Problem with installing VMware tools

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

I can not seem to install VMware Tools 3.5.0 build-110271. Can someone help me I have the correct header installed? I just have no where to go form this piont. My searches have gotten me no where.

nux steve 2.6.26-2-686 #1 SMP Wed Aug 19 06:06:52 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

steve:~/vmware-tools-distrib# cat /etc/debian_version

5.0.3

Stopping VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:

Guest operating system daemon: done

Trying to find a suitable vmmemctl module for your running kernel.

None of the pre-built vmmemctl modules for VMware Tools is suitable for your

running kernel. Do you want this program to try to build the vmmemctl module

for your system (you need to have a C compiler installed on your system)?

Using compiler "/usr/bin/gcc". Use environment variable CC to override.

What is the location of the directory of C header files that match your running

kernel?

Extracting the sources of the vmmemctl module.

Building the vmmemctl module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.

make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only'

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-686/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules

make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

CC /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only/backdoorGcc32.o

CC /tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only/os.o

/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only/os.c: In function ‘os_init’:

/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only/os.c:590: error: ‘struct proc_dir_entry’ has no member named ‘get_info’

make[2]: *** Error 1

make[1]: *** Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

make: *** http://vmmemctl.ko Error 2

make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmemctl-only'

Unable to build the vmmemctl module.

The memory manager driver (vmmemctl module) is used by VMware host software to

efficiently reclaim memory from a virtual machine.

If the driver is not available, VMware host software may instead need to swap

guest memory to disk, which may reduce performance.

The rest of the software provided by VMware Tools is designed to work

independently of this feature.

If you want the memory management feature, you can install the driver by

running vmware-config-tools.pl again after making sure that gcc, binutils, make

and the kernel sources for your running kernel are installed on your machine.

These packages are available on your distribution's installation CD.

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Have you by chance updated a kernel without rebooting?

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

No I have not.

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

run uname -a

Sorry I just saw it.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

I reposted it anyways.

steve:~/vmware-tools-distrib# uname -a

Linux steve 2.6.26-2-686 #1 SMP Wed Aug 19 06:06:52 UTC 2009 i686 GNU/Linux

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Have you looked at http://www.vmware.com/download/packages.html

Lets you update with apt

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

So you want me to try the Ubuntu repos? I have VMware ESXi 3i, 3.5.0, 110271

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

No not suggesting you use it just asked if you had seen it. There is open-vm-tools for debian.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

Nope I have not seen it, but I heave tried to install from apt-get. All I get is this;

steve:~/.vmware_key# apt-cache search vmware

libview-dev - VMware's Incredibly Exciting Widgets

libview2 - VMware's Incredibly Exciting Widgets

libview2-dbg - VMware's Incredibly Exciting Widgets

xserver-xorg-input-vmmouse - X.Org X server -- VMMouse input driver to use with VMWare

xserver-xorg-video-vmware - X.Org X server -- VMware display driver

open-vm-tools-kmod-source - Source package for VMware Tools kernel modules

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Perhaps a combination of your old version of ESXi and the vmware tools packages and your kernel??

http://www.howtoforge.com/vmware_tools_on_linux

http://communities.vmware.com/thread/151119

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

Thank you for your help. As for the first link I followed that one already.

The second link you gave me pionted out a header issue. which I do not have;

steve:~/.vmware_key# apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Reading package lists... Done

Building dependency tree

Reading state information... Done

linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686 is already the newest version.

0 upgraded, 0 newly installed, 0 to remove and 3 not upgraded.

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

If the headers weren't there it wouldn't even start the compile.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

https://www.vmware.com/mysupport/download/

Have a look through the vmware tools patches and see if there is anything related in the kb references. Your ESXi install is rather old. Not that you need to update but . . .

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

Thanks again, I will look into updateing ESXi it something I been thinking of doing.

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

I just installed a Debian on an ESXi 3.5. Although a much newer version of ESXi and therefore newer version of tools, it fails in the same way. It does however give good feedback which yours does not show. It fails because the kernel is compiled with gcc 4.1.3 and the current version is 4.3.2.

Just install gcc-4.1 and set the symbolic link to gcc to point to the 4.13 compiler. Works fine after that

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

This is what I get.

Your kernel was built with "gcc" version "4.1.3", while you are trying to use

"/usr/bin/gcc" version "4.3.2". This configuration is not recommended and

VMware Tools may crash if you'll continue. Please try to use exactly same

compiler as one used for building your kernel. Do you want to go with compiler

"/usr/bin/gcc" version "4.3.2" anyway? yes

What is the location of the directory of C header files that match your running

kernel?

Extracting the sources of the vmmemctl module.

Building the vmmemctl module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.

make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmemctl-only'

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-686/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules

make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmemctl-only/Makefile:104: *** Inappropriate build environment: you wanted to use gcc version 4.3.2 while kernel attempts to use gcc version 4.1.3.

/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmemctl-only/Makefile:106: *** For proper build you'll have to replace gcc-4.1 with symbolic link to /usr/bin/gcc. Stop.

make[1]: *** Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

make: *** http://vmmemctl.ko Error 2

make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config1/vmmemctl-only'

Unable to build the vmmemctl module.

The memory manager driver (vmmemctl module) is used by VMware host software to

efficiently reclaim memory from a virtual machine.

If the driver is not available, VMware host software may instead need to swap

guest memory to disk, which may reduce performance.

The rest of the software provided by VMware Tools is designed to work

independently of this feature.

If you want the memory management feature, you can install the driver by

running vmware-config-tools.pl again after making sure that gcc, binutils, make

and the kernel sources for your running kernel are installed on your machine.

These packages are available on your distribution's installation CD.

^XCsteve:~/vmware-tools-distrib#

steve:~/vmware-tools-distrib#

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Just install the gcc-4.1 compiler. replace the symlink /usr/bin/gcc (it will currently point to /usr/bin/gcc-4.3) to the newly installed /usr/bin/gcc-4.1. then rerun the vmware-config-tools script.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

lunarblu · ‎10-13-2009

Thanks for the reply.

This is what I have currently. With gcc-4.1 I get this error. The past error I posted I used gcc-4.3.

lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 16 2009-10-13 16:37 gcc -> /usr/bin/gcc-4.1

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 196996 2009-01-18 10:39 gcc-4.1

-rwxr-xr-x 1 root root 207648 2008-12-31 07:52 gcc-4.3

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.

make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only'

make -C /lib/modules/2.6.26-2-686/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules

make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

CC /tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only/backdoorGcc32.o

CC /tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only/os.o

/tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only/os.c: In function ‘os_init’:

/tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only/os.c:590: error: ‘struct proc_dir_entry’ has no member named ‘get_info’

make[2]: *** Error 1

make[1]: *** Error 2

make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.26-2-686'

make: *** http://vmmemctl.ko Error 2

make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config2/vmmemctl-only'

Unable to build the vmmemctl module.

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Easier to use export after you install the compiler rather than symlink.

#export CC=/usr/bin/gcc-4-1

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator

DSTAVERT · ‎10-13-2009

Going to go back to my earlier thought. Tools (ESXi) too old to match current kernels. get_info was removed from kernel sources.

Time to update.

-- David -- VMware Communities Moderator