Install VMware Tool in Debian VM

VMware Tool is important not only for performance but also for sharing folder between host and guest. Be default, VMware tool won't be installed for VMware Player, only available for VMware Workstation. However, VMware tool doesn't require any cost licences for installation. With some tricks, VMware Player can also use VMware Tools. Someone has explained how to do it in the case of "Linux Host/ Window Guest". In the following, we are going to talk about how to install the VMware tool in the case "Windows Host/Linux Guest".

• Host: WindowsXP SP2
• Guest: Debian 5.0 Lenny Server
• VMPlayer: 2.5.2

1) Download "VMware Server 2". Pick up tar image, not the rpm and exe.

2) Extract vmware-server-distrib/lib/isoimages/linux.iso from the tar.gz file and copy to a usb stick.

• tar xvzf VMware-server-*.tar.gz vmware-server-distrib/lib/isoimages/linux.iso

3) Mount usb stick in Vmware player.

• Devices->${USB_STICK}->Connect.
• >mkdir /media/usb
  
• >mount -t vfat /dev/sdb1 /media/usb
  

4) Mount linux.iso in Debian guest and fetch VMwareTools-???-.tar.gz

• > su
• > mkdir /tmp/vmware_tools
• > mount -o loop linux.iso /tmp/vmware_tools
• > cp /tmp/vmware_tools/VMwareTools-*-.tar.gz /tmp/

5) Extract the VMwareTools-*-.tar.gz

• >tar xvzf VMwareTools-*-.tar.gz

6) Install Vmware Tools. Choose the default setting. If some packages (make, psmisc, gcc, linux-header) are missing, you need to update or install by apt-get.

• > /tmp/vmware-tools-distrib/vmware-install.pl

Reference:

7) Reboot

1. Installing VMware Tools on Debian Lenny 5.0.2 with gnome destop on ESX server 3.5 update 4
   
2. VMware Tools failed to build vmmemtcl module
3. proxy problem of apt-get update
   
4. The path “/usr/src/linux/include” is not an existing directory