Contents
Migrating a virtual machine to an upgraded version of Workstation
The best way to take advantage of performance and technology
improvements in this version of VMware Workstation is to
create new virtual machines.
Use the
Configuration Wizard to set up a new virtual machine and
install a guest operating system in the virtual machine.
However, if necessary, you can migrate existing
virtual machines to the upgraded version of VMware Workstation.
Note: On Linux hosts, VMware
Workstation 3.0 will offer to convert virtual disk .dsk
filenames to use the new .vmdk extension the first time you
run a virtual machine after installing Workstation. If you are
storing virtual disk files on a Windows XP computer -- such
as a file server -- it is especially important that you allow
Workstation to make this change in order to avoid conflicts with
the Windows XP system restore feature. The .vmdk extension can
be used for virtual disks under any VMware product. Workstation
3.0 automatically updates references to the virtual disk files
in configuration files on the host computer. If you are using
the same virtual disk file from any other computer, you need to
update the configuration files with the new filename.
There are two ways to
migrating existing virtual machines to newer versions of
VMware Workstation:
Using an Existing Virtual Machine Configuration File
You can use an existing virtual machine with this release
of VMware Workstation if you do not need the
new features of this release.
Note the following:
-
Upgrade VMware Tools to the new version. Do not
remove the older version of VMware Tools before installing the
new version.
-
When you use your existing virtual machine configuration file,
you do not have the benefit of
the new unified virtual video hardware, which is a new
feature that helps simplify the installation of VMware Tools.
-
On Linux hosts, VMware
Workstation 3.0 offers to convert virtual disk .dsk
filenames to use the new .vmdk extension the first time you
run a virtual machine after installing Workstation.
If you are
storing virtual disk files on a Windows XP computer -- such
as a file server -- it is especially important that you allow
Workstation to make this change in order to avoid conflicts with
the Windows XP system restore feature. The .vmdk extension can
be used for virtual disks under any VMware product. Workstation
3.0 automatically updates references to the virtual disk files
in configuration files on the host computer.
If you are using
the same virtual disk file from any other computer, you need to
update the configuration files with the new filename.
Upgrading the Virtual Hardware in an Existing Virtual Machine
You can upgrade the virtual hardware in an existing virtual
machine to take advantage of the new features of this release.
Be aware that after you upgrade the virtual
hardware in an existing virtual machine, you cannot use the upgraded
virtual machine with older versions of VMware products.
Follow these steps to upgrade the hardware of a virtual machine
and migrate the virtual machine to an upgraded version of VMware
Workstation:
- Install the latest version of VMware Tools, including the
SVGA driver in the virtual machine you wish to upgrade.
See Installing VMware Tools for an overview
of the process, and for links to specific instructions for
your guest operating system.
Note: If there is an older version of VMware
Tools installed in the virtual machine, do not remove it.
-
Power off your virtual machine.
-
From the Settings menu, choose Upgrade Virtual
Hardware. A dialog box appears, warning that the upgrade
process cannot be reversed.
-
Click Yes to continue,
then follow the on-screen directions.
Related Topics:
Back to top
© 2001 VMware, Inc.
All rights reserved.