jhbb's Posts

Thank you RDPetruska for responding. Just so that you know my system info is as follows: Office Desktop System Information as at Sep 21, 2022: Host: CPU: Intel Core i7 4770 @3.4 GHz Host O/S: Kernel: Linux 5.4.0 125-generic (x86-64) Distribution: Ubuntu 20.04.5 LTS VMware: Product: VMware Workstation 15 Player Version: 15.5.7 build-17171714 Existing Guest: Windows 10 Target Guest: Windows 2000   The contents of my old Windows 2K virtual machine are as follows: caches 100GB.vmdk 2K.log 2K-s001.vmdk 2K-s002.vmdk 2K-s003.vmdk 2K-s004.vmdk 2K-s005.vmdk 2K-s006.vmdk 2K-s007.vmdk 2K-s008.vmdk 2K-s009.vmdk 2K-s010.vmdk 2K-s011.vmdk 2K-SPH-Office-be54c450.vmem 2K-SPH-Office-be54c450-vmss-sph 2K-SPH-Office.vmsd 2K-SPH-Office.vmx 2K-SPH-Office.vmxf 2K.vmdk 2K.vmem 2K.vmsd 2K.vmx~ 2K.vmxf 564d55b2-7061-22ef-314d-fa2a45f41228.vmem nvram   This old Windows 2k virtual machine was originally created using VMware Workstation 5 and the *.vmdx files are not recognized by my current VMware Workstation 15 Player program. When I open my current VMware Workstation 15 Player and I try to 'open an existing machine' using the Windows 2k directory above. It doesn't work. The VMware loading splash page appears briefly then the VMware Workstation 15 Player simply shuts down. That's the problem that I describe in my original post. Could you expand on your suggestion to mount the *.vmdx? Without an earlier version of VMware running, my linux operating system isn't going to be able to read the *.vmdx files which contain the Windows 2k o/s and the individual document files that are contained therein. I may not be understanding your suggest. If so please forgive me.

I know that it's been a long time since I posted this thread but, frankly I was never able to find a legacy version of Workstation 5.x to download. I gave up in frustration. I've tried to contact VMware directly and I've tried every type of search I can think of ...no joy. Another issue has come up that requires me to retrieve a file from the old Windows 2K virtual machine, so I'm trying to revive the discussion.. Please, if anyone out there can help, I would appreciate it.

Thanks...as for old computers I have many hidden away in my basement, even going back to the Radio Shack TRS 80. I anticipated the likely response so, since my last post, I've been searching available downloads on the VMware site as well as generalized searches. Workstation 5.x for a Linux host doesn't seem to be available for download from the VMware site, at least I haven't been able to find it. There are a lot of links with instructions how to install it but that's not my problem. My issue is where I can actually download a legacy version of Workstation 5.x for a Linux 32 bit host. If you or any of our friends out there can provide a current link to site where I can download a copy, I should be able to fix the problem. The Plan: 1. Download and install Workstation 5.x for Linux on the old 32 bit computer which now is running Ubuntu 18.04 as its OS (ie the most current version of the OS that will run on a 32 bit machine). 2. Copy the backup directory of the Windows 2K VM back onto the old computer in the VMware directory created by Workstation 5.x when it was installed. 3. Hopefully open the Windows 2K VM using Workstation 5.x and then properly execute a power off shut down. 4. Copy the properly shut down Windows 2K VM directory to the newer 64 bit computer running Ubuntu 20.04 and open it with Workstation 15.x. Note: from other postings I've seen, it may be necessary to add a line to the Windows 2K .vmx to emulate a 32 bit machine on a 64 bit host, namely <  monitor_control.disable_longmode=1  > but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it.   Anyway that's my plan. If I can get some help finding a site to download the legacy version of Workstation 5.x for a Linux host, I'll let you know how it turns out.

Thank you for the thoughtful and helpful response. I wasn't sure that I'd get a response to a problem with an older VMware  version and an even older Windows 2K guest. Each virtual machine was in a separate folder when backed up. So it's a great comfort for me to know that by copying the entire folder at least my data is safe. Unfortunately, I was not aware that the VM had to be powered off before copying. In the case of the Windows 2K virtual machine, it was in a suspended state when the backup copy was made. As indicated in my first post, the host OS failed during an upgrade. As a result I'm unable to simply reopen the backed up Windows 2K guest on the old host and then do a full power off shutdown. The Workstation 5.x on that OS was lost along with any other installed software. The Question now becomes how best to return the Windows 2K guest to a state where it can be recognized by Workstation 15.x. Note: The Workstation 15.x I'm trying to move the Windows 2K guest to is installed on a newer computer running the Ubuntu 20.04 OS. To avoid BIOS conflicts mentioned in the link you provided, do I have to find, download and install Workstation 5.x on the old host machine so I can load and then properly power off the Windows 2K guest ... or is there a simpler solution. Thank you to community and to RaSystemlord for considering my problem.