Recovering data from a VMware Workstation and VMware Player virtual machine. Guest OS does not start in VMware Workstations The program does not start in vmware windows 7

Virtual machine - software, emulating computer hardware. Allows you to create and simultaneously run several operating systems directly independent of each other.

Original, main or real operating system is called a host, while the OS installed through a virtual machine is called a guest, secondary or virtual. In this case, the host and guest OS will operate as separately as possible. In the event of a virus attack or other malicious activity on a virtual machine, the data of the real OS (host) will not be affected.

One of the most popular programs to create a virtual machine - VMware Workstation or its reduced functionality, freely distributed version VMware Player. With its help, you can install a minor OS X on the main Windows OS or vice versa, as well as a number of other operating systems, for example, the Linux family. There are ample opportunities for setting up and debugging the virtual OS.

Before you create a virtual machine, you need to install special software that allows you to do this. In our case, this is VMware Workstation. If for some reason this particular program is not suitable for you, you can install a guest OS on a virtual machine Virtualbox.

Installing the VMware Workstation distribution is similar to any other software:

Run the program's executable file. Preparations for unpacking will begin.
Next, a window will appear in which you can select a standard or custom installation. If you don’t know which components you need and are using a virtual machine for the first time, then choose the “standard” program package. If necessary, you can always expand the functionality and add them through the program menu.
After clicking the Next button, you will be asked to select the directory in which the program will be installed.
If necessary, you can mark the places where VMware Workstation shortcuts will be additionally placed for quick launch.
At this point, the preparatory stage is considered complete, and after clicking the Install button, the distribution will begin the process of unpacking the main components.

Once the download is complete, a message will appear on the screen asking you to get started. This means that we have figured out how to install a virtual machine, and now we can start creating the virtual machine itself using VMware Workstation.

First launch

The virtual machine and the guest operating system created in it will consume a certain amount of system resources. Therefore, before working with a virtual machine, it is recommended to close other resource-intensive programs, including those running in the background.

The next thing you need to understand is that the higher the production capacity of the computer, the more comfortable it will be to work with the virtual machine. It is not recommended to create, let alone run, more than one virtual OS on a device with weak hardware.

Will open immediately after launch home page programs. In total, the user will have access to two main menus: the top and side menus located on the left, as well as home screen or "Home".

The top menu is similar in its capabilities to most programs of this level. Here you will find all the tools you need to configure: file, edit, view, virtual machine, tabs, help.

On the left side of the screen is the “Library”. This is where all virtual machines installed in the program will be displayed. Using the same menu, you can find out how to delete a virtual machine.

The “Home” or central screen contains the most frequently used functionality. Allows you to immediately start creating a new virtual machine or launch a previously created one, even on another device (you must first copy the data), as well as connect to remote server or sync with VMware vCloud Air.

Since it is impossible to install Windows on a virtual machine without first creating it, we suggest you familiarize yourself with this process.

Making a machine

To create a virtual machine, you need to perform the following steps:

Installation using a bootable DVD through a physical, not virtual, drive of a laptop or PC.
Loading using virtual drive and a finished image file (ISO).
Postpone loading the OS until later and create only the VM shell.

If you decide to install a secondary operating system immediately by selecting one of the first two options, a window will appear on the screen with all the information regarding the installation of the application. In our case it is Windows. Here you can immediately enter all the necessary data, key and password, or postpone it until later.

If the first or second boot method was selected, then after all the necessary settings have been made, the immediate installation of the selected OS will begin. Otherwise, it will begin after debugging the basic configurations of the virtual machine itself.

If you decide to install a guest OS later, using the third option, the program will prompt you to select the OS type from the list: Linux, Windows, Other, etc. After this, you must specify the version of the OS that will be installed. As in the previous menu, you can mark it as “Other”, but only if the required version is not in the list.

The program has a huge selection of pre-installed configurations for a wide variety of operating systems and their versions. Therefore, there should be no problems.

Setting up the application shell

The next thing you need to do is give a name for the VM, and also indicate the directory in which the main components of the program will be installed.

If the device has several drives, for example, system C and D, then it is recommended to change the location of the main folders and other system data of the VMware Workstation virtual machine to D. That is, to the drive that is not the system drive. This must be done so that in the event of a virus attack, unauthorized access, or an ordinary failure of the host (real OS), the VM files are not damaged.

Before you set up your virtual machine, make sure you know exactly what settings you need. Otherwise, leave the settings at default.

Thus, after reinstalling the main operating system on drive C, the data of the secondary one will not be affected.

You will only need to re-download the VMware Workstation program shell, and then turn on the existing virtual machine, pointing the program to the path to the files. But before you launch it, make sure that all the necessary tools are already installed.

Now you need to select the maximum amount of disk memory that the virtual machine you are creating will occupy. By default this is 60 GB. This is sufficient for most tasks, but you can change this setting to a higher or lower value if you wish.

Here it is also necessary to take into account the fact that while saving, without dividing the disk space into several components, the guest OS you created in the virtual machine and the included host will run much faster.

At this point, the VM configuration is considered complete. And after clicking the Finish button, the process of loading the secondary, virtual, operating system will begin.

Virtual machine configuration

Typically, the need for additional settings VM does not occur. VMware Workstation automatically adapts to the system and offers the most optimal option. Moreover, if during the installation most of the parameters did not change and were selected by default.

If necessary, some configurations can be changed after downloading. Namely:

open shared or remote access to some files and folders;
change the characteristics of the VM hardware;
add or change a previously selected drive for installing a secondary operating system;
change settings for connecting external and USB devices.

To make some files and folders accessible to public use guest OS and host, you need:

Go to the tab " Options" and in the drop-down list find the line " Shared folders", depending on the version which may have a different name.
In the window that opens, check the box “ Connect as network drive in Windows guests».
After this it will appear additional button Add, by activating which you can create and select a folder that you plan to make publicly available for the guest OS and the host.

To avoid problems with data loss and reinstallation of the main OS, it is recommended to select a directory that is not located on the disk with the real operating system installed on it.

After completing the steps described above, the folder will automatically become public. When you configure the default settings, you will be able to use the system's capabilities drag-and-drop, both from the secondary OS to the host, and vice versa. If any of the described functions are not necessary, then do not forget to uncheck the unnecessary option.

As you can see, setting up a virtual machine does not take much time and does not require additional knowledge in order to understand how it works.

Common problems and their solutions

Most of the problems, as a rule, arise due to the lack of components necessary for the correct operation of computer hardware (processor, video card, audio card, etc.). Do not forget that the secondary OS, like the main one, needs the most necessary programs to ensure stable operation of the video adapter, audio card, etc.

To avoid unnecessary problems with finding and installing them, immediately after loading the VMware OS onto the virtual machine, you will be prompted to install an additional component - VMware Tools, made in order to simplify work not only with the VM, but also with external devices, for example, printers, faxes, USB drives.

If for some reason this does not happen, then you can start loading the tool yourself. To do this, go to the menu item “ Virtual machine» and in the drop-down list find an offer to download this package. Upon completion, you will be prompted to reboot the guest OS. The installed tool will start working automatically, and no additional operations need to be performed to start it.

One of the most common problems is the appearance of an error like: The VMware Authorization Service is not running. To solve it, just go to the “Services” menu on the main OS, this can be done through the Control Panel - Administration. Then, in the list of services, find the one you need and start it. If necessary, enter the name manually. If it appears that the service is already running, turn it off and on again.

To avoid most problems, it is strongly recommended to install only official or verified builds of the program.

Video on the topic

How to configure VMware Workstation and Server virtual machines to start when Windows starts

Article:

Many users of the VMware Workstation desktop platform and VMware Server would like to configure automatic start virtual machines when Windows starts, but before logging in. This is necessary so that if the computer is rebooted, the virtual machines would automatically “rise” and would not require administrator intervention.

To implement this, you will need to configure the virtual machine to run as a service. So, to get started you will need:

Utility Instsrv.exe.
Utility Srvany.exe.

All this can be obtained in a package (rktools.exe) downloaded from the Microsoft website.

Install this package and then copy instsrv.exe And srvany.exe to the catalog windows\system32. After this, you need to restart your computer.

Now find the VMware Workstation or Server executable file (for example, c:\program files\vmware\vmware workstation\vmware.exe) and the main configuration file of the virtual machine (for example, C:\mymachines\WinXp\winxp.vmx).

Instsrv vmware_winxp C:\windows\system32\srvany.exe, here vmware_winxp is the name of your new service.

After that, go to the registry editor (regedit.exe) and find this key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vmware_winxp

We create new key Parameters(to do this, right-click on the service name, then New->Key).

Create a new type value String Value in the key Parameters as shown in the picture:

Name the value Application.

Double-click on the value and in the field Value Data specify the path to VMware Workstation, the virtual machine startup key and the path to the virtual machine vmx file (don’t forget about the quotes):

"C:\program files\vmware\VMware Workstation\VMware.exe" –x "C:\mymachines\WinXp\winxp.vmx"

Now that you have created the service, you need to configure the startup options for it. To do this, run Start->Run and write services.msc.

You will see a list of available services. Find the vmware_winxp service you created and double-click on it. The service properties appear. Install on tab General startup type Automatic, go to the tab Log On. Here set the parameter Log on as meaning Local System account and be sure to check the box Allow service to interact with desktop.

Now you can test the autostart of the virtual machine by selecting from context menu service point Run. When starting a virtual machine, a request to change the unique identifier (UUID) may pop up; you need to select the item Create. In addition, you need to make sure that all unnecessary devices for the virtual machine are disabled (Virtual CD-ROM, floppy). Also add the following line to the vmx file to disable tooltips:

Hints.hideall="TRUE"

Now that's it - restart your computer and test the virtual machine autostart as a service.

In this article you will learn how to install and configure a VMware Workstation Pro virtual machine. Setting up VMware is easy and to the average user It will be easy to install the program and configure the necessary parameters.

Files for downloading - , you can also download from . After downloading and unzipping the program, install it on your PC.

Run VMware as administrator.

Click Install to install the program on your PC. Launch the crack that is in your archive and click "Install".

Click "Create a new virtual machine".

Select a custom installation.

Check the box to install the operating system later. In another tab, select the desired OS for which you want to create a virtual machine.

Set the name of the virtual machine and select the installation location. In the next window, don’t touch anything and click “Next”.

In the first window we distribute the number of cores for the virtual OS, in the second the number RAM. Don't allocate more resources than your physical PC's hardware can handle. Try to leave at least 2GB of RAM for your main system.

Leave the “Use network address translation (NAT)” checkbox, in the next window we don’t touch anything, everything will be installed automatically, click “Next”.

“Do not touch the selection of disk type”, select “Create a new virtual disk” in the next window.

We save the disk in one file.

Open the "Hardware Settings" tab.

Go to the "Processor" menu - check the "Virtual Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI" item.

Go to the "New CD/DVD" menu and check the "ISO image file" item, click "Browse" and select the one downloaded from the Internet ISO image operating system.

VMware Workstation is a virtual machine for running operating systems installed on a computer. VMware virtual machine emulates hardware computer, allows you to create virtual machines, run one or more operating systems running in parallel with Windows installed on the computer.

The VMware Workstation Pro program emulates computer hardware and allows you to run software on your computer in an isolated environment. You can install operating systems on a virtual machine (for example, Linux on Windows, or vice versa) to work in a virtual environment without affecting the real system.

Check unfamiliar or suspicious software, test it in operation new antivirus without installing it on your computer, try working on a different operating system, etc. In this case, the real operating system will not be affected in the event of dangerous actions performed on the virtual machine.

The actual operating system installed on the computer is called the host, and the operating system installed on the virtual machine is called the guest operating system.

American company Vmware largest producer Virtualization software, produces programs for personal computers: paid VMware Workstation Pro and free VMware Player with reduced capabilities.

VMware Workstation Pro (there is a review of this program in the article) supports the installation of several different (or identical) operating systems: various distributions of Windows, Linux, BSD, etc.

Please note that the guest operating system consumes computer resources. Therefore, while the virtual machine is running, you should not run resource-intensive applications on a real computer, or open several virtual machines at once. The more powerful the computer, the more comfortable it is to work on a virtual machine. On powerful computers Several virtual machines will work simultaneously without problems, but on a weak one, only one virtual machine.

Install VMware Workstation Pro on your computer. By default, the program runs on English, there is a good Russification on the Internet from Loginvovchyk, which needs to be installed after installing the program. After this, the VMware Workstation Pro virtual machine will work in Russian.

After launch, the main VMware Workstation window will open. At the top of the window there is a menu for managing the program. On the left is the “Library”, which will display the installed VMware virtual cars. The “Home” tab contains buttons for performing the most frequently required actions: “Create a new virtual machine”, “Open a virtual machine”, “Connect to a remote server”, “Connect to Vmware vCloud Air”.

Creating a new virtual machine

To create a virtual machine (VM), click on the “Create a new virtual machine” button, or go to the “File” menu, select “New virtual machine...”.

The New Virtual Machine Wizard will open. In the first window, select the configuration type “Typical (recommended)”, and then click on the “Next” button.

The next window prompts you to select the type of installation of the guest OS; three options are available:

installation from installation DVD disc inserted into the computer's disk drive
use to install system image file in ISO format from computer
installing the operating system later

If you select the first two options, after selecting the settings, the installation of the operating system on the virtual machine will begin. In the third case, the installation of the guest OS can be started at any other convenient time, after completing the setup of the virtual machine.

If installing later, select the guest operating system. If it is not in the list, select “Other”. Then select your OS version. A large selection of versions is offered for each system (in total, more than 200 OS are supported), there is also an Other option of various bit depths (34-bit and 64-bit).

If you are installing a guest system while creating a virtual machine, then a window will open with information about quick installation. You do not need to enter a Windows product key or password; you only need to select the Windows version.

If your computer has more than one logical drive, then I recommend changing the location where the virtual machine files are stored in the user profile (default setting) to another drive on your computer.

What is this for? If Windows installed on your computer fails, you will need to reinstall the system. After reinstalling the operating system, the VMware virtual machine file saved in the user profile on system disk, will be lost. If the virtual machine is not located on the system disk, then reinstalling Windows will not affect it.

To reuse, you will need to install the VMware Workstation program and then connect the virtual machine. You don't have to install and configure everything again.

Therefore, on drive “E” (in your case, it will most likely be drive “D”) of my computer, I created a folder “Virtual Machines”, in which folders with files of virtual machines installed on my computer are saved.

For a new virtual machine, create a folder with the name of this VM in order to separate its files from other VMs.

Next you need to select maximum size disk occupied by the virtual machine (default - 60 GB, size can be changed), save type virtual disk: in one file, or in several files. This size will be taken from hard drive your computer for the needs of a virtual machine.

When saving a virtual disk in one file, the VM works more efficiently than when divided into several files.

In the final window, click on the “Finish” button. After this, the installation of the guest operating system will begin.

If you selected the option to install the operating system later, then in this window there will be no option “Enable this virtual machine after it is created”, and therefore the installation of the guest system will not begin.

Setting up a VMware virtual machine

By default, the virtual machine is configured optimally for most cases. If necessary, you can change some settings and also add shared folders.

In the settings, in the “Hardware” tab, you can change the amount of memory for this virtual machine, the number of processor cores, and the amount of hard disk occupied by the virtual machine. In the “CD/DVD (SATA)” section, you can select a disk drive or operating system image file for installation (if you select installation later), and make other settings.

In the “Settings” tab, in the “Shared folders” section, select the “Always on” setting, activate the “Map as network drive in Windows guests” option.

Next, click on the “Add…” button in the Add Shared Folder Wizard window, create a shared folder for exchanging data with the real system and other guest systems. Shared folder It is advisable to create it not on the system disk for the reasons described above.

I already have such a folder on my computer (Data Sharing). I chose this folder for the new virtual machine. Next, enable this resource.

With the default settings, dragging, inserting and copying files from the real to the virtual system, and in the opposite direction, is allowed.

Opening a virtual machine

After Windows reinstallation(my case), you can open previously created virtual machines saved on your computer. In the main window of VMware Workstation, click on the “Open virtual machine” button, or in the “File” menu, select “Open...”.

Select the file (on my computer, virtual machines are in the “Virtual Machines” folder) of the virtual machine, and then click on the “Open” button.

On my computer, I opened previously saved virtual operating systems: Windows 10 x64, Windows 10, Windows 8.1, Windows 7, Mac OS X.

Running a Guest OS in VMware Workstation

To launch a guest operating system, in the VMware Workstation Pro program window, select the tab with the desired OS (if several guest OSes are installed), and then click on the “Enable virtual machine” button. You can turn on the system from the menu “Virtual machine”, “Power”, “Start virtual machine”.

Installing VMware Tools

VMware Tools is a package of drivers and services that improve the operation of the virtual machine and its interaction with peripheral devices. Immediately after installing the operating system on the virtual machine, you need to install VMware Tools. A reminder about this will appear in the program window.

In the “Virtual Machine” menu, select “Install VMware Tools package...”. Next, open Explorer and run the installation of VMware Tools from the CD-ROM drive. After the package installation is complete, reboot the guest operating system.

Guest OS Snapshots

In VMware Workstation, you can create a snapshot of the guest OS. After creating a snapshot of the system state, in case of failures in the guest OS, you can return to the previous operating state of the system.

In the “Virtual Machine” menu, click on the “Create Snapshot” item. Next, give the photo a name and add a description if necessary.

To restore the state of the guest OS at the time the snapshot was taken, select “Return to snapshot: Snapshot N” from the context menu. Next, restore the system state. The current state of the OS will be lost.

The created snapshots can be managed through the Snapshot Manager: create, clone, delete snapshots. The menu bar has three buttons for managing system snapshots.

Disabling a virtual machine

To exit the virtual machine, in the “Virtual Machine” menu, click on the “Power” context menu item, and then select “Shut down guest OS”. The operating system will shut down as if you were shutting down your computer normally.

When you select the “Suspend guest OS” option, the system will pause its operation without disabling services and applications.

Removing a virtual machine

To remove a virtual machine, open the tab for that virtual machine in VMware Workstation Pro. In the “Virtual Machine” menu, select the “Manage” context menu item, and then “Remove from disk”. In the warning window, agree to deletion (this is an irreversible action).

After this, all files of the guest virtual machine will be deleted from the computer.

Conclusion

VMware Workstation Pro virtual machine is a powerful application for creating guest virtual operating systems that run on a computer along with the real OS. The guest operating system will be isolated from the Windows installed on the computer.

Many users of the VMware Workstation desktop platform and the VMware Server server platform would like to configure virtual machines to automatically start when Windows starts, but before logging into the system. This is necessary so that if the computer is rebooted, the virtual machines would automatically “rise” and would not require administrator intervention.

To implement this, you will need to configure the virtual machine to run as a service. So, to get started you will need:

Utility Instsrv.exe.
Utility Srvany.exe.

All this can be obtained in a package (rktools.exe) downloaded from the Microsoft website.

Install this package and then copy instsrv.exe And srvany.exe to the catalog windows\system32. After this, you need to restart your computer.

Instsrv vmware_winxp C:\windows\system32\srvany.exe, here vmware_winxp is the name of your new service.

After that, go to the registry editor (regedit.exe) and find this key

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vmware_winxp

Create a new key Parameters(to do this, right-click on the service name, then New->Key).

Create a new type value String Value in the key Parameters as shown in the picture:

Name the value Application.

"C:\program files\vmware\VMware Workstation\VMware.exe" –x "C:\mymachines\WinXp\winxp.vmx"

Now that you have created the service, you need to configure the startup options for it. To do this, run Start->Run and write services.msc.

Now you can test the autostart of the virtual machine by selecting the item from the service context menu Run. When starting a virtual machine, a request to change the unique identifier (UUID) may pop up; you need to select the item Create. In addition, you need to make sure that all unnecessary devices for the virtual machine are disabled (Virtual CD-ROM, floppy). Also add the following line to the vmx file to disable tooltips:

Hints.hideall=”TRUE”

Now that's it - restart your computer and test the virtual machine autostart as a service.