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GolemMr
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Does VmWare still offer a Free version of Player for Windows???

Hey All

New here, though I have an account for years.

I was having problems with a Linux distro installed in my version of Windows 7 VmWare 7.1.3 build-3206955 and starting looking to see if I had the latest VmWare version. When I click check for Upgrades in VmWare, I get "No Update available" and then a message to get Workstation 12. I cannot find any link to a Free version anymore. All I see is a Paid version of Workstation Player 12 though a FAQ link mentions Free for Home Use.

Should I upgrade to this version?

Will it be free for me (Home Use)?

Will it be backward compatible with my ONE and ONLY Kubuntu 14.04 distro? (I have already read some complaints, on this board, about not being able to load old installs after upgrade)

Are there any advantages to upgrading (if Free)?

Are there any precaution to keep in mind for an upgrade (again, if Free)?

Thanks in advance for any help provided.

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FusionPenguin
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Hi Golem,

VMWare Workstation has two different flavours :

- Workstation "Pro"

- Workstation "Player".

Both can do the same, and both are BASICALLY paid software...

But as "Workstation Pro" has more advanced features (that you may never need) it costs more than "Workstation Player".

And VMWare explicitly says that the use of VMWare Workstation Player is FREE if you do not use it for commercial needs.

Of course, this is then between you and your conscience 🙂

Upon install of Workstation Player you're asked for a serial number, but can decide to leave that field blank by stating that you will use it for a non commercial use.

I think all Workstation versions are equal performance wise. They just differ features wise.

As I haven't used Workstation before a few weeks, I can't tell if you will get any benefits if you upgrade an older version.

Regards.

FRED

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FusionPenguin
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Hi Golem,

VMWare Workstation has two different flavours :

- Workstation "Pro"

- Workstation "Player".

Both can do the same, and both are BASICALLY paid software...

But as "Workstation Pro" has more advanced features (that you may never need) it costs more than "Workstation Player".

And VMWare explicitly says that the use of VMWare Workstation Player is FREE if you do not use it for commercial needs.

Of course, this is then between you and your conscience 🙂

Upon install of Workstation Player you're asked for a serial number, but can decide to leave that field blank by stating that you will use it for a non commercial use.

I think all Workstation versions are equal performance wise. They just differ features wise.

As I haven't used Workstation before a few weeks, I can't tell if you will get any benefits if you upgrade an older version.

Regards.

FRED

GolemMr
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Fred,

Thanks for this info and the rapid reply. I will consider the upgrade if I continue to have problems with my present install. Yesterday I was having all kinds of other problems when trying to create a few new Linux distros with version 7, so this brought me here.

I also had a bunch of problems trying to login "Here" because I had never used the account and the login process and verification would not let me in. Fixed, now, of course. Funny that you see me as Golem (the user name I wanted) because  when I tried to register it today, it said it was already in use and I was forced to try GolemMr. When I view my own post, I do not see my screen name, but my actual full Name.

Again, thanks for the clarifications.

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FusionPenguin
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Hi,

Sorry to delude you : I wrote "Golem" to make it slightly quicker 🙂

You appear as "GolemMr" 😞

I can't say about VMWare Workstation 7. I never used it.

But what I can say is I do it the other side as you do : I run VMWare Workstation Player in Linux (Debian Stable and Testing) to run Winodws 10 for the rare few apps that I can't have under Linux (Microsoft Office, because I need the "SmartArt" thing, and that does not exist in Libre/Open Office...).

And in that configuration, it's like "Wow !" : it's loaded with features, it's blazing fast (Win10 boots in 12-14 seconds instead of 10-12 seconds when booting natively on the same hardware)... and it's free (as I do not use for commercial purposes). What more can you wish for ?

So if you have problems with the previous version, I would advise to upgrade... What bad can it do ? If it doesn't work, just reinstall the old version.

Regards.

FRED

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GolemMr
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Fred,

Thanks for the clear up about my screen name. 😉 Login here gave me so much grief to re-register, and confirm, and update, and re-login..., I did not understand. Now I get it. 🙂

My now new question (wondering) is: if I can install Workstation Player as a standalone and keep the old VmWare Player install? I will wait a few days and probably start a second thread for this one.

My problem, from the past, is each time I updated VmWare Player, from v4, to v5, to v6 and now to v7, I have "always" lost my Distro installs because they all became unusable, or were no longer compatible, or the Player would refuse to start, or crash without an error message (hard to fix those), etc. I have had to rebuild everything each time and start new. Not fun at all. Updating has never been a good experience for me.

I have somewhat corrected the bug that made me want to check for an upgrade of the Player, but still not sure I will attempt the install of Workstation 12.

Thanks again for your time.

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FusionPenguin
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Hi Golem,

Well, I have little experience with VMWare Player as I switched to Linux recently and was running MacOS before that.

But I used to use the "Mac" version of Workstation Player which is called "Fusion".

And with Fusion, I never had a problem "recycling" an old virtual machine running Linux or Windows when I upgraded to a new version... and even if I skipped a major version upgrade !

This is why your post seems surprising.

Will wait for Player 13 to check it 🙂

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