How to Run VMware Player in Linux
VMware Player is a virtual machine program that runs operating systems in windows within other operating systems. Unlike VMware's full VMware Workstation product, VMware Player only supports running virtual machine images and not installing your own operating systems to virtual machines. However, VMware Player is free and VMware provides a wide variety of operating system images for download. Run VMware Player and VMware Player virtual machine images in Linux by downloading and installing the free VMware Player software from VMware.
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Instructions
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Register with VMware and Download VMware Player
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Open the VMware Player website (see Resources).
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Click "Download" on the VMware Player website.
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Register with VMware by typing your personal information into boxes under "Register For Your FREE Download" on the web page. Registration is required. Type your first name into the "First Name" box, your last name into the "Last Name" box and your email address into the "Email Address" box, then click "Continue."
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Complete your VMware registration by typing your personal information into the appropriate boxes on the "Complete VMware Product Registration" page. Create a password by typing it into the "Create a Password" and "Re-enter Password" boxes.
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Read the "VMware Player End User License Agreement" at the bottom of the registration page, click "I Agree" if you agree, then click "Register."
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Open your email inbox and open the "Activate your VMware Player Free Download" email.
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Click the "Download VMWare Player" link in the email.
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Download VMware player by clicking the "Manually Download" link next to "VMware Player for 32-bit Linux" or "VMware Player for 64-bit Linux" depending on your installed version of Linux, then clicking "Save" in your web browser.
Install VMware Player
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Open a Terminal by clicking "Applications," "Accessories," then "Terminal."
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Navigate to the directory the VMware player installer was downloaded to with the "cd" command. For example, navigate to the Downloads directory by typing "cd Downloads," then pressing "Enter."
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Start the VMware player installer with administrator privileges on Ubuntu Linux by typing "sudo sh VMw," auto-completing the installer file name by hitting "Tab," then pressing "Enter." On other versions of Linux, type "su," hit "Enter," then type your password before typing "sh VMw," auto-completing the installer file name by hitting "Tab," then pressing "Enter."
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Select whether VMware Player checks for product updates by clicking "Yes" or "No" in the "Would You Like to Check for Product Updates on Startup?" window, then clicking "Next."
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Select whether VMware Player sends usage data by clicking "Yes" or "No" in the "Would You Like to Help Make VMware Software Better by Sending Anonymous System Data and Usage Statistics to VMware?" window, then clicking "Next."
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Install VMware Player by clicking "Install" in the "Ready to Install" window.
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Click "Close" in the "Installation was Successful" window.
Run a VMware Player Virtual Machine Image
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Open VMware Player by clicking "Applications," "System Tools," then "VMware Player."
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Read the license agreement in the "End User License Agreement" window, then click "Accept" if you accept.
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Run a VMware Player virtual machine image by clicking "Open Virtual Machine" at the right side of the VMware Player window. Navigate to the location of the virtual machine image in the file browser window, then double-click it. Download free virtual machine images from VMWare's Operating System Appliances website if you don't have any (see Resources).
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