VMware Workstation 7.1.6 would not start on Ubuntu 12.04 host

[ruberbacchus]

I am trying to get VMware Workstation 7.1.6 working under Ubuntu 12.04 as host. The installation was completed successfully but the application does not start (nor does VMware Player).

The log files reveal the following error message (the last two lines of the log):

LOG NOT INITIALIZED | Unable to load libspi.so.0 from /usr/lib/vmware/lib/libspi.so.0/libspi.so.0: libbonobo-2.so.0: cannot open shared object file: No such file or directory

LOG NOT INITIALIZED | Unable to load application library dependencies.

Has anyone any idea what this might refer to and how it can be fixed?

[Gkeerthy]

From the VMware workstation compatibility list it is not supported, there are crude methods to get this work, you can installl the required library files or copying these files and many thechniques are there, but for workstations it will cause issues and make less stable.

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/ws_pubs.html

http://partnerweb.vmware.com/comp_guide2/search.php?testConfig=16&deviceCategory=software

[ruberbacchus]

Thanks for your answer but I think there is a misunderstanding. This has nothing to do with a Guest OS.

Ubuntu 12.04 is my host and I am trying to run Workstation 7.1.6 on this host.

[Gkeerthy]

http://www.vmware.com/support/ws71/doc/releasenotes_ws71.html

check the above, i am not speaking about the guest. The host ubuntu 12.04 is not supported

[ruberbacchus]

It seems to be an old document. I have had the Workstation run on much newer releases of Ubuntu than the ones indicated there.

In any event, I would be interested in responses dealing specifically with the error message that was posted with my original question. Thanks.

[WoodyZ]

VMware Workstation 7.1.6 is not officially supported on an Ubuntu 12.04 Host!

You'll have to do some searching to see what others had to do to get it running under Ubuntu 12.04.

[ruberbacchus]

I have done, obviously, however nothing turns up in regard to the specific error message that I am getting.

What I don't understand is how it can report a successful installation but subsequently not be able to find its own libraries.

[WoodyZ]

Did you actually look to see if the file is there or is it really missing?

[ruberbacchus]

OK, so I just checked, and the file libspi.so.0 seems to be there. However, according to the error message, it cannot be loaded up because of a certain "shared object file" missing. I have no idea what this refers to.

[WoodyZ]

Look in /usr/lib for a symbolic link named libbonobo-2.so.0 and if it's there see what it's pointing to, I believe it will be libbonobo-2.so.0.0.0 in the same location.  Are both libbonobo-2.so.0 and libbonobo-2.so.0.0.0 in /usr/lib ?

[ruberbacchus]

None of them is actually in /usr/lib. The following is the fragment of what one obtains with ls -l and should normally contain them if they were there:

lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root           18 Jun  5 17:50 libbind9.so.80 -> libbind9.so.80.0.3

-rw-r--r--  1 root root        50976 Jun  5 17:50 libbind9.so.80.0.3

-rw-r--r--  1 root root       101592 Jan  2  2012 libboost_iostreams.so.1.46.1

-rw-r--r--  1 root root       414280 Jan  2  2012 libboost_program_options.so.1.46.1

-rw-r--r--  1 root root       446584 Jan  2  2012 libboost_serialization.so.1.46.1

-rw-r--r--  1 root root       323128 Jan  2  2012 libboost_wserialization.so.1.46.1

lrwxrwxrwx  1 root root           25 Apr 17 08:04 libbrasero-burn3.so.1 -> libbrasero-burn3.so.1.2.3

[WoodyZ]

Not trying to be a hard ass however, here is the issue in a nutshell... As you have already been told, "VMware Workstation 7.1.6 is not officially supported on an Ubuntu 12.04 Host!" and the error message you're getting translates into the libbonobo-2.so.0.0.0 file is missing and this missing file is not part of VMware Workstation!  It's a depreciated Shared Library in Linux and was last included in Ubuntu 11.04 (which is officially supported as a Host OS for VMware Workstation 7.1.5 and later) and again why you were told "VMware Workstation 7.1.6 is not officially supported on an Ubuntu 12.04 Host!".  So if you want to use VMware Workstation 7.1.6 on an Ubuntu 12.04 Host you'll probably have to rectify the missing Shared Library files if not some other tweaks as well.  Which is why I also previously said "You'll have to do some searching to see what others had to do to get it running under Ubuntu 12.04.".

I have not tried to get VMware Workstation 7.1.6 working on an Ubuntu 12.04 Host however if I wanted to, I do some Googling and also look to see if the missing depreciated shared library files can be installed without affecting Ubuntu 12.04.

Here's a link to the Bonobo CORBA interfaces library and Other Packages Related to libbonobo2-0.

[ruberbacchus]

@WoodyZ: Thanks for your comments and pointers but I don't see a need to be patronising. As I understand, there is no obligation for anyone to reply. I ask the questions that I feel are relevant to me and seek the help that I feel is right for me.

With your specialist knowledge things can look more obvious than they do to me, which is why I am the one asking and you are the one responding. I have already mentioned that I googled the relevant error message and nothing useful came up. Now, with your comments I may have a better chance, however that remains to be seen.

I am a paid customer of VMware Workstation and it is only reasonable that I want to get it working on the system that I am using, whether or not it is officially supported at this time.