Someone reviewed v on Jul 5, 2022

Pros: 555

Cons: 555

Bottom Line: 555

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v10.0.1 on Oct 27, 2013

Unfortunately this application has become a bloatware.

On my linux box vmware service takes four seconds to run. Then vmware itself starts in approximately 12 seconds. Then in order to run my VM it does something for several seconds.

I.e. over 25 seconds for nothing. Meanwhile VBox does that all in mere 3 seconds and my VM is ready in just 8 seconds.

Thank you but no thank you. I stopped using VMWare WS five years ago and never looked back.

Dakm4 reviewed v9.0.1 on Apr 3, 2013

I have tried to eval workstation and it seems to have issue getting a virtual computer os installed I have run into bios errors about what i have turned on or not turned on. I then install oracle virtual box that is free and install the same OS with no problems. Maybe they are trying too hard with workstation. Needs to be free

fmontanoxp reviewed v9.0.1 on Feb 19, 2013

me parece una excelente herramiento para el area de infraestructuras

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v9.0 on Aug 23, 2012

It's a perfect virtualization platform, but recent workstation releases have become kinda bloated.

VMWare is slow to start, the installer thrashes you system for minutes before VMWare gets installed.

euukoo reviewed v8.0.2 on Jan 25, 2012

it's a great software

jenusi reviewed v8.0.1 on Nov 25, 2011

Used workstation since 5.5 and loving it and upgraded to 8 using some discount code found at http://www.davidtan.org/...count-coupon-code-promo/

virtualbox works fine too but preferred to stick with workstation

jcollake reviewed v8.0.1 on Nov 21, 2011

Still the best. Although VMWare Player is now free, to compete with other virtualization applications, VMWare Workstation has awesome capabilities that make it well worth the reasonable price they charge for it.

antriu reviewed v7.1.4 Build 385536 on Aug 7, 2011

good programm

asaenz reviewed v7.1.4 Build 385536 on Mar 30, 2011

Plus: it runs every application I need to run without difficulty and plays music clients better than virtualbox. Drag-and-drop is convenient (when it works properly).
Minus: eats up a lot of my memory on my 2 GB system so it is more difficult to multitask when I have a browser and other applications running along with it and usually eventually have to reboot to get all my performance back. I plan on getting a 4 GB system soon but it is a shame 2 GB isn't enough anymore unless you only run 1 or 2 sizable applications.

jcollake reviewed v7.1.3 Build 324285 on Nov 21, 2010

I've always stuck with VMware Workstation. Now that the VMWare Player is free and can now create VMs, is is tempting to switch to it, but I do love the snapshot and clone features.

I tried VirtualBox, but it wasn't for me. In all benchmarks I've seen the two are comparable enough for it to not make a difference. However, I'd be VMWare's experience has its benefits in real performance.

man friday reviewed v7.1.3 Build 324285 on Nov 21, 2010

confused by rojs' review. Have you used VMW or listened to someone who was paid to use it? In a 14k sized co. why Workstation and not ESX?

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v7.1.3 Build 324285 on Nov 20, 2010

A paragon of virtualization.

soldier1st reviewed v7.1.2-301548 on Oct 4, 2010

Virtualbox has now matured into something useable while VMWare continues to be a bloated VM solution and it often complains about errors.

TomasF reviewed v7.1.2-301548 on Oct 4, 2010

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't use that bloated buggy crap if you paid me and I AM being paid for that."

VMware Workstation - Not recommended by people who aren't doing what they're being paid to do.

Nice new improvements in DX in this build, btw

sararocs reviewed v7.1.1-282343 on Aug 17, 2010

There is no comparing Vmware and virtualbox. Vm wins hands down. Yes is a BIG app, but for a reason. It's packed with features. It quickly creates an OS or fires up and all ready one.

roj reviewed v7.1.1-282343 on Aug 17, 2010

The best and most stinging indictment of the product came a week ago in my office. I called a colleague who is responsible for the virtualization servers in our 14,000 employee organization to ask for some information and he assured me that he would send it to me as soon as he was finished creating the latest incarnation of the VM where he ran all of his work applications. On a whim, I asked him what he was using, thinking that he would respond with VMWare since that's what we use for our virtualization infrastructure and thus is his direct responsibility. His response was VirtualBox. More than a little amused, I asked him why not VMWare. His verbatim response:

"Are you kidding me? I wouldn't use that bloated buggy crap if you paid me and I AM being paid for that."

Apart from my other comments on this product in previous reviews, 'NUFF SAID.

My TWO star rating stands.

TomWibbaert reviewed v7.1.1-282343 on Aug 17, 2010

Way too bloated, way too many unnecessary background processes and services. That's a result of big-corporation software, thousands of guys working on the same thing which do not know from one another.
Jeez, installing or uninstalling this crap takes like a full hour, come on !!!

Get the free VirtualBox, clean, fast, and actually more usable features than this bloatware.

FatBastard reviewed v7.1.1-282343 on Aug 16, 2010

Virtualbox FTW

TomasF reviewed v7.0.1 Build 227600 on Feb 4, 2010

Some people here seem to be reviewing the wrong product, they're comparing Virtualbox on premises where VMware Player would probably fit their requirements better. It's good to hear the Virtualbox developers are attentive to bug reports, because with the number of bugs I've seen in their "cutting edge" (you know, old from VMware) features like Snapshots and such, they need to be.

Workstation is an essential tool in my virtualization ecosystem, with native support for the dominant enterprise virtualization solution, debugging support and advanced api, powerful networking config manager. at work I spend my entire day in assorted VMs connected to different VLANs and with different OSes.
Now that it supports vSphere as a guest too, it's a powerful test environment.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v7.0.1 Build 227600 on Feb 2, 2010

2rog:

> "TWO stars for bloat, lackluster performance, poor bug sanitization over multiple releases, a seriously overblown price and an abrasive and invasive download procedure."

Seriously, someone's PC is absolutely wrecked because VMWare is the fastest and the best virtualization around.

roj reviewed v7.0.1 Build 227600 on Feb 1, 2010

Just today I installed this product and compared it against my now standard VirtualBox installation. I'm a former VMWare user that switched to VirtualBox somewhere around the 6.5 release of VMWare after a long and frustrating history with that product, beginning with the 6.0 release. I wanted to see if anything had changed.

I wasn't at all surprised to learn that nothing had.

VirtualBox is less resource intensive, considerably faster, supports the majority of important features and is a MUCH better value. Why? Because their dev team actually listens to issues and fixes them in a timely fashion.

This company is resting on its laurels (like many another pioneer) regarding the workstation version. When a small company can come from behind and offer a comprehensive feature set that touches all the important bases For Free, that's a death knell in that market segment to another company that is bogged down in its own complexity.

Is VirtualBox less idiot proof? Not by much and that gap closes significantly with each new point (not major - point) release. Right about now they're almost level AND they can import vmdk files. I use VirtualBox every day with a Novell client, Lotus Notes, MS Office, even Windows MovieMaker. I have it running XP, Vista, Windows 7, Ubuntu. It multitasks smoothly and gives no grief with the keyboard buffer if network performance is slow - that requires a kludge in VMWare. In short, this product, unless you have extremely specific requirements that only it can handle (and believe me, they must be very esoteric), is a complete waste of money.

The download process is still arduous, cumbersome and invasive. VMWare, if I want to download your product you are NOT entitled to any of my or my company's information - get that through your thick heads.

TWO stars for bloat, lackluster performance, poor bug sanitization over multiple releases, a seriously overblown price and an abrasive and invasive download procedure.

Get VirtualBox instead. I did and I'm not going back.

sparskter reviewed v7.0 Build 203739 on Oct 28, 2009

The best one period.
I bought a license myself yesterday;

I am using linux as host and winxp as guest
1- VMWare supports IMGBURN inside guest winxp;
2- VMWare supports AcTiveSync (I own a HTC win mobile );
3- VMWare best feature at all: SNAPHOTS. You can take any snapshot and travel between them in any order you like.

VMWare is an effort of thousands people (engineers)
EXCELLENT work!

OBS: NOW YOU HAVE TO BUY ONLY ONE LICENSE! THAT IS IT: YOU BUY A LICENSE FOR VMWARE WORKSTATION AND USE IT EITHER AS WINDOWS OR LINUX HOST.

OBS: DO NOT RATE 1 STATING "OLD VERSION"!!! TTHAT IS NOT VMWARE FAULT!! IT'SS BETANEWS!!!

sparskter reviewed v7.0 Build 203739 on Oct 28, 2009

The best one period.
I bought a license myself yesterday;

I am using linux as host and winxp as guest
1- VMWare supports IMGBURN inside guest winxp;
2- VMWare supports AcTiveSync (I own a HTC win mobile );
3- VMWare best feature at all: SNAPHOTS. You can take any snapshot and travel between them in any order you like.

VMWare is an effort of thousands people (engineers)
EXCELLENT work!

OBS: NOW YOU HAVE TO BUY ONLY ONE LICENSE! THAT IS IT: YOU BUY A LICENSE FOR VMWARE WORKSTATION AND USE IT EITHER AS WINDOWS OR LINUX HOST.

Bart Welson reviewed v6.5.2 Build 156735 on Jun 3, 2009

OLD version !

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v6.5.2 Build 156735 on Jun 2, 2009

Someone at betanews is ultimately inattentive as this version 6.5.2 build 156735 was released two months ago.

As for application itself - I miss VMWare 4.x, which was much snappier.

Earlier I said:
Reviewing 6.5.1 Build 126130 (Nov 22, 2008)
Download package could be split into smaller files, otherwise it's a perfect software.

kholdstare reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Jan 19, 2009

only good virtual machine software out there. with Microsoft VirtualPC software being too slow and suns free stuff which has the same issue with all free software which is full of bugs and very little people to work on it. you ignorant wannabe experts can stick with your free bug ridden software. me, i'll stick with something that i have to pay for but i know that works right

roj reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Nov 24, 2008

The only reason I'm downloading this product is that it's on my current build and I want the update in the hope that it will resolve some long standing issues. When my corporate workstation is rebuilt, it will be replaced with Sun VirtualBox which is smaller, lighter and free.

Since Version 6, this software has been problematic with issues ranging from network related keyboard buffer problems to erroneous error messages in the Event Log from its DRM component (the authenticating service) about being unable to connect to a VMDK. As far as I'm concerned, it's simply not worth the trouble or the price tag. VirtualBox will give me everything I need, I won't be charged a cent for it, it consumes less resources (I run an Athlon64 6000+ AM2 w/4GB RAM under XP64), is less invasive on my system and doesn't clutter my Even Log with useless errors that are not resolved no matter how often you bring them to VMWare's attention.

With Sun breathing down their necks at one end and Microsoft hamstringing them at the other, the days of this version of the software (Workstation) are numbered – and given Version 6, that fate is warranted.

Finally, the download process to get this software is arduous and annoying, requiring a registration. Novell perpetuates the same stupidity. People (and all vendors who do the “register to download” thing), I just want to download your software. I'm not interested in your marketing department trying to keep tabs on me or offering me so-called “value added” nonsense. Just let me get to the software and download it with a single link and get out of my hair.

TWO stars for all the cons iterated above that are not commensurate with the pros provided.

EDIT:

My God, the moon is indeed made of Bleu Cheese! VMWare actually finally fixed the VMDK error! They get another star just for that - after all, it only took them SIX iterations to get it right.

THREE stars.

Phoon reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Nov 22, 2008

Not worth the price?
Download too big?

OMG, you have to be joking. Unless you are on dialup then file size is not a problem, especially with todays hard drive sizes. If HD space is an issue for you then you have no business running a VM.
VMWare is the standard by which every other solution tries to emulate. Top notch in every way. Worth every penny spent.

Loxx reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Nov 22, 2008

Release notes:

http://www.vmware.com/su...releasenotes_ws651.html

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Nov 22, 2008

Download package could be split into smaller files, otherwise it's a perfect software.

Joco reviewed v6.5.1 Build 126130 on Nov 21, 2008

Download size: about 600 MB. Price $180.

VirtualBox 2.04: free, including for commercial use. Download size: 35 MB.

I have compared VirtualBox .04 against VMWare WS 6.5.118166 since two weeks now. VBx does better, especially when guest OS is Ubuntu (mouse integration from VMWare didn't work). I am not convinced that VMWare WS is faster, quite the contrary. I didn't make precise benchmark but roughly I feel that VirtualBox is more responsive, boot faster and consume less resources.

In summary, I think VMWare workstation is not worth its price.

gawd21 reviewed v6.5 Build 118166 on Nov 14, 2008

Waist of time, money, and HD space. You have to jump through 10 million hoops to even get this, then they want to over charge you, and then the footprint if lastly larger than all of the easy to get free programs that do everything - but the Mac OS - that VMWare can do. Get a grip.

Undesired Username reviewed v6.5 Build 118166 on Nov 13, 2008

I love it, but the VMware Workstation installation folder now devours 1.25 GB of disk space!

DeadFly reviewed v6.5 Build 118166 on Sep 25, 2008

Keeps getting better. I'm pretty excited about the "Unity" feature, but it seems to slow things down a bit.

There may be some free workstation VM products, but the performance and features are still lagging VMWare for now.

One other option if you're not adverse to spending money is Windows 2008 HyperV. The performance is amazing and with some setup, Win 2008 isn't too bad as a desktop OS (or just run your "workstation" in a VM).

Registered reviewed v6.5 Build 118166 on Sep 25, 2008

great package, but 550MB download,
it sure is growing in size, even though x64bit is included,

still great package, and performance just keeps getting better,

although is should be mentioned that "http://www.virtualbox.org/"

is growing aswell, and it's free,
and being well suported, and there version 2 is very good, but performance is no where as good, but with dual and quad core CPU's in most systems, virtualbox is a good choice for average consumers,

Morphus reviewed v6.5 Build 118166 on Sep 25, 2008

I even can not setup, it prompts
"Setup failed to generate the SSL keys necessary to run VMware Server"

Zer0 Voltage reviewed v6.5 Build 99530 Beta on Jun 25, 2008

@Max_Real Qnx: I haven't used the 6.5 beta yet, but assume it is supposed to support accelerated 3D now in an automated fashion (unlike previous versions). But since this is a beta release, perhaps this support just isn't 100% perfected yet?

With version 6.0.x releases, you had to manually edit the .vmx file associated with the client OS and add a few special entries (along with possibly preparing the host - like making sure hardware acceleration is set to full). See here for full details:

http://pubs.vmware.com/w...d_enabling_guestos.html

If this guess is correct and this support just isn't finalized yet in the beta, perhaps following those manual instructions will work?

I suppose you can also try installing the latest full DirectX end-user runtime redist package - which is currently June 2008 and is available here:

http://www.microsoft.com...c557%26DisplayLang%3den

I've always installed the latest full DX redist immediately after modifying the .vmx file and before doing any testing, so I don't know if it's actually capable of fixing a problem like yours or not. Can't hurt to try though. :-)

And of course, since I haven't tried the beta, I also don't know if there's now something special you need to do in either VMWare Tools (within the client OS) or the virtual client machine's settings (on the host through the VMware interface). So check both places just in case. There may be an option somewhere.

Just as a heads up though, at least with the 6.0.x releases, even when it works it's limited. From what I saw, only "older" DX packages worked (and obviously more slowly than on a host). Most of the newer stuff (DX9+) just hung or did something ugly to the video. Good luck!

DJHasis reviewed v6.5 Build 99530 Beta on Jun 25, 2008

Good, working and faster compared to some other virtual machines. Sad that it isn't free :(
Max_Real Qnx: are you sure you installed vmtools?
It's a packet that enables different functions depending os, and if I remember correctly, it enables directx in windows-systems.

Max_Real Qnx reviewed v6.5 Build 91182 Beta on Jun 7, 2008

Guest Operation System Windows Xp Professional
Host System Windows Xp Profess?onal

I'm install VMware Tools to Guest System. But Direct 3D Acceleration don't working on guest operation system :p

Screen Shot:

http://img68.imageshack.us/img68/1482/wm65tm6.png

democlees reviewed v6.5 Build 91182 Beta on May 16, 2008

I tried vm ware a week ago, it doesnt support 64 bit OS yet it just will in t future and has t buttons for it now, i loaded a few debian xp and ubunto OS on it with no trouble, they are still a bit slow but will give you a peek at a diffrent OS it connected to t net with no problems at all but t slowness took all t fun out off it, it was like being on a comodore 64 again

SELonBN reviewed v6.5 Build 91182 Beta on May 15, 2008

The new Unity feature is so nice! I've enjoyed it in Fusion for the mac and am glad it's come to other platforms. I find this product getting better all the time. Migrating VMs to another computer keeps getting easier and I plan to start making use of the Record/Replay functionality instead of collections of PrintScreens for documenting certain procedures. I wouldn't complain about bloat because I run it on powerful machines with plenty of RAM. For a less powerful PC, Virtual Box is a little quicker - and that product is growing features at a good clip also. I have personally purchased VMware for 2 platforms and don't regret it at all.

marty reviewed v6.5 Build 91182 Beta on May 15, 2008

I spent a lot of money on VMware Workstation when it was the only game in town. The only feature it has which Virtual Box (I won't talk about Virtual PC) is that it can run 64-bit guests. Virtual Box is working on that. It now has the resources of Sun.
There are many problems with WS - just look at the forums where problems (like connectivity which the other reviewers pointed out) - every 5 minutes. I'll check out this beta since I have room for it but I sure would spent more money on a terribly bloated program (360+ MB!)

amar_kamedia reviewed v6.5 Build 84113 Beta on Apr 5, 2008

this is very useful for network administrator and client server

MickyFoley reviewed v6.5 Build 84113 Beta on Apr 2, 2008

VMWare is a great application but there are several things, that must be done.

http://www.vmware.com/pr...asenotes_ws65_beta.html

roj reviewed v6.0.3 Build 80004 on Mar 17, 2008

darkwzrd1:

Read more carefully and having read do attempt to comprehend.

I didn't say I had trouble installing an OS under VMWare. I said that I was getting a message in the Windows Event Log that said that VMWare couldn't connect to a vmx file. The service producing the error was their DRM authentication beastie. That problem surfaced in the betas for version 6 and has persisted. It's finally fixed in 6.03.

Finally.

However, the VMWare Tools upgrade process doesn't work worth a damn for existing VMs. I used the "Upgrade" option for VMWare Tools in three completely different VMs - I even uninstalled Tools first. All did absolutely nothing.

This isn't a surprise - this company's QA is about as robust as George W. bush's domestic policies.

Fix one thing, break another.

Might I also add that my lineage with this product goes back to version 4 - considerably longer than your one year.

Edit:

The VMX error persists.

ONE star for VERY poor QAT.

darkwzrd1 reviewed v6.0.3 Build 80004 on Mar 17, 2008

roj how the hell are u having issues installing a OS with VMWare, you have to be moron. I have openSUSE, FreeBSD and Windows 2008 Server installed and it runs perfectly! I have never had an issue with this software and I been using it for well over 1yr on Windows, Mac and Linux platforms.

guti reviewed v6.0.3 Build 80004 on Mar 17, 2008

Not bad, but probably the free VirtualPC, or the Open Source VirtualBox, will also do the job.

roj reviewed v6.0.2 Build 59824 on Oct 19, 2007

Still has the "Cannot connect to .VMX" error, even on fresh installs on a newly installed OS.

The Bugfest Continues.

TWO stars.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v6.0.2 Build 59824 on Oct 19, 2007

It's brilliant ... except the download is very big!

roj reviewed v6.0.1 Build 55017 on Oct 16, 2007

Stay the heck away from this bugfest.

VMWare 6 is full of nice little gotchas, like the penchant to switch your keyboard into autorepeat mode if the network connection isn't optimal (try logging into a VM when every keystroke you type is repeated multiple times - there is a workaround available but it's a kludge) and of course my favorite, the "Cannot connect to VMX" error i the Event Log (no workaround for this one - setting a service dependency is pure crap). None of this was in evidence with 5 (which had quirks of its own, many of which are gone with 6 but a whole new generation has been spawned).

Until these guys give the software a much needed de-lousing, I'd recommend you give it a bye. It's incredibly useful - when it works.

I'll give it THREE stars until they get their act together.

DataBitz reviewed v6.0 Build 45731 on May 10, 2007

Keeps getting better.
For the record, to the earlier poster VM Server does support Sound. The main thing missing from VM Server is multiple snapshot support.

zridling reviewed v6.0 Build 45731 on May 9, 2007

Love this app; just wish I could afford it.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v6.0 Build 45731 on May 9, 2007

Simply the best in its class!

And actually you can use it for free: download VMWare Player 2 and VMX builder http://petruska.stardock.net/software/

spiked reviewed v6.0 Build 44426 RC on Apr 20, 2007

VMware Server CAN be run with a single machine. It acts as both the client and server. However, performance is not optimized for this configuration, audio is not supported, and configuration may seem a little confusing to average home users.

With 6.0, Workstation actually inherits one key aspect of the Server architecture: The GUI is separated from the VM manager, so you can close the Workstation window while leaving a VM running in the background and just reconnect to it later. Good for saving memory when running long unattended processes in a VM. Along with things like x64 guest support (not just x64 hosts) and USB 2.0, VMware extends its already-huge technology lead over Microsoft.

slushdot reviewed v6.0 Build 44426 RC on Apr 20, 2007

@Alex

Because the server is exactly that, a server. You can't run the images using just 1 machine, which is a PITA for many people.

Alex Stevens reviewed v6.0 Build 44426 RC on Apr 20, 2007

It's a great program, but why would you pay $189 for this when their VMware server is completely free and does the same thing as this (and more). Baffling...

oomingmak reviewed v6.0 Build 42757 Beta on Mar 26, 2007

Generally excellent product, but a point off for not starting and stopping VMware services with the application. What is the point of having all these services running day in day out if you're not actually using the program?

I'd also like to see graphic performance improve (e.g. to test eye candy style apps) as this is the one area where you still really "feel" that you're you're in a virtual machine rather than a real one.

Also, I wish they'd make VMware tools easier to install and work with in Ubuntu. It's hellish for a noob like me compared to the pure simplicity of installing it on Windows.

But all in all, it's an excellent app.

Artem S. Tashkinov reviewed v6.0 Build 42757 Beta on Mar 26, 2007

VMWare 6 RC now has ACE2 built in.

Other changes are mention here: http://www.vmware.com/co...714&tstart=0#607045
(Registration required).

hondaman reviewed v6.0 Build 42757 Beta on Mar 26, 2007

Good as it gets. I was hoping for DX support in this release, but guess that will have to wait. Again.

Release notes are here: http://www.vmware.com/pr...asenotes_ws60_beta.html

twosheds reviewed v6.0 Build 42757 Beta on Mar 25, 2007

Don't TOUCH VirtualBox. This is from their own site:

"If VirtualBox messes up your USB stack on Windows and you can no longer work with your USB devices, try removing VBoxUSBFlt from LowerFilters"

Severely screwed with my PC during installation and did indeed freeze my USB mouse. Not even an alpha candidate yet.

VMWare might add a few more services and Start-Up items than Virtual PC, but it never scared the hell out of me like VirtualBox did and works well.

the Irf reviewed v6.0 Build 39849 Beta on Mar 5, 2007

At first I used VmWare, thought it was awesome and at that point it was!

But when I found out about VirtualBox, shift+del was the only thing to do for VmWare.

VirtualBox
http://www.virtualbox.org/

much faster than VmWare

Compare the size:
VirtualBox 14 MB
VmWare 273MB

FailedCRC reviewed v6.0 Build 39849 Beta on Feb 11, 2007

Mmm, just as well I kept my v5 installer. BSOD on Vista upon starting a VM.

ermax18 reviewed v6.0 Build 39849 Beta on Feb 9, 2007

To disable debug in the beta, rename the bin-debug directory bin-debug.back. Then make a copy of the bin directory and name it bin-debug.

I love the ability to run machines as a service and the ability to connect to a machine via VNC.

I haven't figured out a practical use for the new recording feature.

What did we do before we had VMware?

delt21 reviewed v6.0 Build 36983 Beta on Dec 27, 2006

Just got one bad thing to say against this release, it runs in Debug mode and Debug cannot be disabled or bypassed like in older version, this simply means it will run slower the the final release.

In a positive note it installed and is running fine in Windows Vista 32bit.

My Vista host is running in an AMD Athlon 1800+ with 1GB of ram and it seems running at an acceptable speed (I did disable logging to compensate for the Debug mode and to speed things up).

evanr reviewed v6.0 Build 36983 Beta on Dec 27, 2006

I am not reviewing this program just answering a question.
Some Guy, you should dual boot linux and partition it and all that crap. its not hard and it gives u a nice OS chooser. the only problem is that the linux partitioner is crappy and can at times ruin your partition table. try to find an alternative for partitioning. my favorite although expensive is acronis disk director suite. it includes other programs too. this suite allowed me to get files back after linux partition ruined my partition table

some guy reviewed v6.0 Build 36983 Beta on Dec 27, 2006

I have to try this could someone answer this qestion?

does this have to have a os running to work?
more or less I mean do I have to have windows running then open another operation system?

or does this work off the boot screen?
my computer cant handle 2 Os at the same time. But I would like to install a linux with my xp, or should I just partion and all that crap?
anyinfo would be great.

skrzat reviewed v6.0 Build 36983 Beta on Dec 27, 2006

http://www.vmware.com/pr...asenotes_ws60_beta.html

phillip.v@cx7solutions.com reviewed v5.5.3 Build 34685 on Nov 29, 2006

VMWare workstation is a brilliant product
for running multiple operating system at the same time. The VMWare Tools gives seemless integration
between the Guest and Host operating system.

Here is a link to an Linux Guest Install Tutorial:
http://www.cx7solutions....ux,workstation,inst_rh3

HelgeFossmo reviewed v5.5.3 Build 34685 on Nov 21, 2006

New in Version 5.5.3

Updated Support for Host Operating Systems

Workstation 5.5.3 adds support for the following host operating systems:

* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, Update 4 (AS, ES, WS), 32-bit and 64-bit
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, Update 8 (AS, ES, WS), 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Mandriva Corporate Server 4, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Mandriva Linux 2007, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Ubuntu Linux 6.10, 32-bit and 64-bit

Updated Support for Guest Operating Systems

Workstation 5.5.3 adds support for the following guest operating systems:

* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.0, Update 4 (AS, ES, WS), 32-bit and 64-bit
* Red Hat Enterprise Linux 3.0, Update 8 (AS, ES, WS), 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.0, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental enhanced support for Microsoft Windows Vista, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Mandriva Corporate Server 4, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Mandriva Linux 2007, 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Solaris x86 10 6/06 (Update 2), 32-bit and 64-bit
* Experimental support for Ubuntu Linux 6.10, 32-bit and 64-bit

http://www.vmware.com/su...easenotes_ws55.html#553

[deXter] reviewed v5.5.2 Build 29772 on Nov 18, 2006

Some of the new technologies that I personally like and I find worth mentioning are:

- Enhanced snapshot management
- Better USB and other hardware support
- Memory page trimming can be disabled to improve performance
- Experimental support for Direct3D
- Support for 64-bit guest operating systems and various 64 bit hardware
- 2-way Virtual SMP
- Ability to open and convert Microsoft virtual machines or Symantec LiveState Recovery images

One of the exciting aspects of VMware 5.x is the concept of "Appliances". A virtual appliance is a pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run software application packaged with the operating system inside a virtual machine. There are plenty appliances available to download, and you don't even need to be a VMware subscriber, one can use the free VMware player to "play" an appliance. This concept has only caught on recently with Microsoft releasing their equivalent with Virtual Hard Disk (VHD).

And with multi-core systems becoming more commonplace, the need arises for software that can better utilize the cores. With VMware's VSMP, you'll never complain about under-utilization of resources.

[deXter] reviewed v5.5.3 Build 34685 on Nov 18, 2006

Surprising that no one has reviewed VMware 5 yet.

Aside from the established fact that VMware is the market leader in virtualization, v5.5 brings with it more new technologies such as:

- Enhanced snapshot management
- Better USB and other hardware support
- Memory page trimming can be disabled to improve performance
- Experimental support for Direct3D
- Support for 64-bit guest operating systems and various 64 bit hardware
- 2-way Virtual SMP
- Ability to open and convert Microsoft virtual machines or Symantec LiveState Recovery images

One of the exciting aspects of VMware 5.x is the concept of "Appliances". A virtual appliance is a pre-built, pre-configured and ready-to-run software application packaged with the operating system inside a virtual machine. There are plenty appliances available to download, and you don't even need to be a VMware subscriber, one can use the free VMware player to "play" an appliance. This concept has only caught on recently with Microsoft releasing their equivalent with Virtual Hard Disk (VHD).

And with multi-core systems becoming more commonplace, the need arises for software that can better utilize the cores. With VMware's VSMP, you'll never complain about under-utilization of resources.

DataBitz reviewed v5.5.2 Build 29772 on Aug 11, 2006

Awesome product, not much point in getting this over the free Server version now. However the snapshot feature is a lot better in this version.

BlueBLocker reviewed v5.5.1 Build 19175 on Dec 21, 2005

Real Release Notes for 5.5.1 (build 19175):

http://www.vmware.com/su...easenotes_ws55.html#551

Mark Gillespie reviewed v5.5 Build 18463 on Nov 27, 2005

Awesome product.

VirtualPC is now pretty much dead in the water. I am intrigued WHY the previous reviewer cannot use VMTools to get SVGA, plus he forgets that VMWare has tools for all platforms, which VPC does not.

httpd.confused reviewed v5.5 Build 18463 on Nov 26, 2005

I use VMware Workstation a great deal for testing, in a variety of environments. I can't believe that it still doesn't support SVGA natively, the way Virtual PC 2004 does. I know that SVGA support is included in VMware tools, but VMware tools can't be installed in all of the environments I use. This limitation forces me to use Virtual PC under some cirtumstances, because VGA isn't always a viable option for me.*

It would have also been nice if it didn't revert all of my network settings back to default during the upgrade from version 5.0. (And the fact that 5.0 had to be uninstalled isn't an excuse; the settings could still have been stored and carried over.)

* Mark Gillespie: I didn't forget anything. I use a third-party environment that VMtools does not support. I won't say what that environment is (because I get paid to test the software in question), but it doesn't matter anyway--VMtools won't install for it, VMware forces me to use VGA in it, but Virtual PC supports SVGA out of the box. This is not a sweeping statement in favor of Virtual PC; it is just an isolated statement of fact.

This is where, typically, someone will say something incredibly stupid like "You can't expect VMtools to support some obscure, custom environment!" To which the obvious answer is: I don't expect it to. I shouldn't need VMtools at all to get SVGA!

reumann reviewed v5.5 Build 18007 RC on Nov 16, 2005

Hmm.. Where do we use this software?

We use VMware to test and repackage new software to be used on our enterprise. This is extremely useful if anyone knows how repackaging works: Always clean and newly formatted pc and continuous snapshots.

Additionaly we use VMware GSX Server to consolidate some low profiled servers into one server that has average hardware! That is so useful when isolating roles of some servers that may be under attack...

Viva VMware

photonboy reviewed v5.5 Build 16958 RC on Oct 1, 2005

Hey, I can take an insult, but in case I was misunderstood let me try to clear up my comments concerning the usefulness of VMWare.

To Pikawad:
I was writing my comment to the masses. If you are able to find amazing uses for this program than good for you. Perhaps you'd like to share your wisdom as to why this program is so wonderful that you can't live without it? As for me, I have talked to many people who misunderstood VMWare's drawbacks concerning hardware compatibility and were very happy to discover dual-boot or how to create a bootable USB drive. I do think it is inappropriate to insult someone who is giving an honest opinion.

Slickandy:
Regarding my comment on the dual-core CPU. I've studied computers and I know what I'm talking about. A dual-core is simply two CPU's that are joined together using (in AMD's case) something called a System Request Interface and some other components/software. Unfortunately, the software at present rarely takes advantage of the second CPU. In theory the CPU processing power can be almost doubled depending on the software running. In case I wasn't clear, I was hoping that VMWare could be optimised to take advantage of dual-core so that it could primarily take advantage of the second core. For example a Windows XP OS could run using the first core and a Linux OS could run using the second core. To truly take advantage, however, they should be able to each take advantage of the others core when processing becomes intense. It doesn't necessarily have to be written this way and I'm not sure there is a complete concensus as to exactly how the process will work. I don't think multiple operating system support is at the top of the list.
I see a tremendous use for dual-core combined with VMWare but I think support on both sides of the fence needs to be much improved to take advantage of this.
I have even heard rumours of using dual-core to create two completely separate running OS's which aren't using virtualization at all! Now wouldn't that be even better? Memory addressing, and hardware sharing would be primarily done by a redesign of the motherboard. I hope this clears things up for you.

ModderXManiac reviewed v5.5 Build 16958 RC on Sep 30, 2005

Amazing program...I just wish Bochs was as easy as this...

pikawad reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Sep 3, 2005

I remember when I used this for the first time. Version 3. I just sat and stared in amazement. I couldn't even get any work done. I was transfixed on this. It was magical. I always wanted to run a computer as a program and now the power was in my hands.

I love this program. If my house was burning to the ground this is the only thing besides my cat and my mother I would save.

I just can't live without it anymore. I don't see how anybody does.

To the guy below that said "If you are very serious about using a second OS then I recommend a dual boot or better yet a USB hard drive if you can get that supported."...I say you have a little brain. Use your imagination a little and you will see uses far beyond that.

I use it for more things than you can imagine. In more ways that just for using another os.

slickandy reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 27, 2005

I've used this for years, and have also used VirtualPC in the last couple of years. To be honest, there's little to choose between them I certainly welcome VMware's approach of being able to import the VPC setups.

I would say that VMWare is a little more "hard core", is far more configurable than VPC, and has a lot of additional features. However, VPC is cheaper and a lot of people probably don't need all of the extra features VMWare provides. Having said that, VMWare is available for Linux, while VPC isn't.

photonboy: I'm think you're a little confused as to exactly what dual core CPUs do, and would not see them replacing virtualisation.

paul-white: wtf are you on? Why rate 1* if you've not even bothered to download the prog? Please, grow up.

Vantorax reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 22, 2005

I've been a VMWare user for over 2 years now and it keeps getting better and better! Virtual PC can't even come close to VMWare's extensive snapshot feature. If you're a developer supporting multiple customer sites with their own unique setups, VMWare can make your life a whole lot easier. Same if you often do sales demos of several products.

This sort of software will hardly become obsolete as there will always be needs for PORTABLE environments for support, demos, development, etc. I've been through enough cases to see VMWare's full potential.

And I too don't get that paul-white who voted 1 simply because he couldn't get an accurate file size to download.

photonboy reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 22, 2005

I have tried various OS's in the linux world as well as Windows XP 32/64 and Vista.

It seems to be slightly better than VirtualPC but there is a lot of room for improvement. It's difficult to rate a program like this as it varies in usefulness between OS's and systems.

If you are very serious about using a second OS then I recommend a dual boot or better yet a USB hard drive if you can get that supported.

That said, it's on it's way to becoming a very useful program but it will be interesting to see if dual-core CPU's (or higher) will be able to run Multiple OS's concurrently in which case this program may end up being obsolete in a few years.

Metshrine reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 21, 2005

Great program, finally we can use some of those virtual pc images at work (as we run both solutions).

To the user below, you are rating this a 1 Due to them not posting the file size? You should ASSUME a large download as a program like this usually takes alot of code to run. By the way, it DOES say it on their site, the V5 Program is quoted at

"Latest Released Version: 5 | 04/07/05 | 13124 | ~58MB"

around 58MB, so you should assume that the beta of 5.5 would be close to that. Dont rate without doing a bit of research first ;-)

paul-white reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 21, 2005

This sounds a very interesting program and could be the answer to some of my problems. Yes, I would love to try Linux and several mother OS's but am reluctant to mess too much with my new PC. But nowhere can I find how big this download is. Betanews gives this program as just 55Kb, yes 55Kb! The VMWare site doesn't say at all. Is it actually 55Mb? If so, I won't bother. A shame, as too little information doesn't help sell a $200 program.

war593122 reviewed v5.5 Build 15576 on Aug 20, 2005

Sweet, can finally open virutal pc. :)

Caleb reviewed v5.0 Build 12888 RC3 on Mar 12, 2005

Perfect. :)

Ogdenous reviewed v5.0 Build 12206 Beta on Feb 4, 2005

Can get serial when you goto vmware.com and register for version 5.0 with a valid email address.

oufc_gav reviewed v5.0 Build 12206 Beta on Jan 31, 2005

Excellent development of an already good product. When they iron out the beta bugs and optimise the code for final release it will be great.
For the people complaining about the lack of a key - go to the VMWare website, sign up officially for the public beta test programme, they send you your own test key. Easy....

For the user that said "then it couldn't tell what speed my computer was because it's a laptop with Intel SPeedstep" - it's BETA software, if you are having problems, report them, that's what beta testing is about. Just slagging off the product like that when it is still in beta stage is stupid.

Pipewrench reviewed v5.0 Build 11888 Beta on Jan 21, 2005

What garbage.
I wasted 25 minutes installing this and then removing this. I own a legal copy of VMware 4.5.2 and I couldn't get a serial number for this. Therefore I could not test any of my old virtual machines with this newer version. It took up almost 2 times the amount of space and then it couldn't tell what speed my computer was because it's a laptop with Intel SPeedstep. I would not recommend this. Every version released since 3.0 is more bloated and works less good. I'm going over to Microsoft VirtualPC 2004.

To sum up: JUNK!

mizkitty reviewed v5.0 Build 11888 Beta on Jan 14, 2005

Can't wait for the final release. I love the fact that they finally added the ability to save multiple snapshots.

acascianelli reviewed v5.0 Build 11888 Beta on Jan 14, 2005

very exciting features coming in this release. im still waiting for the final version before i use this for any critical applications.

war593122 reviewed v5.0 Build 11608 Beta on Jan 2, 2005

I find it pretty stupid they do not provide a beta serial because its pretty much useless as you cant even run the virtual PC with a serial. :(

kmleow reviewed v5.0 Beta Build 10738 on Dec 11, 2004

Good software
but pricey and does not support Direct3D

krispyk reviewed v5.0 Beta Build 10737 on Dec 9, 2004

As always, VMware just continues to impress :)

A forum thread discussing the changes and new features is available at http://www.vmware.com/co...p;messageID=86089#86089

mxxcon reviewed v5.0 Beta Build 10737 on Dec 8, 2004

getting better with every release.
however to convert VirtualPC image to VMWare image you need to download "V2V Conversion Wizard". but i can't seem to find it anywhere.. :(

veeoh reviewed v4.0.5.6030 on Oct 10, 2003

absolutley invaluable for me :D

Perezoso reviewed v4.0.1 Build 5289 on Aug 15, 2003

Simply A M A Z I N G

PostCode reviewed v4.0 Beta Build 4183 on Mar 3, 2003

Simply the best. Been using VMWare since version 2. Run it on a Linux based system, using it to run Windows primarily for customer support. Easy enough to simply pop into a suspended session and troubleshoot it from there as well as cut down on having additional systems around to use. The best program out there, hands down.

trappist reviewed v4.0 Beta Build 4183 on Mar 2, 2003

All you guys with the gcc issues: I had the same kind of problems until I realized I was building the vmware modules with a different version of gcc than was used to build my kernel. I've successfully compiled the modules with 2.96, 3.02, 3.1, and 3.2. As for the sblive issue, it works just fine on my audigy, which is the same chipset as the sblive.

BlackB1rd reviewed v4.0 Beta Build 4121 on Feb 28, 2003

I have to say: good job! This new beta has some really neat features, especially the new drag & drop between host and guest feature! This works very smooth, extremely handy! I am impressed and it's just a beta! :D

fluke75 reviewed v3.2 Beta Build 2230 on Sep 11, 2002

The program is an excellent idea (running different operating systems without multi-boot). It works flawlessly on Windows 2000 and XP, but people complain about how it works in Win 98 and ME. I ran the program with XP as the host OS and Linux, Windows 98 and Windows 2000 Pro as guest OS. The virtual stuff like device drivers went on my nerves though, especially the driver for my DVD player and the display driver. Installation of apps on guest operating systems was a pain in the a** having in mind that my DVD player could recognize one out of 5 of my CD's which were burnt in Nero and Win XP Roxio plug-in. This program I only see as a way to isolate software that does not work well on the host OS, and is not too proccessor intensive scince VMware uses a lot of host memory when it's working. Networking is also excellent and there are nice ways to cover your tracks if you do not want peole to look where you surfed the night before. Just password protect your Win 2k and off you go. But multi-boot is still the way to go for me. You get fully functional systems with good drivers and some real speed, unlike the sluggish ones in VMware. I like VMware, but I will stick to multi-boot for now. Very stable program.

eliminat reviewed v3.1 Beta Build 1746 on Mar 29, 2002

supports everything it claims to support as long as you're wise enough to read the documentation and follow the directions. Biggest problem I've had with it is that the Authorization Service occasionally decided to eat up 100% of my CPU. Still figuring that one out, but it supports the OS's, USB, etc that it claims.

brokengoten reviewed v3.1 Beta Build 1746 on Mar 27, 2002

This Proggy is the best I use it at work and at home

lukewayne : did you reboot??

espectro reviewed v3.0 Build 1455 on Nov 6, 2001

Well, i am writing this to "kind of apologize"
My problem was not vmware 3 14xx builds... My problem is that vmware does NOT like gcc 3.02, not even a bit, thus causing all my corruption and data loss. I went back to gcc 2.95 and now it works fine...
But, i am giving this one 3 stars because it is ALMOST A SIN that vmware 3 does NOT work with sblive cards... That's just stupid! Vmware, i will give you 5 stars if you fix this. How do they expect me to buy this product if it does not sound with the most popular sound card in the market?

lukewayne reviewed v3.0 RC Build 1447 on Oct 28, 2001

im having a problem starting this program when i start vmware workstation i get a box that says "the vmware authorization service is not running" ???? any suggestions as to what is wrong? the install went fine

espectro reviewed v3.0 RC Build 1447 on Oct 27, 2001

I was using vmware 3 build 13xx and everything was fine except of sound. Now when i tried to upgrade to this version, when i ran vmware-config.pl, the modules compiled fine to my 2.4.13 kernel, but later when it tried to up the bridged networking, it could not do it. Instead it froze the installer, and the vmnet module stayed in memory. I could not remove it, not even when turning my machine off, which caused a complete kernel freeze and forcing me to restart the machine and have partition headaches with fsck.ext2

Stay off vmware 3 builds 14xx people

Randall reviewed v3.0 RC Build 1447 on Oct 27, 2001

nice prog, if you wan´t run multiple os in 9x base system try Connectix Virtual PC..

m0gely reviewed v2.0.4 on May 28, 2001

it's all good. you linux only users out ther need to remember that linux isn't the only *nix os out there. some of the other vm solutions i hear spoken of from time to time (win4lin) will only run on linux. i am a freebsd user so i can only use applications that i can compile for my os or that will run under linux emu. win4lin requires the linux kernel so that app ain't gonna be happin'n for me soon. i have a dual celeron 366@550 w/ 512mb ram. i would like vmware to be faster but i would like alot of things to be faster. programs like this are great for the support crowd so we don't have to have 3 or more computers at our desk to answer other people's questions.

zulugrid2 reviewed v2.0.4 on May 27, 2001

and don't know what you people are talking about, but i've been running vmware for months and absolutely love it. windows runs FASTER in vmware then it does as a stand-alone os. perhaps you people who don't like it just have crummy computers, or bad distributions of linux?

old_frog reviewed v2.0.4 on May 26, 2001

This program rocks. I can use my windows only dye-sub printer from a vmware session without rebooting. Try that with win4lin. Ram is cheap upgrade. VERY STABLE. does not require a modified kernel. Workstation runs fine with FreeBSD host.

goldberg reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

vmware is a joke, if you feel nostalgia for your old 486 then you will certainly get the same feeling with this program. Use win4lin instead, it runs Windows from within Linux at full speed (that's what 90% of people want anyway).

Black-Wolf reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

Excellent program!!
A++++++++++++

Deleted reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

VMware is awful. It's slow. and resoure hoggy. Use Wine. Much better. Who needs to boot the whole OS? I use wine quite often, but usually just to load Windows mp3 file sharing programs, and, I have even gotten Office XP to load in wine. (Word crashes, but FrontPage is fine)

quake8 reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

slow and worthless

that connectix proggie is 100x better

daztop reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

As an additional note - this version now also allows the use of Windows XP as a VM.

espectro reviewed v2.0.4 on May 24, 2001

Slow and heavy, but otherwise the best emulator to run windows in linux. Finally 2.4 support (i dont know why the problem, i was running 2.4.3 on mandrake 7.2 and never had a problem)

PGHammer reviewed v2.0.3 on Nov 10, 2000

The way Be is designed, you are required to boot from a floppy (bad news). However, you can run any other OS as a guest OS (limiting factors are RAM and hard drive space). 95, 98, SE, ME, 2K (in multiple flavors), NT 4, even DOS (if that floats your boat) along with darn near every Linux (or UNIX) distro on the planet.

viperloader reviewed v2.0.3 on Nov 8, 2000

I use VMWare for Linux (running on an Mandrake 7.1 base OS) to run between 4 and 6 Guest OS's constantly with no problems. The guest OS complement is Win9X, WinME, NT4 Server and Workstation and Win2K Pro/Server. The most important thing to set is the memory for the guest OS - at least 64 MB per guest, and reserve 128 MB for the base OS.
I have a Dell P3-550 with 512 MB of RAM and have had no problems - and Yes, USB is supported, so long as your base OS supports it.

purplemonkeydan reviewed v2.0.3 Beta on Oct 24, 2000

Very nice program. Although it would be nice if they made a 9x/Me compatible version.

collinsdonald reviewed v2.0.3 Beta on Oct 24, 2000

This program rocks, works perfect under w2k. ZilverZtream obviuslly didnt read vmwares instructions for installing redhat, Since it took 1hr59min. You need to install redhat in text mode instead of graphic mode and it works very smooth and much faster.

stikle reviewed v2.0.2 on Aug 2, 2000

VMWare is a GREAT program. We use it here at work for development purposes. I just installed 10 different variations of Win95/Win98/WinME/WinNT in VMs, then copied those to a SAN for archival. Now we can load up one of those configs, install our apps and do testing. Even if we have a complete meltdown, no big deal. Nuke the VM folder, recopy from the SAN and start over. GREAT product. Oh yeah...Does not support USB? I beg to differ. I -ONLY- have a USB MS Mouse on this system, and all of the above OSs installed in a VM with USB support just fine. My host OS is W2K, FYI.

Winston reviewed v2.0.2 on Aug 2, 2000

Nice non-bloated cpu cooler/monitor. Definitely gets the job done. Works fine in Me too.

AlaUser reviewed v2.0.2 RC on Jul 22, 2000

Anybody who has to develop Windows installation scripts should get this program! Set up your target environments in virtual machines, take copies of the virgin environments, and it becomes simple to go through a cycle of testing installation scripts, since getting back to a known configuration is merely a matter of copying a file. It's faster than restoring from DriveImage, and you can do it right on your development box.

grasshopper reviewed v2.01 Build 570 on Jun 20, 2000

Where does it say "freeware" ? It does say "shareware" which means you have to pay for it after a trial period, maybe you're confusing the two terms...

I tried an early V2 beta version and it worked great ! RH6.0 installed in under 10 minutes, if yours took 2 hours then you've got some prob with your PC, it's not the VMware prog that's the prob...

ZilverZtream reviewed v2.01 Build 570 on Jun 20, 2000

First of all, it's a great concept. But I couldn't get the "freeware part" since there's a 30 day tryout? Well well. I'm on a PIII 500Mhz 198Mb RAM and I installed RedHat Linux 6.2 (that I already have installed on a "real" partition" When installing RH6.2 on a partition it takes 7min on my computer, pretty slick, but, installing RedHat 6.2 on a virtual partition takes a little bit longer, approx 1hr 59min, and that's a HUGE difference.
While in the program RedHat start screaming about the IRQ ports already in use (by Win2K) so ofcourse you can't get to X (KDE/Gnome or whatever).
I guess you need to install the extras that comes with VMware to get X to work.
I guess you could set the RAM usage of VMware to 80% during installation of an OS and set priority HIGH in Win2K for VMware.
Well, there's still alot of unfinished sections in VMware that should be fixed before they release a new version, and atlast, please don't call VMware a FREEWARE.

Hornet reviewed v2.0.1 build 557 on Jun 13, 2000

Pro
Allow user to run different OS without rebooting or dual boot.

Con
Require a lot of RAM
Do not support USB

theonegod reviewed v2.0 on Mar 9, 2000

Great program. I run 2000 as the Host OS and run 98, NT4, FreeBSD, and Linux in Virtual Machines at the same time (got alotta RAM) It is great!

jay_bird reviewed vBuild 475 Release Candidate 2 on Mar 4, 2000

Excellent program. However I've only used it on Win2k w/ Win98. Everything works great. And the above review may be misleading...I've had no trouble using my USB devices in VMware. It may be different in other OS's though.

ptaylor874 reviewed v2.0 Build 468 Release Candidate 1 on Feb 23, 2000

This is an excellent product for software development. I'm using it to have seperate installations of different versions of the same Development system . (I have products I'm selling that I made with the old version, and I'm working on new products with the new one - The Dev system has a few problems that aren't in the old version) I would recommend this to anyone doing any serious programming. If you are just an average user, you probably wouldn't have a great need for this product. Also, I think the new version of BeOS (5) may work with VMWare because of the new installation methods. (But it won't be supported officially, I'm fairly sure)

krazydog reviewed v2.0 Build 468 Release Candidate 1 on Feb 23, 2000

Great... I can run other operating systems easily. Now why would I do that? Because NT/2000 has bad hardware support and everyone wants BeOS. Only problem is that VMware doesn't support USB or BeOS, etc. Pretty much makes this useless. Come back when you're ready to give us USEFUL functionality.