Can't get VMTools working on Ubuntu 22

[Mork]

I have VMFusion 13 on the Mac (Mac OS 13.1) and have installed Ubuntu 22.04.

Now, when the Ubuntu VM is running and I go to the VM Fusion "Virtual Machine" menu, I see that the menu has the "Install VM Tools" grayed out. Makes no difference if the VM is "on" or "off", the Install VM Tools menu option remains grayed out.

I tried manually installing things but there is no expected folder on the desktop to work with.

I was thinking this install would be straightforward, but I've now spent 3 unproductive hours trying to figure out this basic configuration.

Some suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

 

[svenmany]

It's also greyed out for me with Fusion 12 and Ubuntu 22.10. I found a workaround at https://communities.vmware.com/t5/V...re-tools-greyed-out-in-Fusion-12/td-p/2809208. It worked for me. I now have a CD mounted with vmware-tools software. I haven't tried running it since my current VMTools is fine.

You should still be able to open the iso images and run vmware tools that way...

To do so here are the steps fully written out.

First copy the iso out of the VMware Fusion application bundle.

- Start Finder, go to Applications

- Right-click on VMware Fusion -> select "Show Package Contents"

- Navigate to Content -> Library -> isoimages

- copy "windows.iso" to your documents folders (do not move, but copy!)

Now attach the iso to your virtual CD drive

- menu -> Virtual Machine -> CD/DVD -> Choose Disc of Disc Image...

- navigate to the documents folder and select "windows.iso"

- menu -> Virtual Machine -> CD/DVD -> Connect CD/DVD

The installer should now be available in your guest OS under drive 😧

--
Wil



-

| Author of Vimalin. The virtual machine Backup app for VMware Fusion, VMware Workstation and Player |
| More info at vimalin.com | Twitter @wilva

 

[arw]

EDIT: The link above describes what worked for me in the past:

I don’t know about Ubuntu specifically, but the vmware-tools iso files that (should automatically) get mounted are located in /Applications/VMware Fusion.app/Contents/Library/isoimages and can be copied/exchanged and mounted manually.
Maybe simply manually mounting the corresponding iso to your VM already works to install the tools or you can try an older iso version (if you already have or download an older VMware dmg).
I used this method to place an iso with a better performing Windows VGA driver from an older VMware version into the current one and still be able to install it directly via the VMware menu.

 

[chrfr]

I have VMFusion 13 on the Mac (Mac OS 13.1) and have installed Ubuntu 22.04.

Now, when the Ubuntu VM is running and I go to the VM Fusion "Virtual Machine" menu, I see that the menu has the "Install VM Tools" grayed out. Makes no difference if the VM is "on" or "off", the Install VM Tools menu option remains grayed out.

I tried manually installing things but there is no expected folder on the desktop to work with.

I was thinking this install would be straightforward, but I've now spent 3 unproductive hours trying to figure out this basic configuration.

Some suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

VMware recommends using Open-VM-Tools: https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-T...UID-C48E1F14-240D-4DD1-8D4C-25B6EBE4BB0F.html

 

[Mork]

Yes, I ran those commands, but I still had no VM Tools type utilities: shared copy & paste, and most importantly, shared folders on guest computer and Ubuntu VM. It's not that the "sudo installs" didn't work, it's that nothing changed. I needed to share the folder I set up in VMFusion, but it wasn't visible.
Any way to fix that?
Thanks

 

[bogdanw]

Did you allow Accessibility and Automation permissions for Fusion?
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac...ty-settings-on-mac-mchl211c911f/13.0/mac/13.0

 

[Mork]

Did you allow Accessibility and Automation permissions for Fusion?
https://support.apple.com/guide/mac...ty-settings-on-mac-mchl211c911f/13.0/mac/13.0

Maybe that's new as I didn't need to do that the last time I installed Ubuntu? I'll try to re-install.

Separately, do you know why ubuntu keeps looking at the installation "iso" image after it's already been installed? If I remove the iso after installation, Ubuntu on reboot says it can't find it and some device won't be available.

Thanks for your reply.

 

[Mork]

Under Mac's 13.2 Privacy & Security menu, VM Fusion Applications Menu has "System Events" enabled. There is no way to add any other permission that I can see...

Also, when I installed Ubuntu 22.04 (just did this again) it asked if I wanted to make my home directory available to the virtual machine. Yet if I go into the files app, and choose "Other Locations", it only says "On This Computer" and "Windows Network". Clicking on Windows Network just said it failed to retrieve share list...

Running the VM install scripts say they're already installed, but I have no way to access the shared drive set up.

It's been awhile since I've set up an Ubuntu VM so I'm clearly missing something or something has changed (or both).

Look forward to ideas.

Thanks,

 

[bogdanw]

I don't have Ventura at the moment, but I think you should have Fusion in Privacy & Security - Accessibility
In Monterey, the permissions tell macOS that Fusion can have access to the clipboard, otherwise there in nothing to paste in the virtual machine

You can uncheck Connect CD/DVD Drive in the settings of the VM.

 

[svenmany]

I am running VMware Fusion version 12, so this might not apply to the version in question.

I have VMware Fusion enabled under "Accessibility" as @bogdanw mentioned. I also have it listed in "Files and Folder" where I've enabled a few choice folders. If I remember correctly, VMware requested full disk access and I denied it; I do see it listed in that section, but it's disabled.

My understanding is that the application adds itself to those lists when it requests that kind of access. But, you can just drag an application to that list using Finder, if it's not there.

 

[Mork]

This is really strange. I've enabled full disk access for both VM Fusion and VMware Fusion Applications. In Ventura's new Settings app, there's nothing to enable in Accessibility (for VM Fusion).

Running all the vmtools install sudo commands tells me they're installed. But, they don't appear to be running. I have no idea how to "start" them.

In VMFusion, under sharing where I've shared a folder, regardless of whether the VM is on or off, it simply says:
"Shared folders will not be available in the virtual machine until VMware Tools is installed and running."

There is nothing defined under /mnt

So, how do I 'start' VMTools so it's running and workable?

Thanks

 

[svenmany]

This is really strange. I've enabled full disk access for both VM Fusion and VMware Fusion Applications. In Ventura's new Settings app, there's nothing to enable in Accessibility (for VM Fusion).

Did you try to drag the VMware Fusion application (dragging the icon from /Applications) to that Accessibility section?

 

[Mork]

The problem appears to be that the vmtools isn't running on the VM, not a permissions issue on the mac side.

 

[bogdanw]

Without the proper permissions on macOS, the VM vmtools don't receive any input.

 

[svenmany]

The problem appears to be that the vmtools isn't running on the VM, not a permissions issue on the mac side.

Even though you're right, that it's probably irrelevant, you now know how to get VMware to show up under Accessibility.

The problem appears to be that the vmtools isn't running on the VM, not a permissions issue on the mac side.

I haven't run my VM in a long time. I'm only running it now to help you. I realize that I have the same issue as you. I mounted the CD, copied its contents to disk (it needs to be writeable to run since it wants to chmod +x), then ran run_upgrader.sh. After 5 seconds it finished. I restarted the VM but VMware says vmtools is not running.

I repeated the execution using strace and saw lots of errors. I'm running an obsolete VMware, so you might see more interesting output that could help you.

 

[Mork]

The thing is I have a Windows VM on the same machine (same VMFusion) that has zero problems with VMtools.

I have no "CD" or CD-ROM.

To create this VM In VMFUsion, you just install the VM from an ISO image you download by dropping it into VMFusion's "New" setup. The VM Image needs to be able to interact with the host OS. Current Macs don't have CDs or DVD drives as far as I know (mine doesn't).

I don't need Ubuntu longer than to run a single test in Tomcat. But, I need to be able to get a WAR file on this VM securely...

Thanks.

 

[svenmany]

The thing is I have a Windows VM on the same machine (same VMFusion) that has zero problems with VMtools.

Success on Windows is irrelevant; I wouldn't focus on that. VMtools on Windows is a different program than VMtools on Linux; the same is true for the installer programs. It's the Linux version of the installer program which is failing. "strace" output is not trivial to read, but it might help you.

 

[svenmany]

I have no "CD" or CD-ROM.

I also have no cd-rom. It's not a real cd-rom I'm talking about. I went to the VMware settings of the Virtual Machine. I had a CD/DVD device there (you can add it if you don't see it). Then, in the properties of that device, I selected the "linux.ios"

 

[svenmany]

Hey, another option is to ask on the VMware forums. They might have specific knowledge about the problem installing the tools on Linux. And, what about @chrfr's advice to use Open-VM-Tools. Have you tried that?

 

[Mork]

I also have no cd-rom. It's not a real cd-rom I'm talking about. I went to the VMware settings of the Virtual Machine. I had a CD/DVD device there (you can add it if you don't see it). Then, in the properties of that device, I selected the "linux.ios"

 

[Mork]

Could you post a screenshot showing what you did? Here's what my CD properties looks like (no linux.ios):

 

[Mork]

Hey, another option is to ask on the VMware forums. They might have specific knowledge about the problem installing the tools on Linux. And, what about @chrfr's advice to use Open-VM-Tools. Have you tried that?

Yes.

https://linuxconfig.org/install-vmware-tools-on-ubuntu-22-04-jammy-jellyfish-linux

These are the steps I did, but on reboot, nothing is different.

Thanks

 

[Mork]

Success on Windows is irrelevant; I wouldn't focus on that. VMtools on Windows is a different program than VMtools on Linux; the same is true for the installer programs. It's the Linux version of the installer program which is failing. "strace" output is not trivial to read, but it might help you.

What command should I run to get the stack trace?
Thanks.

 

[svenmany]

That linux.iso was a file on my desktop copied out of the Application's bundle. In that dropdown just select "choose a disk or disk image..." and navigate to where you have that iso.

 

[svenmany]

What command should I run to get the stack trace?
Thanks.

strace is nothing about stack traces. From the man page - "strace - trace system calls and signals".

I ran

strace ./run_upgrader.sh >~/straceOutput.txt 2>&1

However, it would take me a number of hours to possibly find the error (if the error is even there). I have limited experience, and what I do have is from 1996. Just to save you the trouble, I'll upload here the result I got (which might be different than what you'd get). That can give you a sense whether tackling comprehending an strace output is within your reach.