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    Workarounds for installing VMware Player in 13.04

    Raring includes a newer version of libc6 -- now up to 2.17. This new version appears to be binary incompatible with vmware-gksu, the backend elevation tool shipped with Player. Fortunately, it's (relatively) easy to get around this by invoking Player's frontend utilities with good old sudo.

    First, install VMware Player the normal way. The bundle will unpack and get written to appropriate places. What will fail are:

    * attempts to compile the kernel modules
    * attempts to install additional components (such as VMware Tools for guests)


    Modules. You will not receive any notice of failure. Instead, the attempts just quit.

    To compile the modules, run:
    Code:
    sudo vmware-modconfig --console --install-all
    REMEMBER: You will need to repeat this each time you update your kernel.


    Tools. Attempts will throw an error after the components are downloaded. Manual installation is required.

    Obtain the tools component from http://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds...esktop/player/. Here:
    • select the subdirectory for the version of Player you've installed
    • select the next subdirectory (a numeric string)
    • select the linux subdirectory
    • select the packages subdirectory
    • download the tools component appropriate for the guest you plan to create; choose i386 or x86_64 based on the bitness of the guest, not the host

    Extract the component from the tar file and install it:
    Code:
    cd [I]/path/to/download/location[/I]
    tar -xvf vmware-tools*tar --wildcards *.component --to-stdout >tools
    sudo vmware-installer --console --install-component=tools
    Last edited by SteveRiley; Jun 09, 2013, 02:15 PM.

    #2
    Thank you. You are a god!

    Comment


      #3
      Originally posted by Jimmy.P View Post
      Thank you. You are a god!
      No, just a humble Linux adventurer like yourself.

      Comment


        #4
        New observations

        My Arch Linux system today had a kernel update, to 3.9.5. As an experiment, I uninstalled all VMware stuff:
        Code:
        sudo vmware-installer --uninstall-component=vmware-tools-windows
        sudo vmware-installer --uninstall-product=vmware-player
        Fortunately, this doesn't remove any virtual machines!

        Then I downloaded fresh copies of the binaries. Version 5.0.2 is still the most recent. Rather than dealing with VMware's silly download manager (which fails on Konqueror), I grabbed both the installer bundle and the tools component from http://softwareupdate.vmware.com/cds...esktop/player/

        I unpacked and installed Player:
        Code:
        tar xvf VMware-Player-5.0.2-1031769.x86_64.bundle.tar
        sudo ./VMware-Player-5.0.2-1031769.x86_64.bundle --console
        The process took a couple minutes, but eventually finished. And sure enough, the modules compiled without additional manual intervention:
        Code:
        steve@t520 ~ $ [B]la /lib/modules/$(uname -r)/misc[/B]
        total 460
        drwxr-xr-x 2 root root   4096 Jun  9 12:09 .
        drwxr-xr-x 4 root root   4096 Jun  9 12:09 ..
        -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  28605 Jun  9 12:09 vmblock.ko
        -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 143628 Jun  9 12:09 vmci.ko
        -rw-r--r-- 1 root root 117122 Jun  9 12:08 vmmon.ko
        -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  87844 Jun  9 12:08 vmnet.ko
        -rw-r--r-- 1 root root  75856 Jun  9 12:09 vsock.ko
        Then I unpacked and installed the tools for Windows guests:
        Code:
        tar -xvf vmware-tools-windows-9.2.3-1031769.x86_64.component.tar
        sudo vmware-installer --console --install-component=vmware-tools-windows-9.2.3-1031769.x86_64.component
        After that process finished, I double-checked that everything appeared correct:
        Code:
        steve@t520 ~ $ [B]vmware-installer --list-products[/B]
        Product Name         Product Version     
        ==================== ====================
        vmware-player        5.0.2.1031769
        
        steve@t520 ~ $ [B]vmware-installer --list-components[/B]
        Component Name        Component Long Name                      Component Version
        ===================== ======================================== ====================
        vmware-installer      VMware Installer                         2.1.0.799910
        vmware-player-setup   VMware Player Setup                      5.0.2.1031769
        vmware-vmx            VMware VMX                               5.0.2.1031769
        vmware-network-editor VMware Network Editor                    9.0.2.1031769
        vmware-usbarbitrator  VMware USB Arbitrator                    10.1.23.1031769
        vmware-player-app     VMware Player Application                5.0.2.1031769
        vmware-ovftool        VMware OVF Tool component for Linux      3.0.2.931074
        vmware-player         VMware Player                            5.0.2.1031769
        vmware-tools-windows  VMware Tools for Windows                 9.2.3.1031769
        Player started with without errors.

        I suspect the installer was able to compile the modules because I launched it with sudo. Since the installer was already running elevated, there was no need for it to call Player's vmware-gksu utility. Probably, next time there's a kernel update, the problem will recur. Player will try to recompile the modules, which will fail because calling vmware-gksu will fail. To test this, I will update Kubuntu's kernel to 3.9.5 and try without completely uninstalling Player first.

        Comment


          #5
          Originally posted by SteveRiley View Post
          Probably, next time there's a kernel update, the problem will recur. Player will try to recompile the modules, which will fail because calling vmware-gksu will fail. To test this, I will update Kubuntu's kernel to 3.9.5 and try without completely uninstalling Player first.
          Confirmed. Trying to run Player after the kernel update failed. The modules won't compile. I'll document the clues here.

          First, A modconfig log details the process of Player's attempt to compile the modules. Here's the one from the failure:
          Code:
          steve@t520:~$ [B]cat /tmp/vmware-steve/vmware-modconfig-4338.log[/B]
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.159-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Log for VMware Workstation pid=4338 version=9.0.2 build=build-1031769 option=Release
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.159-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The process is 64-bit.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.159-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Host codepage=UTF-8 encoding=UTF-8
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.159-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Host is Linux 3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64 Ubuntu 13.04
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.157-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Msg_Reset:
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.157-08:00| vthread-3| I120: [msg.dictionary.load.openFailed] Cannot open file "/usr/lib/vmware/settings": No such file or directory.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.157-08:00| vthread-3| I120: ----------------------------------------
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.157-08:00| vthread-3| I120: PREF Optional preferences file not found at /usr/lib/vmware/settings. Using default values.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.158-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Msg_Reset:
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.158-08:00| vthread-3| I120: [msg.dictionary.load.openFailed] Cannot open file "/home/steve/.vmware/config": No such file or directory.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.158-08:00| vthread-3| I120: ----------------------------------------
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.158-08:00| vthread-3| I120: PREF Optional preferences file not found at /home/steve/.vmware/config. Using default values.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.160-08:00| vthread-3| W110: Logging to /tmp/vmware-steve/vmware-modconfig-4338.log
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Reading in info for the vmmon module.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Reading in info for the vmnet module.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Reading in info for the vmblock module.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Reading in info for the vmci module.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Reading in info for the vsock module.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Setting vsock to depend on vmci.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Created new pathsHash.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.180-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Invoking modinfo on "vmmon".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.181-08:00| vthread-3| I120: "/sbin/modinfo" exited with status 256.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.181-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Invoking modinfo on "vmnet".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.182-08:00| vthread-3| I120: "/sbin/modinfo" exited with status 256.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.182-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Invoking modinfo on "vmblock".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.183-08:00| vthread-3| I120: "/sbin/modinfo" exited with status 256.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.183-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Invoking modinfo on "vmci".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.184-08:00| vthread-3| I120: "/sbin/modinfo" exited with status 256.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.184-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Invoking modinfo on "vsock".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.185-08:00| vthread-3| I120: "/sbin/modinfo" exited with status 0.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.195-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Obtaining info using the running kernel.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.195-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Setting header path for 3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64 to "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.195-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Validating path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for kernel release "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.204-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Preprocessed UTS_RELEASE, got value "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.204-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The header path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for the kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64" is valid.  Whoohoo!
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.306-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Kernel header path retrieved from FileEntry: /lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.306-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Update kernel header path to /lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.306-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Validating path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for kernel release "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.310-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Preprocessed UTS_RELEASE, got value "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.310-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The header path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for the kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64" is valid.  Whoohoo!
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.311-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Found compiler at "/usr/bin/gcc"
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.312-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Got gcc version "4.7".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.312-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The GCC version matches the kernel GCC minor version like a glove.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.313-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Using user supplied compiler "/usr/bin/gcc".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.314-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Got gcc version "4.7".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.314-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The GCC version matches the kernel GCC minor version like a glove.
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.370-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Trying to find a suitable PBM set for kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.370-08:00| vthread-3| I120: No matching PBM set was found for kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.370-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Validating path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for kernel release "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.377-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Preprocessed UTS_RELEASE, got value "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.377-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The header path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for the kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64" is valid.  Whoohoo!
          2013-06-09T13:02:17.377-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The GCC version matches the kernel GCC minor version like a glove.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.515-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Validating path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for kernel release "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.520-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Preprocessed UTS_RELEASE, got value "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64".
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.520-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The header path "/lib/modules/3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64/build/include" for the kernel "3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64" is valid.  Whoohoo!
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.520-08:00| vthread-3| I120: The GCC version matches the kernel GCC minor version like a glove.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.520-08:00| vthread-3| I120: Relaunching with /usr/bin/vmware-gksu '/usr/bin/vmware-modconfig' --icon='vmware-player' --appname='VMware'
          Note that at the very end, Player calls vmware-gksu to launch vmware-modconfig.

          An apploader log details the subsequent steps. Here's the one from the failure:
          Code:
          steve@t520:~$ [b]cat /tmp/vmware-steve/vmware-apploader-4338.log[/b]
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.528-08:00| appLoader| I120: Log for VMware Workstation pid=4338 version=9.0.2 build=build-1031769 option=Release
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.528-08:00| appLoader| I120: The process is 64-bit.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.528-08:00| appLoader| I120: Host codepage=UTF-8 encoding=UTF-8
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.528-08:00| appLoader| I120: Host is Linux 3.9-5.dmz.1-liquorix-amd64 Ubuntu 13.04
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: Invocation: "/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-gksu --sudo-mode --message=Please enter your password to proceed. '/usr/bin/vmware-modconfig' --icon='vmware-player' --appname='VMware'"
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: Calling: "/usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-gksu --sudo-mode --message=Please enter your password to proceed. '/usr/bin/vmware-modconfig' --icon='vmware-player' --appname='VMware'"
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: VMDEVEL not set.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: VMWARE_SHIPPED_LIBS_LIST is not set.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: VMWARE_SYSTEM_LIBS_LIST is not set.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_LIBS is not set.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: VMWARE_USE_SYSTEM_LIBS is not set.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: Using configuration file /etc/vmware/config.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.560-08:00| appLoader| I120: Using library directory:  /usr/lib/vmware.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.561-08:00| appLoader| I120: Shipped glib version is 2.24
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.561-08:00| appLoader| I120: System glib version is 2.36
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.561-08:00| appLoader| I120: Using system version of glib.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.561-08:00| appLoader| I120: Detected VMware library libvmware-gksu.so.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.561-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libvmware-gksu.so node as SHIPPED.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libglib-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgmodule-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgobject-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXfixes.so.3 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libfontconfig.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libz.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libfreetype.so.6 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libpango-1.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libpangoft2-1.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libcairo.so.2 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXdamage.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXcomposite.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXcursor.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXrandr.so.2 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXinerama.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXrender.so.1 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libpangocairo-1.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgdk_pixbuf-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libatk-1.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgdk-x11-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.562-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgksu2.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgtop-2.0.so.7 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXau.so.6 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgthread-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgio-2.0.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libpng12.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libpixman-1.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.563-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libexpat.so.0 node as INVALID.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.577-08:00| appLoader| I120: Created dependency tree.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.581-08:00| appLoader| I120: Accessibility is not enabled.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.585-08:00| appLoader| I120: Accessibility is not enabled.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.585-08:00| appLoader| I120: -- Processing libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 --
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: GTK: gtk_major_version: Comparing 2 with 2
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: GTK: gtk_minor_version: Comparing 24 with 20
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 validator returned true.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 node as SYSTEM.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: -- Finished processing libgtk-x11-2.0.so.0 --
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: -- Processing libglib-2.0.so.0 --
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: GLib: glib_major_version: Comparing 2 with 2
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: GLib: glib_minor_version: Comparing 36 with 36
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: libglib-2.0.so.0 validator returned true.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libglib-2.0.so.0 node as SYSTEM.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: -- Finished processing libglib-2.0.so.0 --
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.589-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgksu2.so.0 node as SHIPPED.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.590-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libgtop-2.0.so.7 node as SHIPPED.
          2013-06-09T13:02:18.590-08:00| appLoader| I120: Marking libXau.so.6 node as SYSTEM.
          2013-06-09T13:02:19.093-08:00| appLoader| W110: Child process was terminated with signal 11.
          2013-06-09T13:02:19.094-08:00| appLoader| W110: Unable to load dependencies for /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libvmware-gksu.so/libvmware-gksu.so
          2013-06-09T13:02:19.094-08:00| appLoader| W110: Unable to execute /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-gksu.
          The problem lies at the very end: vmware-gksu simply won't load. I forget how I made the connection before, but I'm fairly certain the new version of libc6 is the culprit. Or, properly stated, a bug in vmware-gksu prevents it from self-elevating when the newer libc6 is present on a system.

          Fortunately, we can work around this with the procedure I described earlier. Using sudo to manually elevate vmware-modconfig allows the modules to compile.

          Comment


            #6
            Do you have dkms installed?
            Windows no longer obstructs my view.
            Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
            "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes

            Comment


              #7
              Yep, need it for the nVidia drivers. Which, BTW, take care of themselves via DKMS very well.

              Thing is, VMware Player has not been written to use DKMS. Therefore, each time the kernel is updated, the modules must be recompiled. Before libc6 was updated, VMware's installer scripts and custom vmware-gksu worked just fine. The newer version of libc6 appears to have exposed a bug in vmware-gksu, and it can no longer self-elevate. That's why you have to do it yourself.

              Comment


                #8
                When I was using VMware, I installed dkms specifically because it was required to keep the modules updated when a new kernel came down. Has that changed?
                Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes

                Comment


                  #9
                  Was that for the free WMware Player, or one of their commercial products?

                  I wonder if you might be thinking of open-vm-tools. This is a package you can install inside *buntu guests to supply open-source tools to the guest. You can integrate this package with DKMS by installing open-vm-dkms in the guest. Here, then, you can rely on DKMS to keep the modules compiled when running *buntu in a virtual machine.

                  But there is no integration of DKMS with VMware Player on hosts. To contrast, VirtualBox does integrate with DKMS for managing host modules. The only thing that keeps me on Player is VMware's unity feature, which integrates guest windows onto the host's desktop and task switcher. It's much better than VirtualBox's "seamless mode." In all other respects, VirtualBox far exceeds Player's capabilities.

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                    #10
                    Not sure; it's been awhile since I used VMWare, and yes, it was the free VMWare Player. What I remember, is that when ever a new kernel was installed, that dkms took care of updating/rebuilding the necessary vmware modules.
                    Windows no longer obstructs my view.
                    Using Kubuntu Linux since March 23, 2007.
                    "It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has data." - Sherlock Holmes

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                      #11
                      I wonder if you used an older version? Wouldn't surprise me if they dropped that feature. VMware has been known to do such things...

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                        #12
                        UPDATE

                        The new VMware Player 6.0 installs on 13.04 without any tinkering. I would still suggest skipping VMware's goofy download manager and obtaining the bits directly from the VMware repository for Player. Once there, navigate to the latest version number (6.0.0 as of this writing), then the highest-numbered directory after that (no, I have no clue what it means), then linux, then core. Download the correct player for your host machine architecture (i386 or x86_64).

                        After you've downloaded it, install it like this:
                        Code:
                        cd [i]/path/to/download/location[/i] 
                        
                        tar -xvf VMware-Player-[i]version[/i]-[i]whatever[/i]-[i]arch[/i].bundle.tar
                        
                        sudo ./VMware-Player-[i]version[/i]-[i]whatever[/i]-[i]arch[/i].bundle --console
                        The extracted file is already marked as executable, so it isn't necessary to spawn a subshell as suggested in the documentation. Running it console mode shows all status messages rather than hiding some behind a pretty (ugly) Gtk+ window.

                        It is not necessary to separately download and install the tools anymore, as the automatic download within Player appears to be working now.

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