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GBYTE
Contributor
Contributor

Need VMWare Workstation 7.1.4 to start with server

Hi,

I have installed Workstation 7 onto an SBS 2008 server and need to know how to get Workstation to restart automatically when the server restarts.

Currently when we reboot the server we have to restart Workstation as well and I need this to be automated.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

google for "run a VM as a service"
you will find several ways to do the easy part of  it - start the VM at Windows start

the tricky part is the "stop VM at Windows stop" and AFAIK there exists no Howto for that

if you simply want some VMs to start at Windows start create a shortcut tothe vmx-file in the autostart folder of the startmenu


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

Just to add what has already been said, running a Virtual Machine as a Service with VMware Workstation is not supported like it is with VMware Server and just an FYI if you do not properly shutdown/suspend any running Virtual Machines that were started as a Service running under VMware Workstation before shuting down/rebooting the Host then you risk damaging the virtual hard disk and quite possibly beyond repair.  With that said if you do run as a Service with VMware Workstation you better have and keep both User Data backups of data that resides in the Virtual Machines as well as the Virtual Machines themselves.

Another consideration is to use VMware Server even thought it is appears to not being maintained anymore it is a safer way to run Virtual Machines as a Service as they are automatically and properly shutdown prior to Host shutdown/reboot and restarted when the Host is started.

Otherwise if you just want the Virtual Machine started automatically when logging onto the Desktop then the image below gives the particulars on a Windows 7 Host and you can glean from it what needs to be done.

(Click image to enlarge.)

http___communities.vmware.com_servlet_JiveServlet_showImage_2-1765454-14500_Shortcut_example.png

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hartman19
Contributor
Contributor

so, if I want to start my vm before entering in windows i've to install vmware server?

I have a pro version of vmware workstation 7, i've to buy the pro version of vmw server?

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hartman19
Contributor
Contributor

I've installed vmware server 2.0.2 and mount on it my vms, it works: when i turn on my pc vms start before entering in windows

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

hartman19 wrote:

so, if I want to start my vm before entering in windows i've to install vmware server?

If you want then to Start/Shutdown Virtual Machines automatically in a safe and manageable manner then yes VMware Server does that and VMware Workstation by itself cannot.

I have a pro version of vmware workstation 7, i've to buy the pro version of vmw server?

VMware Workstation falls under the "Desktop & End-User Computing" category and does not use the moniker "Professional" although it is geared for and used by many professionals.

VMware Server is "Free Product" and it too does not use the moniker "Professional".  Keep in mind if you do choose to use VMware Server that it appears to be no longer maintained, so consider carefully if using it in a Enterprise Environment.

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hartman19
Contributor
Contributor

WoodyZ ha scritto:

hartman19 wrote:

so, if I want to start my vm before entering in windows i've to install vmware server?

If you want then to Start/Shutdown Virtual Machines automatically in a safe and manageable manner then yes VMware Server does that and VMware Workstation by itself cannot.

I have a pro version of vmware workstation 7, i've to buy the pro version of vmw server?

VMware Workstation falls under the "Desktop & End-User Computing" category and does not use the moniker "Professional" although it is geared for and used by many professionals.

VMware Server is "Free Product" and it too does not use the moniker "Professional".  Keep in mind if you do choose to use VMware Server that it appears to be no longer maintained, so consider carefully if using it in a Enterprise Environment.

Thanks WoodyZ, just what I needed

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hartman19
Contributor
Contributor

sorry, i'm me again...

last question i hope...i've installed vmware server 2.0.2 on windows 7 and it works perfectly, but when I've tried it on windows server 2000 its service doesn't start at the power on so I've started it manually but however I can't connect to //"pc-name":8333/ui/

someone know how it's possible? and how can I solve this problem? perhaps previews version of vmware could work on windows server 2000?

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

Have you tried Workstation 8? It provides the functionality you are looking for (note: I assume when you say you want to start WS when the host starts, you really want some VMs to start when the host boots up).

* Install WS 8.

* Open the VMs you want to start with the server.

* In the Library window, drag these VMs to the "Shared VMs" item.

* Right click on "Shared VMs".

* Select "Manage AutoStart VMs"

* Check the checkboxes for all the VMs you want to autostart.

Now, whenever the host boots up, these VMs will be powered on. When the host powers off, these VMs will be cleanly powered off.

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WoodyZ
Immortal
Immortal

dork_lord wrote:

Have you tried Workstation 8?

The latest GA release of VMware Workstation is 7.1.4 and AFAIK the beta is not and open public beta yet and the NDA prohibits you from talking about it outside of the beta forum! Smiley Wink

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friendofvm
Contributor
Contributor

Hello all,

subject and discussion of this thread exactly meet the problem of my own (experimental) environment. With Windows Server 2008 R2 (SBS 2011), I'm testing a simple solution to get run an incompatible, old server application on that new Windows Server. The only way to success seems to be virtualization (Guest OS is Windows XP). Unfortunately, VMware Server does not support Windows Server 2008 R2, officially. On the other hand, VMware’s current server solution offering, ESXi hypervisor, would require a completely different server installation and impose some inacceptable new restrictions while running the Windows Server within a VM (for example, Microsoft's fax server role doesn’t accept virtual hardware). Hence, there is no practicable way to resolve the task “cleanly” with current VMware products (as far as I understood the matter correctly?).

As a consequence, I’d like to put two questions here:

1. May anybody of the experienced users predict that VMware Server will probably still work on a Windows Server 2008 R2 host (Windows Server 2008 64 Bit is officially supported)?

2. Can anybody else confirm the posting of “dork_lord” about VMware Workstation 8 whose new features announced in that posting would resolve the problem in an appropriate way?

Many thanks for the very useful discussion here, so far – as well as in advance for upcoming answers on my two questions.

Kind regards,

friendofvm

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continuum
Immortal
Immortal

1. VMserver on 2008 R2 m ay work - but honestly VMserver is one of the worst programs VMware ever released - forget it

follow the road suggested by dork_lord - that rocks way better and will make you forget VMserver at once


________________________________________________
Do you need support with a VMFS recovery problem ? - send a message via skype "sanbarrow"
I do not support Workstation 16 at this time ...

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