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VMware Workstation 5.0

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Preparing for the Upgrade

Before You Install VMware Workstation 5

There are a few steps you should take — while your previous version of VMware Workstation is still on your computer and before you install VMware Workstation 5 — to ensure the best possible upgrade experience.

Resume and Shut Down Suspended Virtual Machines

If you plan to use virtual machines created in an earlier version of VMware Workstation 5, be sure they have been shut down completely before you remove the release you used to create them.

If the virtual machine is suspended, resume it in the earlier release, shut down the guest operating system, then power off the virtual machine.

Note: If you attempt to resume a virtual machine that was suspended under a different VMware product or a different version of VMware Workstation, a dialog box gives you the choice of discarding or keeping the file that stores the suspended state. To recover the suspended state, you must click Keep, then resume the virtual machine under the correct VMware product. If you click Discard, you can power on normally, but the suspended state is lost.

Remove Snapshots

If the virtual machine you are upgrading has a snapshot, remove the snapshot before upgrading.

Make Sure All Disks Are in the Same Mode (Workstation 3 Only)

For upgrades from VMware Workstation 3 to Workstation 5:

  • If you have an existing virtual machine with one or more virtual disks and all the disks use persistent or undoable mode, upgrading is straightforward.
  • If you have an existing virtual machine with one or more virtual disks and all the disks use nonpersistent mode, you need to take a few special steps when you upgrade VMware Tools. See www.vmware.com/info?id=44
  • If you plan to use an existing virtual machine that has disks in undoable mode, you must commit or discard any changes to the virtual disks before you remove the Workstation 3 software that you used to create them.
  • Resume or power on the virtual machine in the earlier release, shut down the guest operating system, power off the virtual machine and either commit or discard changes to the disk in undoable mode when prompted.
  • If the disks are in persistent or nonpersistent mode, be sure the virtual machine is completely shut down. If it is suspended, resume it, shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.
  • If you have an existing virtual machine that has multiple virtual disks and the disks are in multiple modes, the simplest approach to upgrading is to convert all the disks to persistent mode. Resume or power on the virtual machine in the earlier release, shut down the guest operating system, power off the virtual machine and either commit or discard changes to any undoable mode disks when prompted. Then open the configuration editor and change all disks to persistent mode.

    • If you need to preserve special functionality that requires disks in multiple modes, review the information atwww.vmware.com/info?id=40 before you upgrade.

    Back Up Virtual Machines

    As a precaution, back up all the files in your virtual machine directories — including the .vmdk or .dsk, .vmx or .cfg and nvram files — for any existing virtual machines you plan to migrate to VMware Workstation 5. Depending on your upgrade path, you may not be able to run your virtual machines under both VMware Workstation 5 and your previous version of VMware Workstation.

    Workstation 2 to 5 —

    Upgrading Workstation 2 virtual machines requires that you first upgrade to Workstation 3 or 4. Direct upgrades from a Workstation 2 virtual machine are not supported in Workstation 5.

    Workstation 3 to 5 —

    Virtual machines created under Workstation 3 must be upgraded before they can run under Workstation 5. Once they are upgraded, they cannot be run under Workstation 3.

    Workstation 4 to 5 —

    Virtual machines created under Workstation 4 — or updated to Workstation 4 — offer two options.

  • You may update the virtual machine for full compatibility with Workstation 5. However, a virtual machine upgraded to Workstation 5 can no longer be used under Workstation 4.
  • You may choose not to update the virtual machine. In that case, you can run the virtual machine under both Workstation 4 and Workstation 5, but you do not enable new features provided by Workstation 5. For example, you cannot take multiple snapshots.

    • Removing Version 3 or 4 to Install Version 5

    There is a key precaution you should take when you remove VMware Workstation 3 or 4 — or an earlier version of VMware Workstation 5 — to install VMware Workstation 5.

  • Leave the existing license in place.

    • VMware Workstation installation procedures for your host may require that you run an uninstaller to remove a previous version.

  • On a Windows host, the uninstaller may ask if it should remove licenses from your registry. Do not allow the uninstaller to remove the licenses. You can safely keep licenses for multiple VMware products on the computer at the same time.
  • On a Linux host, the license remains in place. You do not need to take any special action. You may safely leave the license where it is.

    • The actual upgrade installation depends on your host operating system:

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