Unable to start VMWare player after upgrade to 13.04

Question

Am unable to start VMWare player after upgrade to 13.04. Error: Before you can run Vmware several modules must be compiled and loaded into the running kernel. if i click on install nothing happens, kindly assist.

Solution 1

In my case, I also encountered errors during installation of vmware player (some weird encoding things), I guess because 13.04 is not yet officially supported from vmware.

Anyway, apart from uninstalling and reinsta1lling, in my case closing vmware and executing this at a terminal prompt:

sudo vmware-modconfig --console --install-all

was also a valid workaround after, for instance, kernel security updates.

Solution 2

I've resolved the same problem uninstalling and then reinstalling VMWare Player. To uninstall it open a terminal and insert this command:

sudo vmware-installer -u vmware-player

Then you can proceed with the normal installation and everything should be fine.

Solution 3

This is a common problem when updating to a new distribution or a new kernel. It is my understanding that VMWare products compile the necessary kernel modules at install time, and when the kernel changes you (almost?) always need to recompile the necessary modules. I'm not sure if there is a manual way of doing this - perhaps through a supplied script. The only way I am aware of is to uninstall and reinstall again as @lupp0l0 suggests in the previous answer.

This is the main reason I migrated to Virtualbox. Change in kernel? Just close the program, recompile module, re-run the program and you are set. Of course, this is a matter of personal preference, so stick with the program that suits your tastes.

Comments

[irimwere]

Ok, will i not loose all my current settings on the Virtual machine?

[pgruetter]

Thanks for this solution. In my case, I didn't even have to re-install VMware, just running vmware-modconfig did the trick.