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bdevay
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Crash VMware 16.2.1 - Windows Host - Ubuntu Guest - OneDrive, SharedFolder, SATA Error, VMware Tools

Hi All,

Reproduction steps:

- Install Windows 10 (see below the environment info)

- Install MS OneDrive for Windows (21.230.1107.0004, part of Office 365)

- Install VMware Workstation Player for Windows (see below the environment info)

- Install Ubuntu (see below the environment info)

- Install Midnight Commander 

- Create a shared folder pointed to the synchronized OneDrive folder

Behavior:

When I opened the /mnt/hgfs folder with MC, the OneDrive folder was accessible. Nevertheless, entering into a subfolder took minutes besides an extensive CPU usage. After opening the 3rd subfolder, the whole VM was frozen. I tried to remove the shared folder under the Settings (VM was still running) but after clicking on the Close button, the Settings dialog has got frozen too. I killed the VM from the Windows Task Manager successfully.

After restarting the VM I got the following error message

bdevay_1-1639834527505.png

bdevay_3-1639834605550.png

I can get rid of this error message by removing the CD/DVD (SATA) device.

Even though I set up any other folder as a shared folder, the hgfs folder is empty.

The Reinstall VMware Tools... menu item is greyed out:

bdevay_4-1639834781919.png

The VM seems functioning properly but the shared folder functionality doesn't work anymore.

Do you have an idea

- why did it happen?

- how to fix this issue (without reinstalling the guest)?

---------------------- Info ----------------------------

mksSandbox log files are attached.

Windows info

Processor Intel(R) Core(TM) i9-9900K CPU @ 3.60GHz 3.60 GHz
Installed RAM 32.0 GB
System type 64-bit operating system, x64-based processor
Edition Windows 10 Pro
Version 21H2
Installed on ‎14/‎10/‎2021
OS build 19044.1348
Experience Windows Feature Experience Pack 120.2212.3920.0

VMware info

bdevay_0-1639833562174.png

Ubuntu info

Linux ubuntu 5.13.0-22-generic #22-Ubuntu SMP Fri Nov 5 13:21:36 UTC 2021 x86_64 x86_64 x86_64 GNU/Linux

MC info

GNU Midnight Commander 4.8.26
Built with GLib 2.68.1
Built with S-Lang 2.3.2 with terminfo database
With builtin Editor and Aspell support
With subshell support as default
With support for background operations
With mouse support on xterm and Linux console
With support for X11 events
With internationalization support
With multiple codepages support
With ext2fs attributes support
Virtual File Systems:
cpiofs, tarfs, sfs, extfs, ext2undelfs, ftpfs, sftpfs, fish
Data types:
char: 8; int: 32; long: 64; void *: 64; size_t: 64; off_t: 64;

 

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bdevay
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Oh, I figured out the problem with the CD/DVD (SATA) device.

I've found the entries in the VM config:

sata0:1.autoDetect = "TRUE"
sata0:1.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
sata0:1.fileName = "auto detect"
sata0:1.present = "TRUE"
sata0:1.startConnected = "FALSE"
sata0:1.connectionStatus = "4"

The issue has been solved by simply removing the entries.

One step closer 🙂

But, the automatically attached VMware Tools is for Windows:

bdevay_0-1639919160986.png

 

This instruction is about how to install from tgz: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1022525

Where can I find the ISO for Ubuntu?

 

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CarltonR
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VMware Tools for Ubuntu [if connected to the Internet]

   Prerequisites
   Like installing any other software on the guest, set up the package repository properly for the guest.

   Procedure
      Ubuntu, Debian, and Related OSes

        a. Ensure that the package index is updated:
                 sudo apt-get update
        b. If the VM has a GUI (X11, and so on), install or upgrade open-vm-tools-desktop:
                 sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-desktop
        c. Otherwise, use the command to install open-vm-tools:
                 sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools

 

Excerpt reference: Install Open VM Tools (vmware.com)

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CarltonR
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VMware Tools: The reason that the menu is greyed out is that it requires the 'CD/DVD (SATA)' device to be present.

Shared folder: I suspect that the error messages may well be related, for which, I would suggest you search on this forum where you will find a wealth of information covering this topic.

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wila
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Hi,

Try attaching the vmware.log files, the mkssandbox logs are only for the virtual graphics card and have no info about anything that happens with VMware shared folders or .vmx config.

 

edit: on rereading your issue. The shared folders not returning is probably another issue, see the following snippet:

 

https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Tools/11.3/rn/VMware-Tools-1130-Release-Notes.html

VMware Tools Issues in VMware Workstation or Fusion

Shared Folders mount is unavailable on Linux VM. If the Shared Folders feature is enabled on a Linux VM while it is powered off, the shared folders mount is not available on restart.

Note: This issue is applicable to VMware Tools running on Workstation and Fusion.

Workaround:

If the VM is powered on, disable and enable the Shared Folders feature from the interface. For resolving the issue permanently, edit /etc/fstab and add an entry to mount the Shared Folders automatically on boot.

For example, add the line:

vmhgfs-fuse   /mnt/hgfs    fuse    defaults,allow_other    0    0

Before you do that, you might want to check that things are setup correctly. Try running the following:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/hgfs/
sudo /usr/bin/vmhgfs-fuse .host:/ /mnt/hgfs/ -o subtype=vmhgfs-fuse,allow_other


also see:

https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/74650

--
Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
bdevay
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Thank you @wila! I'm going to check your hint. Anyway, vmware-0.log and vmware-1.log were added to the report.

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bdevay
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@wila, unfortunately, the shared folder doesn't work anymore, even not with disabling/enabling it on the running machine.

Is there any way to purge the VmWare Tools from the guest and install it from binary (I couldn't even find the binary installer for Ubuntu)?

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CarltonR
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Installing VMware Tools in an Ubuntu Virtual Machine (1022525)
   https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1022525

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bdevay
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@CarltonR, thank you. As I mentioned in the description, the Reinstall VMware Tools... option is greyed out. Also, I can't connect CD/DVD (SATA) to the system because of the issue mentioned above. The only way to attach the CD/DVD (SATA) device to the VM is by selecting an ISO. But where can I find the ISO of VMware Tools for Ubuntu?

I can find it only for Windows here: https://customerconnect.vmware.com/downloads/details?downloadGroup=VMTOOLS1135&productId=742

As far as I understand, there should be a virtual physical device attached for the sake of VMware Tools, but attaching this device causes the issue mentioned in the description.

It's also unusual that I can't change the device settings because it's also greyed out.

bdevay_0-1639918116927.png

I presume that "something" happened when I was trying to open the OneDrive folder / killed the VM, and it caused a file corruption or something like this, which prevents me from using the shared folder functionality. My idea is reinstalling the VMware tools, but I'm still concerned whether it will help at all.

This issue must be related to the VM (not the host) because my other VM (Windows 11) works without any issue: I can switch from the ISO to the physical drive.

bdevay_1-1639918715928.png

 

Herer are the mounted devices, VMware Tools is not on this list.

sysfs on /sys type sysfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
proc on /proc type proc (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
udev on /dev type devtmpfs (rw,nosuid,relatime,size=8151952k,nr_inodes=2037988,mode=755,inode64)
devpts on /dev/pts type devpts (rw,nosuid,noexec,relatime,gid=5,mode=620,ptmxmode=000)
tmpfs on /run type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=1635460k,mode=755,inode64)
/dev/sda3 on / type ext4 (rw,relatime,errors=remount-ro)
securityfs on /sys/kernel/security type securityfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
tmpfs on /dev/shm type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,inode64)
tmpfs on /run/lock type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=5120k,inode64)
cgroup2 on /sys/fs/cgroup type cgroup2 (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,nsdelegate,memory_recursiveprot)
pstore on /sys/fs/pstore type pstore (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
none on /sys/fs/bpf type bpf (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,mode=700)
systemd-1 on /proc/sys/fs/binfmt_misc type autofs (rw,relatime,fd=29,pgrp=1,timeout=0,minproto=5,maxproto=5,direct,pipe_ino=26361)
hugetlbfs on /dev/hugepages type hugetlbfs (rw,relatime,pagesize=2M)
mqueue on /dev/mqueue type mqueue (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
debugfs on /sys/kernel/debug type debugfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
tracefs on /sys/kernel/tracing type tracefs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
fusectl on /sys/fs/fuse/connections type fusectl (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
configfs on /sys/kernel/config type configfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime)
vmware-vmblock on /run/vmblock-fuse type fuse.vmware-vmblock (rw,relatime,user_id=0,group_id=0,default_permissions,allow_other)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/bare_5.snap on /snap/bare/5 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/code_84.snap on /snap/code/84 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core_11993.snap on /snap/core/11993 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core20_1169.snap on /snap/core20/1169 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core_11743.snap on /snap/core/11743 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/firefox_767.snap on /snap/firefox/767 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snap-store_558.snap on /snap/snap-store/558 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/code_85.snap on /snap/code/85 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/snap-store_557.snap on /snap/snap-store/557 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/zoom-client_165.snap on /snap/zoom-client/165 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core18_2253.snap on /snap/core18/2253 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-38-2004_87.snap on /snap/gnome-3-38-2004/87 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gnome-3-38-2004_76.snap on /snap/gnome-3-38-2004/76 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/core20_1270.snap on /snap/core20/1270 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/firefox_747.snap on /snap/firefox/747 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/slack_49.snap on /snap/slack/49 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/var/lib/snapd/snaps/gtk-common-themes_1519.snap on /snap/gtk-common-themes/1519 type squashfs (ro,nodev,relatime,x-gdu.hide)
/dev/sda2 on /boot/efi type vfat (rw,relatime,fmask=0077,dmask=0077,codepage=437,iocharset=iso8859-1,shortname=mixed,errors=remount-ro)
tmpfs on /run/user/1000 type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,size=1635456k,nr_inodes=408864,mode=700,uid=1000,gid=1000,inode64)
gvfsd-fuse on /run/user/1000/gvfs type fuse.gvfsd-fuse (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)
portal on /run/user/1000/doc type fuse.portal (rw,nosuid,nodev,relatime,user_id=1000,group_id=1000)
tmpfs on /run/snapd/ns type tmpfs (rw,nosuid,nodev,noexec,relatime,size=1635460k,mode=755,inode64)
nsfs on /run/snapd/ns/snap-store.mnt type nsfs (rw)

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bdevay
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Oh, I figured out the problem with the CD/DVD (SATA) device.

I've found the entries in the VM config:

sata0:1.autoDetect = "TRUE"
sata0:1.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"
sata0:1.fileName = "auto detect"
sata0:1.present = "TRUE"
sata0:1.startConnected = "FALSE"
sata0:1.connectionStatus = "4"

The issue has been solved by simply removing the entries.

One step closer 🙂

But, the automatically attached VMware Tools is for Windows:

bdevay_0-1639919160986.png

 

This instruction is about how to install from tgz: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/1022525

Where can I find the ISO for Ubuntu?

 

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CarltonR
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VMware Tools for Ubuntu [if connected to the Internet]

   Prerequisites
   Like installing any other software on the guest, set up the package repository properly for the guest.

   Procedure
      Ubuntu, Debian, and Related OSes

        a. Ensure that the package index is updated:
                 sudo apt-get update
        b. If the VM has a GUI (X11, and so on), install or upgrade open-vm-tools-desktop:
                 sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools-desktop
        c. Otherwise, use the command to install open-vm-tools:
                 sudo apt-get install open-vm-tools

 

Excerpt reference: Install Open VM Tools (vmware.com)

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CarltonR
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VMware Tools for Ubuntu [Download Individual packages]

   https://packages.vmware.com/tools/releases/latest/

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CarltonR
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VMware Tools for Ubuntu [VMware Workstation Menu Install]

Prerequisites
   CD/DVD (SATA)' device has to be available to OS

Procedure

   1.  Make sure that the Linux Guest VM is powered off/down
   2. Power on Linux Guest VM [Do Not login]
   3. Go to the Workstations menu and select VM - Reinstall VMware Tool ...
   4. Login to the Linux Guest VM
   5. navigate to the Linux's CD/DVD where you should see the 'VMwareTools-version.tar.gz' package
   6. Install as you would do for any other package

 

Note: not sure whether this is an official method, but it worked for me

 

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bdevay
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Excellent! @CarltonR, thank you very much! I removed, purged, and reinstalled the package, and voila, it works again!

I appreciate the help from all of you.

We can close the topic.

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wila
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Hi,

As @CarltonR said, nowadays you should use open vmware tools that comes from your Linux distribution repository.

One note:


@bdevay wrote:

But, the automatically attached VMware Tools is for Windows:


This normally means that you've set the guest OS for that VM in VMware Player to Windows, so it does not match your guest OS actual operating system.
VMware player will use the vmware tools ISO that matches the configured guest OS.

edit: Somehow the above isn't true. I forgot you attached the vmware.log files and looked at them after writing this reply.
It has this line:

2021-12-17T07:07:23.778Z In(05) vmx DICT                   guestOS = "ubuntu-64"

So there goes my theory.

Also the crash that triggered was because of the graphics backend crashing, not because of shared folders.

--
Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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MarkR4
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I see there have been some accepted solutions posted already.

But is it possible that what you are seeing is a defect in VMWare Workstation Player? I am running VMWare Workstation, not Player, but I'm seeing Workstation crash and I don't have proof but I have a shared folder which is under OneDrive control, and by observation, the crash seems like it happens often when OneDrive is busy synchronizing

This seems like it could be a defect which is reported as fixed here in a March version of Workstation (again I don't know if Player is affected by it): https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/16.2.3/rn/vmware-workstation-pro-1623-release-note...

wila
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Hi,


@MarkR4 wrote:

I see there have been some accepted solutions posted already.

But is it possible that what you are seeing is a defect in VMWare Workstation Player? I am running VMWare Workstation, not Player, but I'm seeing Workstation crash and I don't have proof but I have a shared folder which is under OneDrive control, and by observation, the crash seems like it happens often when OneDrive is busy synchronizing

This seems like it could be a defect which is reported as fixed here in a March version of Workstation (again I don't know if Player is affected by it): https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/16.2.3/rn/vmware-workstation-pro-1623-release-note...


VMware shared folders for Player is the same as for the Pro version. It is a feature offered via VMware Tools and they will both be using the same version of VMware Tools.
FWIW, there's no mention of OneDrive in those release notes...

OneDrive isn't compatible with VMware Workstation/Player, it's a source of problems when combining that with VMware virtual machines. (*)

Although I admit that it is the first I hear about possible incompatibilities with shared folders and OneDrive. Should be easy enough to isolate and find out?

edit: You bumped an old thread.. so reread after I replied.. (oh dear)
The crash was in to a graphics backend as I mentioned up.. so not related to VMware Tools or OneDrive.

re. OneDrive incompatibility with VM's I should clarify that. It is a bad idea to put your VM in a folder that is synchronized by OneDrive (so running OneDrive at the host). I'm not aware about issues with OneDrive and Shared Folders, but they might exist.

--
Wil

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva
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