Hi,
Most likely because your embedded graphics adapter just isn't cutting it.
See:
Display Requirements for Host Systems
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Wil
Hi,
I believe that. Had a similar system in the past and it could do aero at host level, but not in the VM.
There's a certain amount of extra overhead needed at host level for the virtual graphics card to be able to provide this support in the guest.
Also note that you have to run the "Windows Experience Rating" test under control panel -> System to even enable aero.
There used to be info about intel HD embedded graphics cards in the system requirements, not sure why VMware no longer lists that info.
But FWIW here's a note on HD3000 : virtualization - How to fix 3D Acceleration for Vmware Workstation 9? - Ask Ubuntu and a .vmx hack on how-to get that one to provide better 3D support to the guest. Note that that is completely unsupported.
If I'm not mistaken then your GPU is an even older / less powerful model, so if I'm correct even less chance of getting it to work with aero.
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Wil
Hi,
You're still on Clarkdale from the looks of it:
and Sandy Bridge introduced HD2000 / HD3000 but those processors are not on a LGA1156.
I seem to remember you would need HD3000 for aero support within the guest.
Getting an i7 processor won't help, but a rather simple NVIDIA/AMD card would get you the minimum for aero support.
In the past I bought cheap clones for exactly that and that worked well.
As you saw in the first link you just need a NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT or later.
No need to splurge a lot of money on a very fancy card.
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Wil
The vmware.log in your virtual machine has the exact errors on why it isn't working..
But really you need another video card, NVIDIA GeForce 8800GT or later. (As mentioned in the previous message that I was editing while you replied, no need to spent a lot of money on an expensive video card, just buy a cheapy that is better as that GeForce)
Nothing that can be done about 3D guest support without that.
For example I have a host here with a GeForce 210 and it works well.
Note that it isn't exactly a card for gaming, but your system isn't a gaming rig either, so it might work out.
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Wil
I second what user "wila" is saying. An NVidia graphics processor is exactly what you need for Aero and 3D Acceleration to work perfectly. Check out the Aero and 3D Acceleration on my Virtual Machine:
Given I'm using an NVidia GTX 680, but like wila says, you don't need anything quite so gaming oriented. Any NVidia GPU newer than a 8800 will work well enough. If you really want to "prove" to yourself that your Virtual Machine isn't getting any 3D Acceleration, then try to open up a game of Minesweeper like what I have displayed on my Virtual Machine. Let me know if you get any error messages. If you DO get an error message like this:
Then we know for sure that you are NOT getting any 3D Acceleration to your machine. This means that Aero will never work so long as you don't have a dedicated GPU capable of providing Workstation with enough rendering power to support 3D Acceleration.