Sharing Folder/Drive on Vista64

[adza77]

Hi,

I'm wanting to share a lot of data between my host computer, and a virtual machine. (Host computer is running Vista64), and I'm wondering what is the best way to do this.

My first preference would be to add a hard drive (physical drive) to my Virtual machine and point it to a partition on my local computer (perfect solution), except that it appears this is not do-able with Vista64 as the host.

My second preference would be to create a virtual disk, and map/mount to that drive from the host when the host needs the data, except it also appears as though this is not do-able with Vista64 as the host either.

So my questions are:

1) Can someone recommend what they believe is the best method to do what I'm after with my current predicament, and

2) Can anyone give me any indication if VMWare is planning on supporting the above functions in Vista64 - and if so, is there any estimated time frame on a possible solution? (Whether it be a minor or major version release I don't care).

Thanks & Regards

Adam.

[adza77]

Sorry - I should have also added I'm using Workstation 6.

Cheers

Adam

[adza77]

Hi,

Should I assume it is not possible to share files between the host and a virtual machine in Vista 64?

Can anyone point me to a roadmap, or information on support for Vista 64 and VMWare?

Thanks& Regards

Adam

[asatoran]

Hi Adza, you might want to be a little patient as the upgrade to the forum software has caused a lot of forum regulars to have difficulty accessing the forums. Hopefully someone with more knowledge than me wll see this thread.

In the meantime, while I do not have Vista64 so I cannot tell you if there's any issues with shared folders, you can always just use Windows file sharing. Share a folder on your host and access it on your VM just like you would if they were two separate machines. If necessary, add another NIC to the VM and put it on the "host-only" network if you don't want your VM on your physical network.

[adza77]

Hi Asatoran,

Thanks for your reply. Sorry if I seemed impatient. When I noticed so many posts getting answers, I was wondering if mine was put in the "Too hard" basket. (I'd prefer to be told that it's not possible instead of silence <g>). I wasn't aware there were problems with the upgrade to the forum. Please accept my apologies.

As for the network share idea - thank you! I will use that for the time being to get past the problems I am having. In this particular instance, it's not the ideal solution, but it will certainly get me by for the moment. I'd still be interested if someone has any idea when support for Vista64 would be availble, or if their's talk of a new version of VMWare workstation on the near horizon.

Best Regards

Adam.

[asatoran]

Vista64 is a supported host OS for Workstation 6. The current version is 6.0.1 build 55017. If that version still has problems, hopefully someone else has other ideas. Otherwise, you can call and open a support ticket.

Unfortunately I don't use Shared Folders much. My main product is Server, which doesn't have the Shared Folder feature, so when I make VMs, I don't use Shared Folders so that my VMs are portable between WS and Server.

And don't worry about the upgrade thing. If what I'm experiencing is like a lot of the forum regulars, then they are feeling like they're noobs because the new forum layout is completely different and so it's taking a while to find where everything is. But the end result is that many posts that we created within the past several days have gone unanswered. Eventually, everything will get back to normal around here, we just have to ride out the lull. :smileyblush:

[adza77]

Hi Asatoran,

Thanks once again for your reply. Unfortuantly my support options have expired, and I'm reluctant to spend an additional $47 at the risk of possibly getting an unhelpful answer like "VMWare does not support that feature on Vista64".

If I know for sure that VMWare is supposed to fully support Vista64, I'll be happy to pay for and open up a support ticket, but I've been burnt (not by VMWare, but by other companies) in the past by such 'support' requests and are rather towy about paying for extra support unless it's guaranteed or money back.

I'm running the latest build, and the error I get is:

Operation on file "
.\PhysicalDrive0" failed. If the file resides on a remote file sytem, please make sure that your network connection and the server where the disk resides are functioning properly. If the file resides on removable media, reattach the media.

I've tried to map both, by the "entire disk" and also by "individual partition" onto my host systems HDD. (Physical SATA IDE).

I have also tried mapping onto an external USB HDD (Physical PATA) with the same error.

[asatoran]

I'm re-reading your error again and I'm wondering, your shared folder is a whole drive or partition? Sorry, I don't use Shared Folders much and I don't have a Vista64 machine to test on, but I've always used just a folder on the host. I've never seen (or tried) to make a "drive" or "partition" a share. I can point the VM's shared folder to the "folder" "C:\" or "C:\Temp". Are you pointing to something other than a "drive letter"?

[adza77]

Hi Asatoran,

Thanks again for your reply.

What I'm trying to do is the following:

1) With the VMWare machine closed, click on Edit->Add->[Hard Disk]->Next

2) From here, I choose

3) The next step gives me the option to Choose a device, and either the entire disk, or a partition.

I'm needing to allocate a drive letter (ie, not use a "network path") as in what you are currently doing. (Well, either way - the VM sesion needs to see the folder / drive / whatever 'share' as a physical drive).

The development studio I'm using has some components that complain if they don't see the drive as a local drive. (ie, "subst" and "net use" cause problems).

Best Regards

Adam.

[asatoran · Accepted solution]

Ah, the term you used in the subject of "sharing folder" got me confused with the "Shared Folders" feature of Workstation. You are "adding a physical drive", which is something different. I think the issue may be compatibility of Workstation with SATA drives. I remember some issues mentioned before, but I don't remember if WS6 fixed that. Most of the time, I need VM portability so I don't play with physical disks nor shared folders much. Sorry. You may want to try posting the question again and use the term "physical disk" in the subject. That hopefully will get the attention of someone more familiar with adding disks. Sorry I can't be more help.

[adza77]

Hi Asatoran,

Thank you for your reply. Sorry - I'm not overly familiar with the termanology. I shall start a new thread, and reword my topic title more descripively.

Thank you for all your help!

Best Regards

Adam.