Solved VMware Workstation Pro Free for Personal Use


OldMainframeGuy said:
OAT: Thanks for your reply; that's the setting I was using but no luck. I did some Googling and found this on Reddit:

https://www.reddit.com/r/archlinux/comments/y0tcvw/sound_issue_vmware_workstation_1624_win_11_22h2

  • On the windows 11 host go to "Sound settings" > Under "Advanced" click "More sound settings" > ("Sound" will open up) Click the "Recording" tab > Right-Click "Stereo Mix" and click Enable.

This actually fixed the problem (though I'm running Windows 10). Go figure.

Thanks for your help; appreciated!!!

Rob
Click to expand...
Glad you solved it Rob.
I have never had this issue but it is now a good thing to know.
Thanks.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 400MB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
andrew129260 said:
It is also a good idea to make sure vmware tools is installed and up to date. Workstation pro now has an option that lets you have it update automatically which is nice.
Click to expand...
However i don't think, that is working ok on linux, at least not for me.
For linux systems i use the open vmware tools.

apt-get update
apt-get install open-vm-tools

Then shutdown button/reboot etc will work from workstation, and send in the clean shutdown commands, instead of acting like you press a power button and it direcly shutsdown. Also other features from vmware workstation will work propperly. Like passtrough service restart from script on host etc, instead of doing it inside the vm itself.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
I cannot comment on Windows's performance on Hyper-V because I no longer use Windows on any physical disk. Performance on
qeMU/KVM is very good, and on VMware, 17.5 is acceptable.

The real problem with the Broadcom takeover of VMware is the move to subscription updates/ I figure MS will also move Windows 12 to that model. Why else is there no public testing of Windows 12 and the minor improvements to Windows 11?
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Fedora Rawhide, Garuda,, Debian Trixie
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HomeBrew
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D 8-Core
    Motherboard
    Gigabyte
    Memory
    64GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Nvidia
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell
    Hard Drives
    3 ssd 2 spinners configured as raid 0
    Keyboard
    Eluktronics
    Mouse
    Eluktronics
    Browser
    Firefox and Chromium
    Other Info
    Gnome 46
martyfelker said:
I cannot comment on Windows's performance on Hyper-V because I no longer use Windows on any physical disk. Performance on
qeMU/KVM is very good, and on VMware, 17.5 is acceptable.

The real problem with the Broadcom takeover of VMware is the move to subscription updates/ I figure MS will also move Windows 12 to that model. Why else is there no public testing of Windows 12 and the minor improvements to Windows 11?
Click to expand...
Before the Broadcom takeover we had these options:
  • VMware Workstation Player - Free for personal use
  • VMware Workstation Pro - Paid commercial version
Now after the takeover we have VMware Workstation Pro being offered as free for personal use. So far that is a positive for us personal users. Nobody knows what will happen in the future.

Windows 12 was always a rumor with nothing officially confirmed. The consensus now is that Windows 11 24H2 is what was once considered Windows 12. How can one publicly test Windows 12 when nobody has said it officially exists? I am not sure but I think anyone can sign up for the Windows Insider Program. If you do you can test developer builds of Windows 11 24H2 right now.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 990 Evo Plus (2TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
Updating this thread, since it came up topside in a Google search.

The VMware (now Broadcom) site does not appear to be making VMware Workstation Pro available for download.

It is available through some third-party download sites. I got mine through either Softpedia or Techspot. There is still a VMware page for downloading old and new versions.

Problem: at least the current version (17.6.2-24409262) appears to be 32-bit. Or at least, on my machine, it installed in C:\Program Files (x86).

I'd welcome corrections or suggestions on that.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 & 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Various homebuilt
raywood said:
Updating this thread, since it came up topside in a Google search.

The VMware (now Broadcom) site does not appear to be making VMware Workstation Pro available for download.

It is available through some third-party download sites. I got mine through either Softpedia or Techspot. There is still a VMware page for downloading old and new versions.

Problem: at least the current version (17.6.2-24409262) appears to be 32-bit. Or at least, on my machine, it installed in C:\Program Files (x86).

I'd welcome corrections or suggestions on that.
Click to expand...
I'd suggest if you can do it is then to use HYPER-V on your windows computer instead --it's better by far and as it's part of Windows (so long as version > windows home) it gets regular updates and security via Microsoft updates. It's probably a bit more fiddly to set up but worth it.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 400MB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
Yes, but if you (or least if I) click through, here's what comes next:

1740850203378.webp

It's been like that throughout the weeks that I've been trying. That message is in response to a click on the cloud download icon on the left side of the Workstation for Windows listing.

I did find a vmware.com page (archive) offering multiple versions.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 & 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Various homebuilt
raywood said:
Yes, but if you (or least if I) click through, here's what comes next:



It's been like that throughout the weeks that I've been trying. That message is in response to a click on the cloud download icon on the left side of the Workstation for Windows listing.

I did find a vmware.com page (archive) offering multiple versions.
Click to expand...
Sorry I don't have the issue as the screenshot below demonstrates.
Glad you got it from the old VMware site though.

vm.webp
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 400MB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
jimbo45 said:
I'd suggest if you can do it is then to use HYPER-V on your windows computer instead --it's better by far and as it's part of Windows (so long as version > windows home) it gets regular updates and security via Microsoft updates. It's probably a bit more fiddly to set up but worth it.

Cheers
jimbo
Click to expand...
There are still some good uses for VMware vs Hyper-V. For me the big one is that if I am creating a reference system to sysprep, on Hyper-V you cannot perform personalization tasks without activating Windows. On VMware, so long as you leave networking disabled you cn do all your personalization and only then enable networking.

Since you can run Hyper-V and VMware on the same machine, there's no reason not to have both :-)
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self-built
    CPU
    Intel i7 11700K
    Motherboard
    ASUS Prime Z590-A MB
    Memory
    64GB (Waiting for warranty replacement of another 64GB for 128GB total)
    Graphics Card(s)
    No GPU - Built-in Intel Graphics
    Sound Card
    Integrated
    Monitor(s) Displays
    HP Envy 32
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1 x 1TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 2TB NVMe SSD
    1 x 4TB NVMe SSD
    3 x 512GB 2.5" SSD
    1 x 4TB 2.5" SSD
    5 x 8TB Seagate Barracuda HDD
    PSU
    Corsair HX850i
    Case
    Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case
    Cooling
    Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Home Computer Specifications, Configuration, and Usage Notes General Specifications ASUS Prime Z590-A motherboard, serial number M1M0KC222467ARP Intel Core i7-11700K CPU (11th Gen Rocket Lake / LGA 1200 Socket) 128GB Crucial Ballistix RGB DDR4 3200 MHz DRAM (4 x 32GB) Corsair iCUE RGB 5000X mid tower case Noctua NH-D15 chromax.black CPU cooler Noctua NF-S12A chromax.black.swap case fans (Qty. 7) & Corsair LL-120 RGB Fans (Qty. 3)
    Keyboard
    Corsair K70 Max RGB Magnetic Keyboard
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1 Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    The five 8TB drives and three 512GB SSDs are part of a DrivePool using StableBit DrivePool software. The three SSDs are devoted purely to caching for the 8TB drives. All of the important data is stored in triplicate so that I can withstand simultaneous failure of 2 disks.

    Networking: 2.5Gbps Ethernet and WiFi 6e
  • Operating System
    Win11 Pro 23H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Lenovo ThinkBook 13x Gen 2
    CPU
    Intel i7-1255U
    Memory
    16 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe Graphics
    Sound Card
    Realtek® ALC3306-CG codec
    Monitor(s) Displays
    13.3-inch IPS Display
    Screen Resolution
    WQXGA (2560 x 1600)
    Hard Drives
    2 TB 4 x 4 NVMe SSD
    PSU
    USB-C / Thunderbolt 4 Power / Charging
    Mouse
    Buttonless Glass Precision Touchpad
    Keyboard
    Backlit, spill resistant keyboard
    Internet Speed
    1Gb Up / 1Gb Down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    WiFi 6e / Bluetooth 5.1 / Facial Recognition / Fingerprint Sensor / ToF (Time of Flight) Human Presence Sensor
hsehestedt said:
There are still some good uses for VMware vs Hyper-V. For me the big one is that if I am creating a reference system to sysprep, on Hyper-V you cannot perform personalization tasks without activating Windows. On VMware, so long as you leave networking disabled you cn do all your personalization and only then enable networking.

Since you can run Hyper-V and VMware on the same machine, there's no reason not to have both :-)
Click to expand...
good answer

There's still some issues with HYPER-V such as Linux Sound and dynamic device re-direct but if you just need a VM as a basic file / mwdia server it's fine. Also Wifi network cards can be bridged devices so communication between guest and host is simple when you don't have wired connections.

cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
raywood said:
Yes, but if you (or least if I) click through, here's what comes next:

View attachment 127002

It's been like that throughout the weeks that I've been trying. That message is in response to a click on the cloud download icon on the left side of the Workstation for Windows listing.

I did find a vmware.com page (archive) offering multiple versions.
Click to expand...
I used to get that message. There seemed to be a bug on the website that prevented the verification step to be shown.

I just checked again. This time the verification step was shown. Once I completed that step I was allowed to download the latest release of VMware Workstation Pro. As best I remember here are the steps I used:
Log into Broadcom website using your username/password
At top right select "VMware Cloud Foundation"
At left select "My Downloads"
Search for "workstation"
Search for "workstation"
Select "VMware Workstation Pro"
Select "VMware Workstation Pro 17.0 for Windows"
Select "17.6.2"
At bottom right select "download arrow"
For "Prior to downloading this file, additional verification is required. Proceed?" select "Yes"
Fill out personal information
At bottom right again select "download arrow" to start download of file "VMware-workstation-full-17.6.2-24409262.exe"
Click to expand...

If you can't get that to work the following links might be helpful
VMWare Desktop Downloads:

Download VMWare Workstation:

Download VMWare Player:
Click to expand...

For example for VMWare Workstation Pro use the following link:

For version 17.6.2 navigate to

Download file
File: VMware-workstation-17.6.2-24409262.exe.tar
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 990 Evo Plus (2TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 5700X3D
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
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