Trying to do support for the current Workstation is getting more and more frustrating.
I noticed that more and more frequently I recommend not to use WS 7 at all.
Here are some typical questions (red) - my typical answers are marked in blue
I need stable and functional USB-support - which product should I use ?
If USB-support is important WS 7 is out of the question - use WS 6.5.4
I can not install WS 7 on Windows ?
use WS 6.5.4 when the howto I wrote does not help
I want to run lots of VMs on 2008 R2 - which product should I use ?
use VirtualBOX - or if that is no option use 6.5.5
I need stable NAT - which product should I use ?
replace the VMware NAT service with a VM that does offer NAT
What are the new features of WS 7 ?
sorry - don't know any new feature worth mentioning - if you run 6.5 now there is no reason to change
I run WS 7.0.1 now - should I get latest version ?
NO - AFAIK 7.0.1 is already the best WS 7 version. If your current setup works - do not update
I run WS 6.5.4 now - should I get WS 7
NO - for heavens sake - you already have the best version installed - wait for 7.5
I use Linux with new kernels .... ?
consider VirtualBOX unless you are ready to become a Linux-kernel hacker
Is VirtualBOX still slower then Workstation ?
no
Many times when I see a problem posted I know that the user must be running WS 7 on Windows 7 before I even read the post.
When will this situation change ???
If there is no new version in sight please at least write a comprehensive guide for USB-troubleshooting.
We need something that is more visible then some kb entries ...
Yes - I know that you can not comment on future versions - but telling us if you think you can fix the well known current problems in a reasonable timeframe should be possible ...
Suggestion: ask the engineers responsible for USB and the Installer to spend one hour a day in the forum so that they have to "pay" for their sloppy quality control.
regards Ulli
Thanks a lot for your reply.
I really love the idea from pavel-a, if it's only the keyboard driver which is the reason for a reboot, to only replace it in an upgrade if needed. This would maybe results in less reboots.
Sometimes when I update workstation with an internet connection and later start a VM at a customer without internet access it might be that the vmware tools try to download stuff from the internet. I have to cancel it while I can still update the vmware tools in this VM.
So my idea would be to have a check for updated tools button and the choice of choosing which one I need to download (Windows/Linux). I could do this while I'm connected to the internet. Then when I'm offline and when I need to update tools for a VM there could be a dialog asking whether to check if there are newer or if I want to use the existing tools on my host harddisk.
Another thing for suspended VMs would be in case of an update/upgrade to warn the user that this might be a problem.
I had recently read about a user changing RAM settings for a suspended VM and the problems which might be result in this. Maybe a simple warning that this might be crashing the VM as well as older VM memory snapshots would be nice.
Another nice feature would be to have the "Send CTRL-ALT-DEL" in the context menu of the powered on VM.