Cannot complete VMware tools on debian guest

[lyllo]

hello to everyone.
i'm getting almost blind trying to work on my wide screen at 800x600, so resolved myself to install vmware tools to try having a better resolution.

read tons of guides and tryed to do my best but couldn't install the tools.

here's what i've done.

1) started guest OS, Debian
2) launched VMware -> Tools -> Install tools
3) switched to linux.
4) apt-get install kernel-headers-'uname -r' [*] kernel version 2.4.27-3-386
5) logged out and then back in
6) su -
7) mount /dev/cdrom /media/cdrom0
cd /tmp
9) tar zxpf /media/cdrom0/vmware.<xxx>.tar.gz
10) cd usr/src
11) ln -s kernel-headers-2.4.27-3-386 linux[*]a folder called kernel-headers-2.4.27-3-386 is created but not exploarble: error occurs hile trying to explore: too many levels of symoblic links
12) cd tmp/vmware-tools-distrib
13) ./vmware-install.pl

following the on-screen instructions i always accept all the suggested steps by pressing enter.
the problem arises at:

where is the location of the directory of C header files that match your running kernel? [usr/src/linux/include]

well, even if i've done all the above stuff i always cannot go on the isntallation.

i've even tryed to create another folder in /usr/src/ called linux, then copied the link folder inside it, but recieve an error:
the path /usr/src/linux is an existing directory, but it doesn't contain a "linux" subdirectory as espected

now i don't know what to do.
it's about 6 hours i'm trying to install those f**** tools, and even if i'm spitting blood trying i cannot do it.
please is there anyone that can please tell me how to proceed now?
i do really need that tools, since working at 800x600 on a wide screen is almost impossible.
please note i'm a compelte newbie and cannot operate as an expert.

thank you.

[lyllo]

by the way, at the moment, while i am trying to install it, when i create the virtual link i cannot explore the linux folder too...

please tell me something

[mss]

if you've actually downloaded and installed the header files (using the apt-get), the path that you should give to VMware should be:

/usr/src/kernel-headers-2.4.27-3-386/include

Let me know if that worked

[lyllo]

finally i made out using the packages controller.
re-installed he kernel, in order to have new kernel.<> folders.
once done that i've seen folder could be explored and found many more files than the previous case.
in fact, then, started installation again and everything went fine.

i'd suggest to everyone which meets this problem, once reistalled the packages, to do what i've done.

the only matter wich now persists is the audio card problem.
nothing rilevated nor installed, so i cannot use my audio card even if auto-detect host one option is abled.

[Superfreak]

Here is an install guide that shows the details of the install of Debian as a guest on a VMWare host.

Issue: While running VMWare on a Windows HOST OS and running Debian Linux (Etch) with Gnome desktop and the Xorg Xwindows server as a GUEST, you are unable to get the fullscreen resolution to work with your widescreen display monitor (or are limited to 800x600). When pressing Ctr-enter, the screen does not fit, and the Gnome Desktop does not list the proper resolution options you need, such as 1088x612, or 1366x768.

Prerequisites:
You will need to install the gcc C Compiler package first(I used gcc-4.1).
Realize that you are installing drivers for a VIRTUAL display adapter, so forget about your HOST network card for the duration. (ensure your host has the most recent drivers installed, and can also support the resolution in question - set the HOST to the desired resolution before starting)
Realize that the VMWare tools installer is incorporated into the HOST OS, and is launched so that the guest treats it as a CDROM. There is no media for this, it is a virtual CD ROM that is launched from the VMWare host console. (VM/Install VMWare Tools)

Solution:
Log in for all work as root: su root

1) Install VMWare tools to your Debian install. Since there is no package, you must provide the paths of the gcc, and the C library for the script to build. If in doubt, make sure the packages are installed in Synaptic or using apt-get install gcc-4.1, then use the: find ./ -name *gcc* (the standard paths in my install are /usr/bin/gcc-4.1 , and /lib/modules/2.6.18-6-486/build/include) you can find your build number by running: uname -r , and substituting it in the script.

The VMWre tools may not mount cleanly automatically in Gnome. For some reason it appeared to cause an error, so you may have to mount the "Virtual ISO" (VMWare Tools as launched from the Host Console) manually. Use mount /dev/cdrmo0 /mnt/cdrom0 -t iso9660
(alternatively, you may have to try this several ways, as it was not failsafe - also create the dir /mnt/cdrom0 if it does not exist)

Once the VMWare tools is installed, this will do two things to benefit your Linux install. It changes the network card driver from the default to a new driver for the VMWare Virtual ethernet "card" that is faster for Linux, AND, most importantly, it modifies the xorg.conf file (it creates a backup automatically), and includes the new values for the display compatibility for the VMWare SVGA II display adapter.

to install VMWare tools: In the VMWare console, click VM, Install VMWare Tools. This launches a virtual ISO that Linux can mount. Mount or automount it;
Run the insatller: ./vmware-install.pl

Here is what it looks like, and what it will ask:
================================================== ================================================== ===
linux2:/home/debian/vmware/Tools/vmware-tools-distrib# ./vmware-install.pl
Creating a new installer database using the tar3 format.

Installing the content of the package.

In which directory do you want to install the binary files?
[/usr/bin]

What is the directory that contains the init directories (rc0.d/ to rc6.d/)?
[/etc]

What is the directory that contains the init scripts?
[/etc/init.d]

In which directory do you want to install the daemon files?
[/usr/sbin]

In which directory do you want to install the library files?
[/usr/lib/vmware-tools]

The path "/usr/lib/vmware-tools" does not exist currently. This program is
going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want?
[yes]

In which directory do you want to install the documentation files?
[/usr/share/doc/vmware-tools]

The path "/usr/share/doc/vmware-tools" does not exist currently. This program
is going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you
want? [yes]

The installation of VMware Tools 1.0.6 build-91891 for Linux completed
successfully. You can decide to remove this software from your system at any
time by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall-tools.pl".

Before running VMware Tools for the first time, you need to configure it by
invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-config-tools.pl". Do you want
this program to invoke the command for you now? [yes]


Stopping VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
Guest operating system daemon: done
Trying to find a suitable vmhgfs module for your running kernel.

None of the pre-built vmhgfs modules for VMware Tools is suitable for your
running kernel. Do you want this program to try to build the vmhgfs module for
your system (you need to have a C compiler installed on your system)? [yes]

Setup is unable to find the "gcc" program on your machine. Please make sure it
is installed. Do you want to specify the location of this program by hand?
[yes]

What is the location of the "gcc" program on your machine? /usr/lib/gcc

The answer "/usr/lib/gcc" is invalid. It must be the complete name of a binary
file.

What is the location of the "gcc" program on your machine? /usr/bin/gcc-4.1

Using compiler "/usr/bin/gcc-4.1". Use environment variable CC to override.

What is the location of the directory of C header files that match your running
kernel? [/lib/modules/2.6.18-6-486/build/include]

Extracting the sources of the vmhgfs module.

Building the vmhgfs module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.18-6-486/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.18-6-486'
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/cpName.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/cpNameLinux.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/dev.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/driver.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/hgfsUtil.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/main.o
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/staticEscape.o
LD [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/vmhgfs.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST
CC /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/vmhgfs.mod.o
LD [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only/vmhgfs.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.18-6-486'
cp -f vmhgfs.ko ./../vmhgfs.o
make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmhgfs-only'
The module loads perfectly in the running kernel.

pcnet32 29828 0
Unloading pcnet32 module

Extracting the sources of the vmxnet module.

Building the vmxnet module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
make: Entering directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmxnet-only'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.18-6-486/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.18-6-486'
CC [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmxnet-only/vmxnet.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST
CC /tmp/vmware-config0/vmxnet-only/vmxnet.mod.o
LD [M] /tmp/vmware-config0/vmxnet-only/vmxnet.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/usr/src/linux-headers-2.6.18-6-486'
cp -f vmxnet.ko ./../vmxnet.o
make: Leaving directory `/tmp/vmware-config0/vmxnet-only'
The module loads perfectly in the running kernel.



Detected X.org version 7.1.


Please choose one of the following display sizes (1 - 13):

[1] "640x480"
[2] "800x600"
[3] "1024x768"
[4] "1152x864"
[5] "1280x800"
[6] "1152x900"
[7] "1280x1024"
[8] "1376x1032"
[9] "1400x1050"
[10] "1680x1050"
[11] "1600x1200"
[12] "1920x1200"
[13] "2364x1773"
Please enter a number between 1 and 13:

[3] 3

Starting VMware Tools services in the virtual machine:
Switching to guest configuration: done
Guest filesystem driver: done
Guest vmxnet fast network device: done
DMA setup: done
Guest operating system daemon: done

The configuration of VMware Tools 1.0.6 build-91891 for Linux for this running
kernel completed successfully.

You must restart your X session before any mouse or graphics changes take
effect.

You can now run VMware Tools by invoking the following command:
"/usr/bin/vmware-toolbox" during an X session.

To make use of the vmxnet driver you will need to rebooot.
Enjoy,

--the VMware team


After running the script, the xorg.conf file is modified and the original is backed up as follows:

-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 31214 2008-09-13 00:00 xorg.conf
-rw-r--r-- 1 root root 3054 2008-09-12 11:22 xorg.conf.BeforeVMwareToolsInsta ll


At this point, you will notice that the 13 options given for resolution in the script do not include a choice for the resoultion you want. As a result, we will have to place it there manually:

in /etc/X11 use nano or vi (or preferred text editor), and modify the xorg.conf file. Make a backup first:
cp xorg.cong xorg.conf.bk
nano /etc/X11/xorg.conf

look for the section where there are entries for modeline:
Here is a new entry you can use to support 1088x612 (alternatively, there are tools make modeline entries out on the Internet)

ModeLine "1088x612" 100 1088 1100 1200 1300 612 800 900 1000

also, you should enter the resolution under the 24 bit display section as well:

Subsection "Display"
Depth 24
Modes "1024x768" "1088x612"
ViewPort 0 0
EndSubsection

Save the file, then restart X. Use Ctrl-Backspace to kill X, and it will automatically restart. (close your apps first, and log out of terminal windows)

At this point, Under the Gnome Desktop/Preferences/Screen Resolution, you should see the new 1088x612 resolution.

If you'd like to FORCE only the 1088x612 resolution, you can modify the host's virtual machine VMX file using a text editor, and include the following lines (shut down the guest OS first):

svga.maxWidth = "1088"
svga.maxHeight = "612"

This setting will force the guest to use 1088x612 as its maximum resolution, and since 1088x612 is in the Modes and a new Modeline has been created to support the resolution, it should work.

Good luck!