VMware on Debian

Note: This page is archived, obselete, and out of date.
Please see our the etch page for the current version.

Although it isn't officially "supported" by VMware, you can use
VMware with Debian GNU/Linux as the host operating system.
Here's an example of how I set up VMware Workstation 4.5.2 on sarge.
My CPU is an AMD Athlon XP. Use the right kernel-image for your CPU.

debian packages

apt-get install kernel-image-2.4-k7  
apt-get install kernel-headers-2.4-k7

vmware installation

download the vmware software

install vmware into /opt/

kernel headers are in:
/usr/src/kernel-headers-2.4.27-3-k7/include/

installing Windows XP Pro in a VM

create new "custom" virtual machine
use Virtual IDE hard disk

Windows got stuck in the “Installing Windows” screen. 
One reboot fixed that, and the rest of the install was easy.

installing Windows 2000 Pro in a VM

create new "custom" virtual machine
use Virtual IDE hard disk

screenshot: installing the files

Windows 2000 kept getting stuck at the "Installing Devices" screen. 
Each time this happened, I rebooted the VM. Finally, it completed! :)

installing Windows 98 SE in a VM

I have been unable to complete a Win98 SE install.
Each attempt results in crash of the Windows installer,
Sometimes with a blank screen, and sometimes with an error message like:

     Standard Mode: Bad Fault in MS-DOS Extender.
   Fault: 000D Stack Dump: 0050 0000 0070
   Raw Fault Frame: EC=F3C8 IP=1407 CS=0053 FL=3006 SP=0070 SS=0327

This appears to be fixed in vmware workstation 5 (build 11888)
It you have any ideas on how to fix this in vmware 4, please contact me!

installing Debian Woody inside a VM

The virtual ethernet card uses the pcnet32 module. This module is already in the bf24 kernel.

There is a problem with multiple carriage returns per keystoke. I set the VM bios keyboard autorepeat to 1 second but that doesn't help. During a woody install, if I am really careful to tap the "enter" key very quickly and lightly, I get a single keystroke. With a normal key strike, it doubles.

This problem exists both in the install menus and on the command line in text mode when the screen is full. It happens with the bf24 and the 2.2.20-idepci kernel. On the command line, running reset or clear fixes it temporarily. The problem does not not happen with the 2.2.20 vanilla kernel, (which doesn't display the penguin).

I think this problem is related to the framebuffer used to display the penguin kernel graphic.
Upgrade to a real kernel (without the penguin), and the problem disappears.

Here is an interesting post regarding a similar issue.

installing Debian Sarge inside a VM

The virtual ethernet card uses the pcnet32 module.
It is autodetected by the debian installer.

There is still a problem with multiple carriage returns occurring in the
second virtual console when the screen is full, but only happens if I
boot the default linux.

The problem disappears of I use any of these boot methods:

boot: linux debian-installer/framebuffer=false
boot: expert debian-installer/framebuffer=false
boot: linux26 
boot: expert26
boot: linux26 debian-installer/framebuffer=false 
boot: expert26 debian-installer/framebuffer=false

Booting with “framebuffer=false” makes the screen fast!

simple.be linux   simple holster   created on debian gnu/linux      last updated: 2007-09-20   contact    XHTML CSS