VMware Workstation in 2024?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Deleted member 40197
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The software hasn't changed much (yet) since the acquisition. I do recommend a stress ball or a stiff drink when navigating the web site though. :eyeroll:
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC12WSHi7
    CPU
    12th Gen Intel Core i7-1260P, 2100 MHz
    Motherboard
    NUC12WSBi7
    Memory
    64 GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel Iris Xe
    Sound Card
    built-in Realtek HD audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Dell U3219Q
    Screen Resolution
    3840x2160 @ 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 990 PRO 1TB
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears
    Antivirus
    Microsoft Defender
  • Operating System
    Linux Mint 21.2 (Cinnamon)
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Intel NUC8i5BEH
    CPU
    Intel Core i5-8259U CPU @ 2.30GHz
    Memory
    32 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    Iris Plus 655
    Keyboard
    CODE 104-Key Mechanical with Cherry MX Clears

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3194
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel® Core™ i7-14700F
    Motherboard
    ASUS TUF GAMING Z690-PLUS WIFI
    Memory
    G.SKILL Ripjaws S5 Series 64GB (2 x 32GB) DDR5
    Graphics Card(s)
    MSI GeForce RTX 3060 Ventus 2X 12GB OC
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster AE-5 Plus
    Monitor(s) Displays
    ASUS TUF Gaming 27" 2K HDR Gaming
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro 1TB NVMe (Win 11 24H2)
    SK hynix P41 500GB NVMe (Win 11 23H2)
    SK hynix P41 2TB NVMe (x3)
    Crucial P3 Plus 4TB
    PSU
    Corsair RM850x Shift
    Case
    Antec Dark Phantom DP502 FLUX
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A chromax.black + 7 Phantek T-30's
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK 320
    Mouse
    Razer Basilisk V3
    Internet Speed
    350Mbs
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Winows Security
    Other Info
    Windows 11 23H2 22631.4890 (VHDX)
    On System One (Dual Boot)
  • Operating System
    Win 11 Pro 24H2 26100.3194
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Self Built
    CPU
    Intel Core i7-11700F
    Motherboard
    Asus TUF Gaming Z590 Plus WiFi
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    EVGA GeForce RTX 3050 XC Black Gaming
    Sound Card
    SoundBlaster X-Fi Titanium
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung F27T350
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 980 Pro 1TB
    Samsung 970 EVO Plus 2TB
    Samsung 870 EVO 500GB SSD
    PSU
    Corsair HX750
    Case
    Cougar MX330-G Window
    Cooling
    Hyper 212 EVO
    Internet Speed
    350Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Windows Security
The software hasn't changed much (yet) since the acquisition. I do recommend a stress ball or a stiff drink when navigating the web site though. :eyeroll:
website sucks, but I just download it from other sources like softpedia or the like.

Also, imho the program itself works great.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5700 X3D
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4 3600mhz Gskill Ripjaws V
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 4070 Super , 12GB VRAM Asus EVO Overclock
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) 2560 x 1440 @ 170hz HDR
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung nvme ssd
    2TB XPG nvme ssd
    PSU
    CORSAIR RMx SHIFT Series™ RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
    Case
    CORSAIR 3500X ARGB Mid-Tower ATX PC Case – Black
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 240 CPU Water Cooler
    Internet Speed
    900mbps DOWN, 100mbps UP
  • Operating System
    Chrome OS
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Chromebook
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Quad Core
    Memory
    4GB LPDDR4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14 Inch HD SVA anti glare micro edge display
    Hard Drives
    64 GB emmc
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VMware Workstation 17.6.2 Pro Release Notes

What's New

Free licensing model

VMware Workstation Pro is now free for commercial, educational, and personal use. You no longer need license key for access to the VMware Workstation Pro features.
 

My Computer

For several months when I tried to download it I kept getting an error. Now I don't. To save a lot of steps start at the following website.

VMware Workstation Pro: Now Available Free for Personal Use

Once there click on the indicated link.

vmware1.webp

Once you follow the link and log in you will be given the download page.

vmware2.webp
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS TUF Gaming A15 (2022)
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 6800H with Radeon 680M GPU (486MB RAM)
    Memory
    Crucial DDR5-4800 (2400MHz) 32GB (2 x 16GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    NVIDIA RTX 3060 Laptop (6GB RAM)
    Sound Card
    n/a
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6-inch
    Screen Resolution
    1920x1080 300Hz
    Hard Drives
    2 x Samsung 980 (1TB M.2 NVME SSD)
    PSU
    n/a
    Mouse
    Wireless Mouse M510
    Internet Speed
    2000Mbps/300Mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Pro 24H2
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom build
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 7 3700X
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Strix B550-F Gaming WiFi II
    Memory
    G.SKILL Flare X 32GB (2x16GB) DDR4
    Graphics card(s)
    ASUS ROG-STRIX-RTX3060TI-08G-V2-GAMING (RTX 3060-Ti, 8GB RAM)
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Samsung S23A300B (23-in LED)
    Screen Resolution
    1080p 60Hz
    Hard Drives
    2TB XPG SX8200 Pro (M2. PCIe SSD) || 2TB Intel 660P (M2. PCIe SSD)
    PSU
    Corsair RM750x (750 watts)
    Case
    Cooler Master MasterCase 5
    Cooling
    Scythe Mugen 6
    Mouse
    Logitech K350 (wireless)
    Keyboard
    Logitech M510 (wireless)
    Internet Speed
    2000 Mbps down / 300 Mbps up
    Browser
    Firefox, Edge, Chrome
    Antivirus
    Malwarebytes (Premium)
    Other Info
    ASUS Blu-ray Burner BW-16D1HT (SATA) || Western Digital Easystore 20TB USB 3.0 external hard drive used with Acronis True Image 2025 backup software || HP OfficeJet Pro 6975 Printer/Scanner
VMware Workstation 17.6.2 Pro Release Notes

What's New

Free licensing model

VMware Workstation Pro is now free for commercial, educational, and personal use. You no longer need license key for access to the VMware Workstation Pro features.
What's New

Free Licensing Model

  • VMware Workstiation Pro no longer requires a license key and is now free for commercial, educational, and personal use.
Bug Fixes
  • VMware Workstation Pro 17.6.2 provides various bug fixes requested by customers.
Resolved Issues
  • After performing snapshot operations in the Snapshot Manager, VMware Workstation for Linux crashes
Taking, deleting, or restoring snapshots through the Snapshot Manager might cause VMware Workstation for Linux to crash. This issue is resolved in VMware Workstation 17.6.2.
  • Virtual machines on Windows 11 hosts become unresponsive after unlocking the host
After locking or unlocking the host with a virtual machine installed on a Windows 11 host, the virtual machine becomes unresponsive. The issue is resolved in VMware Workstation 17.6.2.
  • The kcompactd kernel process causes virtual machines on Linux hosts to become unresponsive
Virtual machines on Linux hosts eventually become unresponsive because of the kcompactd kernel process. The issue is resolved in VMware Workstation 17.6.2.

Known Issues
  • The multi-monitor feature might not work correctly in specific topologies
In specific situations, based on different hardware and topologies, the multi-monitor feature does not work as expected. You might see issues like reverting the topology to a single screen, or not cycling through monitors.

Workaround:
None.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Build
    CPU
    Intel Core i9 12900KF
    Motherboard
    ASUS ROG Maximus Z690 Hero
    Memory
    Corsair 64GB DDR5 Vengeance C40 5200Mhz
    Graphics Card(s)
    ASUS GeForce RTX 3090 ROG Strix OC 24GB
    Sound Card
    OnBoard
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Acer Predator XB323UGP 32" QHD G-SYNC-C 144Hz 1MS IPS LED
    Screen Resolution
    2560 x 1440
    Hard Drives
    1x Samsung 980 Pro Series Gen4 250GB M.2 NVMe
    1x Samsung 980 Pro Series Gen4 500GB M.2 NVMe
    2x Samsung 980 Pro Series Gen4 2TB M.2 NVMe
    PSU
    Corsair AX1200i 1200W 80PLUS Titanium Modular
    Case
    Corsair 4000D Black Case w/ Tempered Glass Side Panel
    Cooling
    Noctua NH-U12A Chromax Black CPU Cooler, 4x Noctua 120mm Fans
    Keyboard
    Logitech MK545
    Mouse
    Logitech MX Master 3
    Internet Speed
    Fixed Wireless 150mbps/75mbps
    Browser
    Firefox
    Antivirus
    Kaspersky
    Other Info
    Thrustmaster TS-PC RACER
    Fanatec CSL Elite Pedals with the Load Cell Kit
    Yamaha Amp with Bose Speakers
So far, decidely unimpressed.

Tried to clean install 23H2 Home and got as far as the oobe update stage, the it fell over with some obscure message about bluetooth.

Then I tried to clean install 24H2 pro and it failed to install saying some files were missing!


edit - tried again, no setting changes and this time 23h2 pro installed.

Did a passmark benchmark comparision of clean install in Hyper-V with the vmware clean install (no hyper-v hypervisor installed) and Hyper-V performs 40% faster than vmware!

This is inline with previous tests of mine where Hyper-V outperformed Vmware 6.

Actually vmware 6 performance was even worse, so latest v7 does seem to be better but even so Hyper-V is still far superior!
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro + Win11 Canary VM.
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS Zenbook 14
    CPU
    I9 13th gen i9-13900H 2.60 GHZ
    Motherboard
    Yep, Laptop has one.
    Memory
    16 GB soldered
    Graphics Card(s)
    Integrated Intel Iris XE
    Sound Card
    Realtek built in
    Monitor(s) Displays
    laptop OLED screen
    Screen Resolution
    2880x1800 touchscreen
    Hard Drives
    1 TB NVME SSD (only weakness is only one slot)
    PSU
    Internal + 65W thunderbolt USB4 charger
    Case
    Yep, got one
    Cooling
    Stella Artois (UK pint cans - 568 ml) - extra cost.
    Keyboard
    Built in UK keybd
    Mouse
    Bluetooth , wireless dongled, wired
    Internet Speed
    900 mbs (ethernet), wifi 6 typical 350-450 mb/s both up and down
    Browser
    Edge
    Antivirus
    Defender
    Other Info
    TPM 2.0, 2xUSB4 thunderbolt, 1xUsb3 (usb a), 1xUsb-c, hdmi out, 3.5 mm audio out/in combo, ASUS backlit trackpad (inc. switchable number pad)

    Macrium Reflect Home V8
    Office 365 Family (6 users each 1TB onedrive space)
    Hyper-V (a vm runs almost as fast as my older laptop)
Why bother with Vmware these days especially when HYPER-V is far superior performance wise -- the main nag is no dynamic redirection of USB devices so you need to have your VM hardware sorted out before creating / powering on the VM.

On Linux too --no need for VMWare -- KVM/QEMU is as good as HYPER-V (or even better) especially if you use virtio for disk I/O and network NIC's (Plus pass thru of real hardware and dynamic re-direction of USB devices work too) -- note also for pass thru of graphics/GPU hardware ensure IOMMAX is enabled if option is present in your PC's firmware.

Cheers
jimbo
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows XP,7,10,11 Linux Arch Linux
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    CPU
    2 X Intel i7
Why bother with Vmware these days especially when HYPER-V is far superior performance wise
I don't know if I am crazy but this has never been the case on my amd systems.
Graphics performance is very poor. Also, I hate the interface of hyper V.

Vmware tools is the goat.

That said, We all have our preferences though. Vmware is mine.
 

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom Built
    CPU
    Ryzen 7 5700 X3D
    Motherboard
    MSI MPG B550 GAMING PLUS
    Memory
    64 GB DDR4 3600mhz Gskill Ripjaws V
    Graphics Card(s)
    RTX 4070 Super , 12GB VRAM Asus EVO Overclock
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Gigabyte M27Q (rev. 2.0) 2560 x 1440 @ 170hz HDR
    Hard Drives
    2TB Samsung nvme ssd
    2TB XPG nvme ssd
    PSU
    CORSAIR RMx SHIFT Series™ RM750x 80 PLUS Gold Fully Modular ATX Power Supply
    Case
    CORSAIR 3500X ARGB Mid-Tower ATX PC Case – Black
    Cooling
    ID-COOLING FROSTFLOW X 240 CPU Water Cooler
    Internet Speed
    900mbps DOWN, 100mbps UP
  • Operating System
    Chrome OS
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    HP Chromebook
    CPU
    Intel Pentium Quad Core
    Memory
    4GB LPDDR4
    Monitor(s) Displays
    14 Inch HD SVA anti glare micro edge display
    Hard Drives
    64 GB emmc
Vmware tools is the goat.

That said, We all have our preferences though. Vmware is mine.
Same here.
I like that ,by adding the two lines below to preferences.ini, no interface from the host is present.


Code:
pref.vmplayer.fullscreen.autohideSize = "0"
pref.vmplayer.fullscreen.nobar = "TRUE"

As far as performance is concerned, it is a must to add:

Code:
ulm.disableMitigations="TRUE"

to your windows.vmx file (edit with notepad)


These settings are being used on VMplayer. VMworkstation was later installed and inherited those settings without issues.
I do not know if the same settings are available via the Workstation GUI as I haven't spent much time on it.
 
Last edited:

My Computers

System One System Two

  • OS
    Windows 11 Pro for Workstations
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. TUF Gaming FX705GM
    CPU
    2.20 gigahertz Intel i7-8750H Hyper-threaded 12 cores
    Motherboard
    ASUSTeK COMPUTER INC. FX705GM 1.0
    Memory
    24428 Megabytes
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel(R) UHD Graphics 630 / NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1060
    Sound Card
    Intel(R) Display Audio / Realtek(R) Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    Integrated Monitor (17.3"vis)
    Screen Resolution
    FHD 1920X1080 16:9
    Hard Drives
    2 SSD SATA/NVM Express 1.3
    WDS500G2B0A-00SM50 500.1 GB
    WDCSDAPNUW-1002 256 GB
    PSU
    19V DC 6.32 A 120 W
    Cooling
    Dual Fans
    Mouse
    MS Bluetooth
    Internet Speed
    Fiber 1GB Cox -us & 400MB Orange-fr
    Browser
    Edge Canary- Firefox Nightly-Chrome Dev
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    VMs of Windows 11 stable/Beta/Dev/Canary
    VM of XeroLinux- Arch based & Debian 12
  • Operating System
    Windows 11 Insider Canary
    Computer type
    Laptop
    Manufacturer/Model
    ASUS X751BP
    CPU
    AMD Dual Core A6-9220
    Motherboard
    ASUS
    Memory
    8 GB
    Graphics card(s)
    AMD Radeon R5 M420
    Sound Card
    Realtek
    Monitor(s) Displays
    17.3
    Screen Resolution
    1600X900 16:9
    Hard Drives
    1TB 5400RPM
I've been using VMWare Workstation for years and it's still my preferred virtualization solution, especially since it's free now. I mainly use it to run EndeavourOS (Arch Linux) for all my web browsing.
 
Last edited:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 11
    Computer type
    PC/Desktop
    Manufacturer/Model
    Custom
    CPU
    AMD Ryzen 9 5950X
    Motherboard
    Asus ROG Strix X570-F Gaming
    Memory
    Corsair Vengeance LPX CMK32GX4M2B3200C16 (64 GB)
    Graphics Card(s)
    Asus ROG Strix 2080Ti
    Sound Card
    Sound Blaster AE-9
    Monitor(s) Displays
    2 x Dell UltraSharp U2413f
    Screen Resolution
    1920 x 1200
    Hard Drives
    Samsung 990 Pro (2000 GB, M.2 2280)
    Seagate Barracuda Pro (12TB, 3.5")
    Seagate Exos X12 512E (12TB, 3.5")
    WD Red Plus (12 TB, 3.5", CMR)
    Corsair Force MP510 M.2 NVME SSD (1788 GB)
    PSU
    Seasonic Prime Ultra Platinum (1000 W)
    Case
    Corsair Obsidian 750D
    Cooling
    Deepcool GamerStorm Captain 240 Pro (12cm)
    Keyboard
    Logitech G910
    Mouse
    Logitech G502
    Internet Speed
    1000 Mbit/s (synchronous)
    Browser
    Firefox, Vivaldi
    Antivirus
    GDATA Internet Security
Hey Deleted member 40197,

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