Installation package could not be opened on Vista guest using Shared Folder

[JeeTee]

I've setup a Vista Business guest with Workstation 6 running on a XP Professional host. The guest is setup with a host-only network connection to keep it isolated from our network. We use Shared Folders to get to certain network drives via the host. When I try to install a certain software application from one of these Shared Folder connections, at some point during the installation process I get a message box that says something like:

This installation package could not be opened. Verify that the package exists adn that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Windows Installer package.

This is only happening on the Vista guest virtual machine. I have XP and Windows 2000 guests with the same Shared Folders setup that will install the application just fine.

I figure it is most likely a permissions issue that is getting in my way, but so far have not been able to figure it out. Any ideas anyone?

[RDPetruska]

I'd start out by just copying that installation package to the virtual machine and running it. Once it's installed, delete the install files from the guest if you want to save space. The VMware Shared Folders feature is NOT a full networking stack, and most likely has some issues with things like you are encountering.; it is meant for quick-and-dirty file transfers.

Any reason you don't set up the guest with networking and link it to the host-only connection, so it's isolated from your network but still has networking to the host?

[JeeTee]

Any reason you don't set up the guest with networking

and link it to the host-only connection, so it's

isolated from your network but still has networking

to the host?

RD, I'm not sure I'm following you. I want the guest to be able to connect to the hosts's mapped network drives. The only way I could find to do this was the use the Shared Folders mechanism. The guest is used as a test platform, so it does not run anti-virus nor does it have Windows patches applied, therefore, it cannot be allowed to connect directly to the corporate network.

[continuum]

Please post your vmx-file so that we see what you mean with "shared folders" - VMware also has a "faeture" called "shared folders" ...

[JeeTee]

Here is the vmx file:

config.version = "8"

virtualHW.version = "6"

scsi0.present = "TRUE"

scsi0.virtualDev = "lsilogic"

memsize = "512"

scsi0:0.present = "TRUE"

scsi0:0.fileName = "VMOipVistaBusEng-000001.vmdk"

ide1:0.present = "TRUE"

ide1:0.fileName = "auto detect"

ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"

floppy0.autodetect = "TRUE"

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.connectionType = "hostonly"

ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"

ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"

usb.present = "TRUE"

ehci.present = "TRUE"

sound.present = "TRUE"

sound.fileName = "-1"

sound.autodetect = "TRUE"

svga.autodetect = "TRUE"

pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"

mks.keyboardFilter = "allow"

displayName = "VMOipVistaBusEng - Windows Vista Business English"

guestOS = "winvista"

nvram = "VMOipVistaBusEng.nvram"

deploymentPlatform = "windows"

virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"

tools.upgrade.policy = "useGlobal"

ide1:0.autodetect = "TRUE"

floppy0.startConnected = "FALSE"

floppy0.fileName = "A:"

serial0.present = "TRUE"

serial0.fileName = "COM1"

parallel0.present = "TRUE"

parallel0.fileName = "LPT1"

parallel0.bidirectional = "FALSE"

sharedFolder.option = "alwaysEnabled"

sharedFolder0.present = "TRUE"

sharedFolder0.enabled = "TRUE"

sharedFolder0.readAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder0.writeAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder0.hostPath = "C:\"

sharedFolder0.guestName = "Desktop C Drive"

sharedFolder0.expiration = "never"

sharedFolder.maxNum = "3"

sharedFolder1.present = "TRUE"

sharedFolder1.enabled = "TRUE"

sharedFolder1.readAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder1.writeAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder1.hostPath = "
ntse02\pcts"

sharedFolder1.guestName = "NTSE02 pcts"

sharedFolder1.expiration = "never"

sharedFolder2.present = "TRUE"

sharedFolder2.enabled = "TRUE"

sharedFolder2.readAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder2.writeAccess = "TRUE"

sharedFolder2.hostPath = "
ntse02\oip_db"

sharedFolder2.guestName = "NTSE02 oip_db"

sharedFolder2.expiration = "never"

[JeeTee]

Any ideas? Anyone?

[KevinG]

I believe that the confuse comes from that there is VMware Shared folders (sharedFolder1.hostPath = "
ntse02\pcts" ) and the is the Microsoft Windows Mapped network drive (Shared Folder)

You should just use the VMware Shared folder to move a file from the host to guest or the other way around.

If you have an application that need to read/write like your installation package, use the MS mapped network drive.

VMware Sharded folders does not use networking. MS shared folders require networking and you can setup a mapped network drive (shared folder) between the host & guest when using "Host-Only" networking

[JeeTee]

Thanks for the reply KevinG. I'm not sure I follow. At the risk of repeating myself, here is some more information on the setup:

The host (XP Pro) has the following drive connections:

C: Local hard drive

T: mapped network drive to
ntse02\oip_db

U: mapped network drive to
ntse02\pcts

The guest is setup with a "host-only" network connection to keep it isolated from the corporate network. Even though the guest is isolated, I have been using VMware Shared Folders to get at the mapped network drives on the host (T: and U:). This works just fine if the guest is XP or W2K, but we run into problems on the Vista guest.

As an experiment, I copied the application installation from the network drive over to the host's local C drive. Then from the Vista Business guest, I tried to install it from the VMware Shared Folders connection to the host C drive. Got the same problems with "...cannot be opened..." errors as reported above.