How to install VMware Tools in Ubuntu 10.04 (Lucid Lynx)

VMware Tools are fully compatible with Ubuntu 10.04. Before you continue, make sure that you are using the latest version of your VMware software product. If this is not the case, upgrade to the latest version, because you need the newest version of VMware Tools.
First attach the ISO image containing VMware Tools to the virtual machine. Then open a terminal window and execute the following commands:

sudo apt-get update  && apt-get upgrade

sudo mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom

cp /media/cdrom/VMware*.tar.gz /tmp

sudo umount /media/cdrom

cd /tmp

tar xzvf VMware*.gz

cd vmware-tools-distrib/

sudo ./vmware-install.pl

When the installation scripts promps for answers, just hit Enter since defaults are OK.

Source from here

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22 Responses

  1. Gary says:

    I used VMware for years until I discovered VirtualBox. It’s free and does everything I did with VMware.

  2. Jjan says:

    Add the -d flag in the install command to automate the install with the default settings: sudo ./vmware-install.pl -d

  3. Barry says:

    I am unable to get past the 2nd step, I keep getting mount: /dev/sr0: unknown device

    Any ideas?

  4. masRub says:

    nice post, i’m used sun virtual box, and running well win 7 under lucid lynx…
    thanks

  5. Darren says:

    Huh, can’t u just install it from the standard repositories within the guest Ubuntu system?

  6. janis says:

    i did have some problems to…
    this is what i did..

    sudo mkdir /media/CURRENT
    sudo mount /dev/cdrom /media/CURRENT

  7. BradC says:

    It sucks that they removed the cdrom from fstab…breaks all of my scripted installs.

    /cdrom still exists by default, so you can mount to that instead of creating a new mount point:

    sudo mount /dev/cdrom /cdrom

  8. fourise says:

    Well, i have the lite version of vmware fusion, and i can’t mount the vmware tools. the point in the menu is just appearing grey. can i download the iso from anywhere?

  9. dt says:

    Thanks for the instructions — worked fine for me and Lucid Lynx.

  10. Less Clueless says:

    Thanks…I was going nuts trying to get this installed on a VM!!!!

  11. Jim says:

    Thanks very much, worked perfectly.

  12. Mandarina says:

    Thank you!!!

  13. Cary says:

    in my case /dev/cdrom2 and /dev/cdrom3 worked

    $ sudo mount /dev/cdrom3 /media/cdrom

  14. Jfhu says:

    The install process succeeded, but the following configuration process failed with this :
    chgrp:cannot access ‘/usr/lib/cups/backend/tpvmlp’: No such file or directory.

    Unable to change the rights of the file /usr/lib/cups/backend/tpvmlp’

    Execution aborted.
    Please help me figure out this.
    Cheers
    Jfhu

  15. Mike says:

    Great guide, thanks!!! 😀

  16. Mark says:

    I struggled with this for a few hours because I am using VMWare Server, vs. VMWare Workstation.

    The VMWare Tools ISO from VMWare Server WOULDN’T WORK with Ubuntu Server 10.04. I had to use the ISO that came with Workstation 7.
    I downloaded and installed Workstation 7, and found the linux.iso in the directory C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation\linux.iso

    The VMWare tools Linux.ISO that comes with VMWare workstation 7 that I downloaded is;
    VMwareTools-8.4.5-324285.tar.gz
    ISO modified date is 11/11/2010.

    The VMWare tools on the Linux.ISO that comes with VMware Server : Version 2.0.2 : Build 203138
    VMwareTools-7.7.6-203138.tar.gz

    Hope this helps some of you all!

  17. Mark says:

    To help pick this up in search engines. This is similar to the error(s) I was getting.
    And I was able to fix it with the Workstation 7 linux.iso

    Building the vmmemctl module.

    Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
    make: Gehe in Verzeichnis ‘/tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only’
    make -C /lib/modules/2.6.31-19-server/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
    make[1]: Betrete Verzeichnis ‘/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.31-19-server’
    CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/backdoorGcc64.o
    In file included from /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/backdoor.h:29,
    from /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/backdoorGcc64.c:38:
    /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/vm_basic_types.h:108:7: warning: “__FreeBSD__” is not defined
    CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/os.o
    In file included from /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/os.c:51:
    /tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/compat_wait.h:78: error: conflicting types for ‘poll_initwait’
    include/linux/poll.h:70: note: previous declaration of ‘poll_initwait’ was here
    make[2]: *** [/tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only/os.o] Fehler 1
    make[1]: *** [_module_/tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only] Fehler 2
    make[1]: Verlasse Verzeichnis ‘/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.31-19-server’
    make: *** [vmmemctl.ko] Fehler 2
    make: Verlasse Verzeichnis ‘/tmp/vmware-config8/vmmemctl-only’
    Unable to build the vmmemctl module.

  18. frank says:

    you first must to create de directory with the command: mkdir, look at it in Taringa or wherever you want.

  19. frank says:

    Just unzip the file in the cdrom and then, by console, use:

    cd vmware-tools-distrib/
    sudo ./vmware-install.pl

    that’s all, abviously we must to actualizate our system, but the unzip isn’t complicate how here is.

  20. Peter says:


    error setting MTRR (base = 0xd4000000, size = 0x00400000, type = 1) Inappropriate ioctl for device (25)
    ddxSigGiveUp: Closing log
    Creating a new initrd boot image for the kernel.
    update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-2.6.32-34-server
    Checking acpi hot plug done
    Starting VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
    Switching to guest configuration: done
    Guest operating system daemon: failed
    Virtual Printing daemon: done
    Unable to start services for VMware Tools

    Execution aborted.

    Any suggestions how I can get past this error?

  21. w says:

    Add

    mkdir /media/cdrom

    as the 2nd step.

  22. Jake says:

    Thanks for the post!

    I had a fresh 10.04 Server install with only OpenSSH, and VMware tools required make, gcc and the linux headers to be installed before running /usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl

    sudo apt-get instlal make
    sudo apt-get install gcc
    sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

    Hope that helps someone else.

    Jake

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