Vmware Workstation

Getting Started Guide
VMware Player 3.1

This document supports the version of each product listed and supports all subsequent versions until the document is replaced by a new edition. To check for more recent editions of this document, see http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

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Getting Started Guide

You can find the most up-to-date technical documentation on the VMware Website at: http://www.vmware.com/support/ The VMware Web site also provides the latest product updates. If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com

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Contents

About This Book 5

1 What Is VMwarePlayer? 7

What You Can Do with VMware Player Features in VMware Player 8

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2 Host System Requirements for VMware Player 11
Compatible Virtual Machines and System Images Using Virtual Symmetric Multiprocessing 12 12

3 Supported Host and Guest Operating Systems for VMware Player 13
Processor Support for 64-Bit Guest Operating Systems 13

4 Installing and Running VMware Player

15Install VMware Player on a Windows Host 15 Install VMware Player on a Linux Host 16 Start VMware Player 18 Close VMware Player 18

5 Uninstalling VMware Player

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Uninstall VMware Player on a Windows Host 19 Uninstall VMware Player on a Windows Vista or Windows 7 Host 19 Uninstall VMware Player on a Linux Host 20

Index 21

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Getting Started Guide

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VMware, Inc.About This Book
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This preface provides information about the VMware Player Getting Started Guide and links to VMware educational resources.

Intended Audience
This book is intended for anyone who wants to install and use VMware Player 3.1. VMware Player 3.1 users include anyone who wants to create and run virtual machines or virtual appliances. You can download and safely run prebuiltapplication environments provided by software vendors or colleagues.

Document Feedback
VMware welcomes your suggestions for improving our documentation. If you have comments, send your feedback to docfeedback@vmware.com.

Education Resources
The following Education resources are available to you. To access the current version of this book and other books, go tohttp://www.vmware.com/support/pubs.

VMware Professional Services
VMware Education Services courses offer extensive hands-on labs, case study examples, and course materials designed to be used as on-the-job reference tools. Courses are available onsite, in the classroom, and live online. For onsite pilot programs and implementation best practices, VMware Consulting Services provides offerings to help you assess, plan,build, and manage your virtual environment. To access information about education classes, certification programs, and consulting services, go to: http://www.vmware.com/services/.

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What Is VMware Player?

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VMware Player is a desktop application that lets you create, configure, and run virtual machines. With VMware Player youcan use the following features:
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Create virtual machines that can run on a Windows or Linux PC. Run virtual machines, making it easy to take advantage of the security, flexibility, and portability of virtual machines. Access all of the host machine hardware devices, such as USB drives, from the virtual machine.

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The terms host and guest describe physical and virtual machines: Host...