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Installing VMware Tools on Linux Mint

Nounours18200 Posted messages 248 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -  
brucine Posted messages 24689 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   -

Hello,

I installed VMWare Player 17 on my PC running W11-Pro, then I installed a Linux Mint VM in VMware.

I would like to install "VMware Tools" which seem to provide some benefits, but the method indicated in the tutorials, namely:

"Right Click VM in the virtual machine menu, then click Guest > Install/Upgrade VMware Tools."

is not possible for me because I don't see it. Here is a screenshot:

https://www.cjoint.com/c/MLrk1PpRRgK

What should I do?

Thank you

Windows 11 / Opera 105.0.0.0

2 answers

Answer 1 / 2
jee pee Posted messages 9435 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   9 971
 

Hello,

I just looked at my Linux Lite VM, and like you, I tried Reinstall VMWare Tools, but at first, it is not greyed out. This seems to indicate that the Vmware Tools are already installed, which is the case for me. I clicked on the menu entry and checked if there was anything to install the VMWT mounted, but found nothing. I thought that the installation ISO of Linux still being mounted was preventing them from appearing. I stopped the VM, removed the ISO from the virtual CD drive, and restarted the VM, and there, like you, the menu entry is greyed out. It seems we are in a tricky situation where the request was made but did not go through, has not completed.

Another solution is to manually mount the installation tools. It's an image linux.iso located at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation, I have VMWARE Workstation 17, but most of the time I just use the Player.

You mount this ISO file on the CD drive of the VM and then you have the tools in the VM:

I haven't tried to launch them my VM is working fine ;-)
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Answer 2 / 2
Nounours18200 Posted messages 248 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   10
 

Another solution is to manually mount the installation tools. It's an image linux.iso located at:
C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation, I have VMWARE Workstation 17, but most of the time I just use the Player.

It seems like a good approach to me. But I don't see how to mount what you're saying: in your screenshot, the VMware Tools are located in "/media/linuxlite/VMware Tools/."

However, when I go to "/media", I don't see any directory other than one named after my username.

I feel that I need to access "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation", but with the File Manager on my Linux Mint, I don't see how to do it (yes, I'm also a beginner on Linux!).

Here is the screenshot:

https://www.cjoint.com/c/MLrqiRwhowK

So how do I "navigate" to C:\...?
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jee pee Posted messages 9435 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention   9 971
 

In the VM, you cannot access the C: drive.

You need to mount the .iso in the CD drive of the VM in the machine settings under VMware before starting it.

Then in the VM, it appears as a CDrom.

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brucine Posted messages 24689 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 149 > jee pee Posted messages 9435 Registration date   Status Moderator Last intervention  
 

Hello,

The VMWare Tools are configured within the VMWare settings themselves:

and in each virtual machine:

It seems to me, I don't remember, that this is the default setting.

Under these conditions, during installation, Linux will prompt to install VMWare Tools, which should normally take place unless we oppose it by selecting "Never Remind Me", see Figure 15 for Ubuntu:
https://ubuntu.tutorials24x7.com/blog/how-to-install-ubuntu-20-04-lts-on-windows-using-vmware-workstation-player

If they are not installed, we will notice it because without video memory, the virtual machine is limited to 3 MB, which will make it unmanageable.

We can indeed mount them as mentioned, but we can also install them either via the command line:
https://ubuntu.tutorials24x7.com/blog/how-to-install-vmware-tools-in-ubuntu-18-04-lts


or more user-friendly in a graphical way through the Synaptic package manager, which is also an excellent way to check if they are installed; I open it from the applications menu (at least under Cinnamon), in the search bar I type 'vmware', if the VMWare Tools are installed, the corresponding packages are "checked green".

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brucine Posted messages 24689 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention   4 149 > brucine Posted messages 24689 Registration date   Status Member Last intervention  
 

Instead of searching for noon at 2 PM, I went through a verification method that was actually simple.

In the absence of VMWare Tools, the graphical display of the client will be poor and cannot be displayed in full screen in any case.

Under these conditions, the View - Fit Guest Now option is missing or inoperative, see here, Step 8:
https://www.sysnettechsolutions.com/en/install-vmware-tools-linux-mint/


I also do not have access to the Reinstall VMWare Tools item when the virtual machine is running, and I also think that it is the fact that the Linux ISO is mounted while the "DVD" of VMWare Tools is not that is causing the issue.

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