Rather than reboot the Mac OS X, which has fixed the problem, I tried to restart the service after closing my VMs. You can find how to do that in this older post of mine.

When I tried to restart it with the following command:

# sudo /Library/Application\ Support/VMware\ Fusion/boot.sh  --restart

I got the following error on VMWare file permissions:

VMware Fusion 261058: Shutting down VMware Fusion: 
Stopped DHCP service on vmnet1
Disabled hostonly virtual adapter on vmnet1
Stopped DHCP service on vmnet8
Stopped NAT service on vmnet8
Disabled hostonly virtual adapter on vmnet8
Stopped all configured services on all networks
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
(kernel) Kext com.vmware.kext.vmcrosstalk not found for unload request.
Failed to unload com.vmware.kext.vmcrosstalk - (libkern/kext) not found.
(kernel) Kext com.vmware.kext.vmmon not found for unload request.
Failed to unload com.vmware.kext.vmmon - (libkern/kext) not found.
 
VMware Fusion 261058: Starting VMware Fusion: 
2010-06-10 22:22:30.588 repair_packages[455:607] PackageKit: *** Missing bundle identifier: /Library/Receipts/vpn.pkg
Verifying files from package 'com.vmware.fusion.application' on '/'.
	Permissions differ on "Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/VMDKMounter.app/Contents/MacOS/vmware-vmdkMounter", should be -rwxr-xr-x , they are -rwsr-xr-x .
	Warning: SUID file 'Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/VMDKMounter.app/Contents/MacOS/vmware-vmdkMounter' has been modified and will not be repaired.
Finished verifying files from package 'com.vmware.fusion.application' on '/'.
Started network services
Verifying and re-installing files from /Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/thnuclnt

Navigating to the directory, an ls -al found the two files below and their respective permissions.

drwxr-xr-x  4 root  wheel      136 Jun 10 22:51 .
drwxr-xr-x  5 root  wheel      170 May 27 21:22 ..
-rwsr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  1593620 May 21 03:51 vmware-vmdkMounter
-rwsr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  1475396 May 21 03:51 vmware-vmdkMounterTool

I thought perhaps both files required the same permissions but I was wrong. If you change the permissions on the vmware-vmdkMounterTool file, you’ll raise an error telling you that it should be -rwsr-xr-x. If you make that same mistake too, I’ve got the reset syntax at the bottom of the post.

You should only change the permissions of vmware-vmdkMounter file. The following syntax lets you remove the squeaky bit from the user permissions but you’ll need the root password (the administrator password).

sudo chmod u=rwx,go=rx vmware-vmdkMounter

That should leave you with the following permissions:

drwxr-xr-x  4 root  wheel      136 Jun 10 22:51 .
drwxr-xr-x  5 root  wheel      170 May 27 21:22 ..
-rwxr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  1593620 May 21 03:51 vmware-vmdkMounter
-rwsr-xr-x  1 root  wheel  1475396 May 21 03:51 vmware-vmdkMounterTool

When you restart you should get the following pseudo clean output. Pseudo because apparently the two errors are not meaningful. At least, I couldn’t find anything on them and VMWare Fusion now works. I’ll probably investigate this a bit more later, and I’ll update anything in this post. If you know something, post it as a comment to help everybody.

VMware Fusion 261058: Shutting down VMware Fusion: 
Stopped DHCP service on vmnet1
Disabled hostonly virtual adapter on vmnet1
Stopped DHCP service on vmnet8
Stopped NAT service on vmnet8
Disabled hostonly virtual adapter on vmnet8
Stopped all configured services on all networks
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
No matching processes were found
(kernel) Kext com.vmware.kext.vmcrosstalk not found for unload request.
Failed to unload com.vmware.kext.vmcrosstalk - (libkern/kext) not found.
(kernel) Kext com.vmware.kext.vmmon not found for unload request.
Failed to unload com.vmware.kext.vmmon - (libkern/kext) not found.
 
VMware Fusion 261058: Starting VMware Fusion: 
2010-06-10 22:58:45.276 repair_packages[861:607] PackageKit: *** Missing bundle identifier: /Library/Receipts/vpn.pkg
Verifying files from package 'com.vmware.fusion.application' on '/'.
Finished verifying files from package 'com.vmware.fusion.application' on '/'.
Started network services
Verifying and re-installing files from /Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/thnuclnt

If you fat fingered the resetting command and also changed the vmware-vmdkMounterTool file permissions, you can reset them to shared user by using the following syntax:

sudo chmod u=rwxs,go=rx vmware-vmdkMounterTool

As always, I hope this helps others.

Back in September 2008, I blogged about how to configure the Oracle Client 10g on Mac OS X. It’s been used a lot but in hindsight it could have been organized more effectively. One thing that I noticed (through somebody bringing it to my attention) is that explaining the VMWare Fusion component by itself would have been more helpful then listing the IP ranges for releases through the date of my post. Hopefully, this corrects that omission.

VMWare NAT Configuration

There are only a few steps that you must do. These are they:

1. Read the subnet value from the dhcpd.conf file.
2. Dynamic IP address only require you to set the guest operating system to DHCP.
3. Static IP addresses require you to set the IP address, subnet, default gateway, and preferred DNS server.
4. Add assigned IP address and the guest operating system hostname to your Mac OS X /etc/hosts file.

The next sections gives the details of where to find all the things that you may want to experiment with. Remember if you make an error that damages these configuration files, you have to fix it or re-install VMWare Fusion.

VMWare NAT Files and Configurations

You can find the IP ranges for the Network Address Translation (NAT) here:

/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/vmnet8/dhcpd.conf

You can open the file for editing like this:

sudo vi "/Library/Application Support/VMware Fusion/vmnet8/dhcpd.conf"

The file contains the subnet, which I’ve found changes with release. You can configure this file and assign fixed addresses in it. However, you don’t need to install fixed addresses in this file unless you want to reserve addresses in the dynamic range.

The dynamic range is between xxx.xxx.xxx.128 and xxx.xxx.xxx.254. The range of xxx.xxx.xxx.3 to xxx.xxx.xxx.127 is available for static IP addresses. You can set a static IP address inside the native operating system of the VM.

The dhcpd.conf file with it’s instructions, looks like this:

# Configuration file for ISC 2.0 vmnet-dhcpd operating on vmnet8.
#
# This file was automatically generated by the VMware configuration program.
# See Instructions below if you want to modify it.
#
# We set domain-name-servers to make some DHCP clients happy
# (dhclient as configured in SuSE, TurboLinux, etc.).
# We also supply a domain name to make pump (Red Hat 6.x) happy.
#
 
###### VMNET DHCP Configuration. Start of "DO NOT MODIFY SECTION" #####
# Modification Instructions: This section of the configuration file contains
# information generated by the configuration program. Do not modify this
# section.
# You are free to modify everything else. Also, this section must start 
# on a new line 
# This file will get backed up with a different name in the same directory 
# if this section is edited and you try to configure DHCP again.
 
# Written at: 02/18/2010 23:30:54
allow unknown-clients;
default-lease-time 1800;                # default is 30 minutes
max-lease-time 7200;                    # default is 2 hours
 
subnet 172.16.123.0 netmask 255.255.255.0 {
	range 172.16.123.128 172.16.123.254;
	option broadcast-address 172.16.123.255;
	option domain-name-servers 172.16.123.2;
	option domain-name localdomain;
	default-lease-time 1800;                # default is 30 minutes
	max-lease-time 7200;                    # default is 2 hours
	option routers 172.16.123.2;
}
host vmnet8 {
	hardware ethernet 00:50:56:C0:00:08;
	fixed-address 172.16.123.1;
	option domain-name-servers 0.0.0.0;
	option domain-name "";
	option routers 0.0.0.0;
}
####### VMNET DHCP Configuration. End of "DO NOT MODIFY SECTION" #######

Unless you’ve changed the location of your VM repository on your Mac OS X, you can set a fixed-address for the virtual machine. You add the following lines at the bottom of the dhcpd.conf file:

host mclaughlinxp32 {
	hardware ethernet 00:0c:29:55:38:1b;
        fixed-address 172.16.123.21;
}

You pick whichever IP address you’d like to use. You also need to configure the guest opearting system in the VM with that same IP address. You can find the ethernet hardware value in the following file:

~/Documents/Virtual Machines/VMName/VMName.vmx

You can open the file and hunt for it, or simply run this command from the directory where the file exists:

grep ethernet0.generatedAddress *.vmx

As always, I hope this helps some folks.

You MUST to uninstall VMWare tools from your repository of Linux operating systems before upgrading your VMWare Fusion or ESX server. If you don’t, you can’t access the console because the drivers make the console look like this:

Perhaps I missed this note when, as an early adopted I opted to move straight to VMWare Fusion 3. I would have complied with these instructions to avoid this headache.

All that’s required now, is that: (a) I export 500 GBs worth of virtual machines to another machine running VMWare Fusion 2; (b) Individually start each machine and run the uninstall VMWare Tools command individually; and, (c) Shutdown and reposition all virtual machines on the original server.

As stated in the note, the command to remove it is:

/usr/bin/vmware-tools-uninstall.pl

Click on the note in the event the link fails to resolve, which would mean the note vanishes into oblivion some day in the future …

While I’ve another machine that’s not yet upgraded, this is a major inconvenience. It’s a shame that the Linux components don’t install automatically. It’s a shame that the install didn’t say something like, “Don’t do this if you’ve Linux virtual machines, unless you’ve removed their VMWare Tools installation.”

Another word to the wise, you don’t get the Linux Tools automatically when you download the product. The software prompts you to download the additional components when you attempt to launch a Linux environment. A cruel irony since by the time you see the prompt, you can’t! This is a change from the prior upgrade process.

Yes, haste makes waste but now I know. In the future, treat all VMWare upgrades like those from Microsoft test, re-test, re-authenticate in a small way before upgrading. Do you think VMWare really want to send that message to its customer base?

I got back to this tonight, and thanks to Red Hat’s Session Manager I was able to fix the Red Hat VMs. Launching it, I simply switched to the Failsafe Terminal and ran the following command, as per the note:

# /usr/bin/vmware-uninstall.pl

After that, I rebooted. Then, installed (mounted the VMWare Tools disk) from the VMWare Fusion menu. Opening a terminal as root, I then re-installed and configured VMWare Fusion. Those are done. As more time allows, I’ll update about the others.

I’m now reconfiguring the network since the VMWare Fusion 2 bridged at a 172.16.153 subdomain and VMWare Fusion 3 bridges at a 172.16.123 subdomain.

Here’s the error in plain text, so search engines can find it for others.

Virtual device serial0: File "/var/folders/Sf/SfvoJITAHMq1Vp8bNI7QZU+++TM/-Tmp-//vmware-mmclaugh/thnuclnt-641/socket" exists, but no server is listening to it.
 
There are three possible causes for this:
 - The server is alive but not ready yet, and you can retry later.
 - The server is busy communicating with another client, so you cannot run this client at the same time.
 - A previous server exited abruptly, and you can remove the file and try again.
 
The device will be disconnected.

How to fix it?

Delete the file, right? Yes, but there’s a trick. Navigating through the -Tmp- directory required a Unix shell trick because the - (dash) is a switch and backquoting it with a \ (backslash) didn’t work. Jeff Yoder, told me the trick to change directory into a dash leading directory name. It was this:

cd -- -Tmp-

The -- is how most shells mark the end of options to a command. After a -- all - (dashes) are treated as ordinary characters.

Mark Olaveson reminded me that using the present working directory before the directory name also worked. It demotes the dash to an ordinary character too.

cd ./-Tmp-

When I got to the directory, there was the socket file. I deleted it and everything worked like a charm.

srwxrwxrwx  1 mmclaugh  staff     0 Dec  8 13:04 socket

The easiest Windows 7 installation uses DHCP. That’s what I did before patching the OS, installing virus protection software, and installing a few tools and program. Then, I change from a dynamic IP to static IP address and add a meaningful name to the C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc\hosts file. Here are the steps to set a static IP address on Windows 7:

1. Assuming that you’re in the Category view, you should navigate to the Control Panel, choose Network and Internet, and then click Network and Sharing Center. This is the window that you should see (click image to enlarge it):

Click the Local Area Connection to begin configuring your static IP address.

3. From the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Details button to see your existing connection details (most likely DHCP). If you’re running this in VMWare Fusion, the 172.16.153.129 is the first IP address allocated. You should note the default gateway and DNS server IP address, which should always be 172.16.153.2. Click the Close button when you’ve made note of those IP addresses for subsequent steps.

4. Back at the Local Area Connection Status window, click the Properties button. It will show you the Local Area Connection Properties dialog. Click on the Internet Protocol Version 4 (TCP/IPv4) in the item box of the dialog window.

5. Click the Use the following IP address radio button and enter the appropriate values for your static IP address. The default gateway and DNS server are generally different but are the same when you’re using NAT addressing inside VMWare.

You should be completed now. If you test the connection, Windows 7 raises and error but everything works after you reboot the operating system.

All my VMs were locked when I rebooted. It didn’t matter whether they were running or not when I did the forced shutdown. This is not the image you want to see when you’re short on time against a fixed deadline.

The fix was simple. You go to the directory where each VM is located and find if you have locked files. You can run this command to find them:

$ ls *.lck

If they’re locked you’ll see something this:

564df021-1de5-dec0-942a-37635b35361b.vmem.lck:
M00680.lck
 
Windows XP Professional 32-bit.vmdk.lck:
M25400.lck
 
Windows XP Professional 32-bit.vmx.lck:
M47433.lck

You need to delete all three files, I used this command:

$ rm -rf *.lck

When you restart VMWare Fusion, everything will be fine. Hope this helps a few folks.

When I checked whether or not the version of Windows XP knew about my much newer printer, the problem became clear. If you want to set up a newer printer than Windows recognizes, you’ll need the vendors media.

Here are the steps to install a printer when Windows can’t recognize the network printer:

1. First make sure you navigate to Virtual Machine on the VMWare Fusion menu, choose CD/DVD and then Connect CD/DVD to proceed.

2. Insert the disk that came with your printer. My disk is for my HP 2420 duplex printer on Windows XP, 32-bit. If you’re installing to a 64-bit version of Windows, the installer will die and the complexity rises as you download the media from HP and manually install the driver files.

The screen shots are those for configuring a printer because I neglected to capture the driver install shots earlier and didn’t have the time to do so. When I have to setup another similar version, I’ll add those. The first screen shot after the welcome screen and choosing your language follows. Click the Next button to continue.

3. Choose the Add an additional printer on printer driver radio button, then click the Next button to proceed.

4. Choose the Connected via the network radio button, and then click the Next button to continue.

5. Choose the Basic network setup for a PC or server (recommended) radio button, and then click Next button to continue.

6. Choose a method to search by enabling the Search from a list of detected printers (recommended). This choice fails from the normal process that adds a printer because it can’t detect newer printers. Click the Next button to continue.

7. This next screen is a progress bar, and it takes enough time that you’ll notice it. Click the Next button to continue.

8. Hopefully, you’ll find your printer. Click the Yes, install this printer. Click the Next button to continue.

9. The following confirms the settings. Unless you’ve manually assigned the Network Interface Card for the printer to a fixed IP address, I’d leave these settings alone. Click the Next button to continue.

10. If you’ve manually installed the Post Script driver you may want to enable it here. As to the HP LaserJet Toolbox, I would definitely leave it alone. Click the Next button to continue.

11. This is where you can rename your printer if you have a desired name. Enter any change from the default, and then click Next to continue.

12. Generally, it’s a very bad idea to share a printer from a virtual machine instance. The only time I’d even think about it would be if I were trying to replicate a problem with a nested virtual machine. Therefore, I’d suggest you choose Not Shared, and then click Next to continue.

13. Here you can put a location in for the printer and any comment you’d like to have for it. Click the Next button to continue.

14. Everything to here as been choosing the configuration. Click the Install button to install the printer.

15. This progress bar fills four times, so take a break. When it is done, click Next to continue. Don’t click that Cancel button when it hangs for bit because it may do that. You’ll need to be patient, after all it is Microsoft’s operating system and most likely an HP driver.

16. You’ve now completed the installation, click the Finish button to complete the process.

Hopefully, this helps a couple folks that are configuring a Windows XP printer inside a 32-bit Windows XP installation.

The fix was simple enough, I disabled F8 as the launch key for Spaces. Then, it let the Windows XP install work.

Should that work around be there? It’s probably a bug in VMWare Fusion, Version 2.0 (116369). If you know for sure, let me and other readers know.

There’s a twist here if you’re most familiar with Ubuntu and sudo command execution. You need to su to the root account and run everything as root user. An alternative would be to edit the /etc/inittab file to allow the root user to boot the instance. The default is 5 (X11). You enable the root user by changing it to 3 (full multiuser mode). Don’t forget to change it back, you really shouldn’t log in as the root user. Anyway, you’ll have to do it to run the VMWare Toolkit successfully as shown later in the post.

You fix the incompatibility of the VMWare Fusion Toolkit by downloading the following two missing RPMs. You should be able to find them here. As to why they’re not in the Live DVD distribution, who knows.

binutils-2.18.50.0.9-8.fc10.i386.rpm
gcc-4.3.2-7.i386.rpm
glibc-2.9-2.i686.rpm
glibc-devel-2.9-2.i386.rpm
glibc-headers-2.9-2.i386.rpm
kernel-devel-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686.rpm
kernel-headers-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i386.rpm
libgomp-4.3.2-7.i386.rpm

You can’t run some of them through the RPM utility, so you should probably run them all at the command line. The command line syntax and sequence for these packages is:

rpm -ivh kernel-headers-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh kernel-devel-2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686.rpm
rpm -ivh binutils-2.18.50.0.9-8.fc10.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh libgomp-4.3.2-7.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh glibc-headers-2.9-2.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh glibc-devel-2.9-2.i386.rpm
rpm -ivh glibc-2.9-2.i686.rpm
rpm -ivh gcc-4.3.2-7.i386.rpm

As the root user, you can now install the VMWare Toolkit. While running the installation, you’ll receive a prompt to confirm the /usr/src/linux/include. Don’t accept the default path because it won’t work unless you created a symbolic link. The kernel header files require you to enter the following path:

/usr/src/kernels/2.6.27.5-117.fc10.i686/include

Everything should work finxs e when you compile the modules. Hope this helps a couple folks.

Here are the steps to customize the toolbar:

1. Right click on the toolbar before running the VMWare instance, and you’ll see this context menu. Choose the Customize Toolbar… choice from the list.

2. The prior step lets you customize the toolbar though the following menu option dialog. Just click on the icon you want and drag it on to the toolbar. I’d suggest dragging Shut Down and Full Screen on to the toolbar.

I prefer putting the Shut Down to the left of the Suspend button, like this:

Hope this helps somebody.