Installing VMware Workstation 7.1.4

In this post I’ll be covering the installation of VMware Workstation 7.1.4. Through installing Workstation it’s possible to install VMware ESXi  on almost every 64-bit hardware. There are only a couple of things needed to install ESXi within Workstation. There must be enough RAM (3 GB a minimum but 4 GB and more is preferable) You’ll need a couple of GB’s of HDD (see this post for VMware ESXi recommendations) and the processor must be Intel VT/AMD-V compatible.

First we’ll need to download the VMware Workstation software, which can be done here:

http://downloads.vmware.com/d/info/desktop_downloads/vmware_workstation/7_0

If downloaded we can begin the installation:

Double click the downloaded exe file, the following screen will popup:

Click Next, the following screen will popup:

Click Typical, the following screen will show:

Provide the destination folder in which you want workstation to be installed and click Next. The following screen will show:

Leave the default setting (Check for updates) and click Next. The following screen will show:

Choose if you want to help improve Workstation (or not) and click Next, the following screen will show:

Choose the shortcuts you want to create and click Next, the following screen will show:

Press Continue to start the installation, the following screen will show:

After a while the installation will ask you to provide a License Key. Provide the license key (Trial needs a key too), the following screen will show:

Click Restart Now to restart the computer.

Depending on your choice where to install the shortcuts just find one and open workstation. The following screen will show:

Accept the license agrreement and click OK. The following screen will show:

The installation of VMware Workstation is done. Take a look around all the options provided (make sure to check Edit –> Virtual Network Editor to see the network options) and get familiar with VMware Workstation.

The Guide can be downloaded as a PDF here.

Also take a look at the documentation provided by VMware:

http://www.vmware.com/support/pubs/ws_pubs.html

When your familiar with Workstation it’s time to install ESXi. For the Step by Step installation of VMware ESXi 4.1 U1 click HERE