://www.howtoforge.com/how-to-install-vmware-player-on-ubuntu-11.04-linux-mint-11

https://help.ubuntu.com/community/VMware/Player

Answer 4

You can download the Vmware player for Linux from the official website with .bundle as the extension.

After that navigate to the downloaded folder in terminal.

Then use the command:

sudo sh filename.bundle 

it will do the remaining job.

It worked for me.

Answer 5

Virtualbox is similar to VMware player, but in contrast to VMware player it is contained in the repositories. The advantage for pulling from repositories is that you don't have to worry about updates, they come with the regular system updates. Virtualbox can read VMware images.

From the command line apt-get install virtualbox, or search for virtualbox in the Software Center.

If you really want to install VMware Player, find the .debinstallation file for your architecture (32 or 64 bit). Usually double clicking will start installation. You are required to take care of all updates yourself in this case.

Answer 6

Works for different Versions, i tested it with version 4.0.4.744019:

Run vmware-installer -l in a console to get version number.

Edit the file patch-modules_3.2.0.sh:

1. Look for the line plreqver=4.0.2 and change it to plreqver=[copy and paste version number, just the three digit x.x.x ]

2. Remove the following lines:

   unset product [ -z "$vmver" ] && error "VMWare is not installed (properly) on this PC" [ "$vmver" == "workstation$vmreqver" ] && product="VMWare WorkStation" [ "$vmver" == "player$plreqver" ] && product="VMWare Player" [ -z "$product" ] && error "Sorry, this script is only for VMWare WorkStation $vmreqver or VMWare Player $plreqver"

   [ "id -u" != "0" ] && error "You must be root to run this script" [ -f "$ptoken" ] && error "$ptoken found. You have already patched your sources" [ ! -d "$basedir" ] && error "Source '$basedir' directory not found, reinstall $product" [ ! -f "$fpatch" ] && error "'$fpatch' not found. Please, copy it to the current '$curdir' directory"

Now run the patch via sudo sh patch-modules_3.2.0.sh

Answer 7

VMWare Player is not available for Linux. However, there is an alternative for that: VirtualBox. You can download VirtualBox for Ubuntu from their website. If you want the latest version or for an old version just type and search it from the Software Center and install it. It is easy to install from the Software Center. If you have downloaded the package from the VB site, then right click on the .deb file and select open with Software Center.