Archlinux/Gnome 3.8.x guest in VMware 9?

[piggyz]

Hello, do someone is able to correctly load the Gnome 3.8.x in Archlinux guest under VMware 9/VMPlayer 5?

Just want to know if someone had it running.

My configuration

Host: Windows 8 Professional X64

Guest: Archlinux X86  under VMPlayer 5

Desktop: Gnome 3.8.x

GDM and Gnome 3.8.x unable to load. Error said: Ooops something wrong. 3D is enabled, everything (Mesa and so on) correctly installed.

Now, my question is: anyone in this forum running succesfully the same configuration?

If yes, I want to go ahead with the discussion and ask more details and config files to replicate his/her configuration.

Thankx in advance.

[Dumby]

Hi piggy,

Just for your information, I'm not using the same configuration you've set but I'm currently running both Manjaro and Bridge as guests of a Windows 7 - 64 host.

When Bridge is using Lxfe, on Manjaro, I just updated the OS this morning with the kernel 3.10 and Gnome 3.8 and all went fine... but the install of the VMware tools that, btw, I've never ever been able to achieve whatever the release of Manjaro or Bridge.

Now, to be honest, I've never ever been able to install any GUI on ArchLinux (that's why I'm using Manjaro and Bridge) and when you see the help you can get on the ArchLinux forum that's almost close to Zilch, Nada, Zero..., you may understand why I don't expect to do it anymore.

That's may be also because of such a poor ArchLinux support why there isn't any entry into the VMware install dialog to chose an ArchLinux distro! :smileyangry:

Hope you'll find more help here.

Courage.

[piggyz]

Solved.

The problem was not in any way related with the VMware guest 3D support.

3D support was perfectly configured and worked pretty well.

I solved it myself analyzing first if the 3D support was properly setup using mesa-demos package utilities loaded under a Cinnamon session (that was working).

[piggoz@arch2008 bin]$ glxinfo | grep rendering

direct rendering: Yes

[piggoz@arch2008 bin]$ glxheads

glxheads: exercise multiple GLX connections (any key = exit)

Usage:

  glxheads xdisplayname ...

Example:

  glxheads  mars:0 venus:1

Name:

  Display:     0x98f4008

  Window:      0x2000002

  Context:     0x9901628

  GL_VERSION:  2.1 Mesa 9.1.4

  GL_VENDOR:   VMware, Inc.

  GL_RENDERER: Gallium 0.4 on SVGA3D; build: RELEASE;

Knowing 3D support was fine and considering this Archlinux virtualbox is rolling upgraded from 2008 to now, I double checked .config folder in my home folder (yes, I like to call directory folders) and found the culprit: the file user inside the subfolder dconf. I simply renamed it dconf.old, loaded gnome-session again and everything was fixed.

PS: there is no need, this days, even with virtual guests under later versions of VMware virtualization software, to make proper modifications to xorg.conf or better xorg.conf.d files. If the kernel support 3D, if DRI and xf86 drivers are properly installed, everything is automagically loaded with the right settings.

To see if your loaded kernel support 3D issue this command:

[piggoz@arch2008 .config]$ lsmod | grep vm

vmwgfx                100089  3

ttm                    47188  1 vmwgfx

vmw_balloon             5070  0

drm                   186306  4 ttm,vmwgfx

vmw_vmci               46689  0

vmxnet3                37097  0

vmwgfx/drm/ttm is what makes the 3D working this days in recent versions of VMware virtualization software.

It is also important to have vmw_balloon loaded for optimal host/guests memory sharing and reallocation.

Hope this help, this message is for future reference, if I had find something like this posts when I was troubleshooting my problem, I could had save few hours of research and boring experimenting.