Solved VMware Workstation Pro

OAT · May 15, 2024

@glasskuter
I installed the Pro version right over the Player version pointing to the original installation folder without uninstalling first.
It had no problems uninstalling first then went on to upgrade.
I advise you to choose the option to create a new menu folder as there are several new shortcuts and features added.

hsehestedt · May 15, 2024

@glasskuter,

Apologies for the slow response. I'm glad you were able to get it working in the meantime.

There are still some things about VMware workstation that I really like, especially at the price of free

.

hsehestedt · May 15, 2024

For those who are new to VMware, one of the things that I really love about VMware is how easy it is to save the activation state.

I have a VM that I actually activated. To save the activation state, simply do this:

Open the directory that the activated VM is stored in.
Open the file that has the .VMX extension in notepad.
Find the line that starts with "uuid.bios". Copy and save this entire line in a text file or write it down carefully.

Now, if you ever reinstall Windows to the VM, do this:

Create your VM.
Open the .VMX file in notepad.
Replace the line that with "uuid.bios" with the line that you saved.
Install Windows. It should activate successfully.

NOTE: If you prefer, you can install Windows first, shutdown the VM, and then replace the uuid.bios line, restart Windows, and activate it.

Having an activated VM that you can easily recycle makes life a whole lot easier.

barreleye · May 15, 2024

barreleye said:
It's an epic quest to download anything from Broadcom. They make it nearly impossible, so as to weed out the unworthy. What worked for me was following the download link in the blog post below, which required creating an account, and from there, it continued to be the most confusing website I've ever used, but I was successful in the end (don't ask me for more details, I've been actively trying to forget the trauma):

https://blogs.vmware.com/workstation/2024/05/vmware-workstation-pro-now-available-free-for-personal-use.html

It's so bad, someone has since written a detailed article on it, documenting much of what I experienced. The inability to use my password manager to copy/paste passwords as part of the required account creation really ticked me off, but that was just the tip of the iceberg. I don't know what drugs those Broadcom people are on, but I know I don't want any.

The Worst Website In The Entire World

The Worst Website In The Entire World is owned by Broadcom

matduggan.com

cereberus · May 16, 2024

hsehestedt said:
I have migrated over completely to Hyper-V, but there is just one tiny thing that bothers me with Hyper-V: If you install Windows in VMware Workstation you can per perform personalization tasks up until you allow your VMware guest to have Internet access. With Hyper-V, you cannot perform personalization tasks (unless you activate Windows) even with networking turned off.

I don't usually care about personalization, but for those times where it matters, I prefer VMware Workstation as a last resort.

Surely, this can only be possible if your vmware vm is activated.

cereberus · May 16, 2024

hsehestedt said:
For those who are new to VMware, one of the things that I really love about VMware is how easy it is to save the activation state.

I have a VM that I actually activated. To save the activation state, simply do this:

Open the directory that the activated VM is stored in.
Open the file that has the .VMX extension in notepad.
Find the line that starts with "uuid.bios". Copy and save this entire line in a text file or write it down carefully.

Now, if you ever reinstall Windows to the VM, do this:

Create your VM.
Open the .VMX file in notepad.
Replace the line that with "uuid.bios" with the line that you saved.
Install Windows. It should activate successfully.

NOTE: If you prefer, you can install Windows first, shutdown the VM, and then replace the uuid.bios line, restart Windows, and activate it.

Having an activated VM that you can easily recycle makes life a whole lot easier.

With Hyper-V, once you have activated a vm, you do not even need to save anything. You can change out vhd containing OS as often as you like so long as it is same edition e.g. Pro or Home. In fact if you activate vm with Pro, it will also activate Home as well.

hsehestedt · May 16, 2024

cereberus said:
With Hyper-V, once you have activated a vm, you do not even need to save anything. You can change out vhd containing OS as often as you like so long as it is same edition e.g. Pro or Home. In fact if you activate vm with Pro, it will also activate Home as well.

You can swap out the VHD, but how do you get your VM back after a reinstallation or move to a new machine?

You can disconnect the VHD and then backup the VHD. At least in this way it's only about 4 MB. But with VMware, you literally only need to save a few bytes of data.

Bree · May 16, 2024

hsehestedt said:
You can swap out the VHD, but how do you get your VM back after a reinstallation or move to a new machine?

You can disconnect the VHD and then backup the VHD. At least in this way it's only about 4 MB. But with VMware, you literally only need to save a few bytes of data.

You can preserve the unique ID a Hyper-V VM by exporting it without a VHD then importing it to a new host and selecting the option to import using the existing ID.

But yes, a single line of text is much easier to save. :wink:

VirtualBox works the same way as VMware. There's a Machine uuid="{ a unique uuid number }" at the beginning of the VM's Vbox.xml.

Hopachi · May 16, 2024

Bree said:
You can preserve the unique ID a Hyper-V VM by exporting it without a VHD then importing it to a new host and selecting the option to import using the existing ID.

But yes, a single line of text is much easier to save.

VirtualBox works the same way as VMware. There's a Machine uuid="{ a unique uuid number }" at the beginning of the VM's Vbox.xml.

View attachment 96344

Indeed.
I've used this quite a few times too.

So it is in KVM/QEMU as well.
A VM provides XML settings with a uuid tag.

Since those are hidden or handled differently in Hyper-V, it is more confusing to apply something similar there if one doesn't know where to start.
Luckily we have those great tutorials by Kari, from there I was able to 'transfer' a uuid in Hyper-V.
EDIT: yes, by exporting vm without vhd.

Hopachi · May 16, 2024

MB11 said:
Should i stop using VMware and use Oracle VM VirtualBox?

I think you can keep using VMware.
Those site issues should settle once they move everything over.
Usually clear the cookies and the cache in your browser just to make sure and try again, on the new website.

But you can give other alternatives a try, that way you'll know directly from first hand experience rather than just recommendations of others.

cereberus · May 16, 2024

hsehestedt said:
You can swap out the VHD, but how do you get your VM back after a reinstallation or move to a new machine?

You can disconnect the VHD and then backup the VHD. At least in this way it's only about 4 MB. But with VMware, you literally only need to save a few bytes of data.

Save the vm config files - they are tiny.

pparks1 · May 16, 2024

Saw this story and laughed.

VMware Workstation and Fusion Pro Are Now Free. Good Luck Actually Downloading Them

Broadcom has blown chaos all over the VMware landscape with their acquisition but they're releasing desktop products for free. They just make it very difficult to download them.

lowendbox.com

OAT · May 16, 2024

pparks1 said:
Saw this story and laughed.

VMware Workstation and Fusion Pro Are Now Free. Good Luck Actually Downloading Them

Broadcom has blown chaos all over the VMware landscape with their acquisition but they're releasing desktop products for free. They just make it very difficult to download them.

lowendbox.com

I fail to see the humor.
I must have been lucky as Workstation Pro downloaded on the first try.
Actually the two lonely comments located at the bottom of the so called article
reported downloading the software successfully.

TahitianVibes · May 16, 2024

..

pparks1 said:
Saw this story and laughed.

VMware Workstation and Fusion Pro Are Now Free. Good Luck Actually Downloading Them

Broadcom has blown chaos all over the VMware landscape with their acquisition but they're releasing desktop products for free. They just make it very difficult to download them.

lowendbox.com

everything working normally - just tested , ..perhaps i'm lucky too

Josey Wales · May 16, 2024

VMware Workstation and Fusion Pro desktop hypervisors are now free for personal use

While the company was still busy assimilating VMware's virtualization business, Broadcom confirmed in 2023 that the line of Workstation desktop virtualization software wasn't going anywhere. Workstation will...

www.techspot.com

Zero issues with the downloads.

hsehestedt · May 18, 2024

Josey Wales said:
VMware Workstation and Fusion Pro desktop hypervisors are now free for personal use

While the company was still busy assimilating VMware's virtualization business, Broadcom confirmed in 2023 that the line of Workstation desktop virtualization software wasn't going anywhere. Workstation will...

www.techspot.com

Zero issues with the downloads.

I too had no difficulty obtaining the free version. I did notice one difference in behavior from when I used to use VMware in the past before I transitioned to Hyper-V but can't swear that what I am seeing is not a change in Windows itself.

b009il · May 21, 2024

I still have VMware Workstation 17 Player installed when i install latest VMware Workstation.

jimbo45 · May 22, 2024

b009il said:
I still have VMware Workstation 17 Player installed when i install latest VMware Workstation.

Did you actually READ the comment in a couple of previous posts.

VMWare player is STILL installed when you install VMWare workstation. What the article is saying is that the application is discontinued as a separately installable product.

Cheers
jimbo

LeLibran · May 23, 2024

I'm not certain about Workstation Player, but with Fusion Player (the macOS version) update, it's necessary to remove the 'old' Free to use Licence, after which the updated version then automatically shows as "VMware Fusion Professional Version Licensed for Personal Use only". That can be done via the command line, or by completely uninstalling the old installation which also removes the old 'free to use' license details; and then reinstall using the latest update.

OAT · May 23, 2024

LeLibran said:
I'm not certain about Workstation Player, but with Fusion Player (the macOS version) update, it's necessary to remove the 'old' Free to use Licence, after which the updated version then automatically shows as "VMware Fusion Professional Version Licensed for Personal Use only". That can be done via the command line, or by completely uninstalling the old installation which also removes the old 'free to use' license; and then reinstalling using the latest update.

Uninstalling is not needed in Windows as both can run side by side.
The Workstation really only adds a GUI to manage the VMs along with some configuration tweaks.