hi
i have recently setup a vmware server on my Debian etch box. now to my knowledge this works but when im in the vmware console on my pc when i start the virtual machine it starts and boots but when it get to the point of loading and begins to boot to runlevel 3 or whatever it powers off. my setting on the console application are all default so i don't imagine that its a setting in the console but maybe its a setting in a conf file on the server not sure any help would be great
thank

Best start by checking the logs for the VMware services itself and the VM logs for errors.

hey um here is what the log had to say


Jul 28 17:50:43: app| VM suddenly changed state: poweredOn.
Jul 28 17:50:44: app| cleanup: cleaned up 1 objects
Jul 28 17:51:19: app| VmsdRegister: Config file has changed: /home/vmware/virtua
l machines/Ubuntu-media-studio.8.04/Ubuntu.vmx
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| VMServerd IPC closed the connection with thread /home/vmwa
re/virtual machines/Ubuntu-media-studio.8.04/Ubuntu.vmx (0x8302128)
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| Lost connection to /home/vmware/virtual machines/Ubuntu-me
dia-studio.8.04/Ubuntu.vmx (/home/vmware/virtual machines/Ubuntu-media-studio.8.
04/Ubuntu.vmx) unexpectedly.
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| vmdbPipe_Streams Couldn't read: OVL_STATUS_EOF
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| VMHS: Connection to VM broken: cfg: /home/vmware/virtual m
achines/Ubuntu-media-studio.8.04/Ubuntu.vmx; error: Pipe: Read failed; state: 3
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| VM suddenly changed state: poweredOff.
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| VM suddenly changed state: poweredOff.
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| VM suddenly changed state: poweredOff.
Jul 28 17:52:55: app| cleanup: cleaned up 1 objects


any ideas???

No, the (vmware-serverd?)log doesn't tell much here. Do all VMware services start OK? Are the vmmon and vmnet modules loaded OK? Does the log of the VM itself say anything?

Try the following commands:

vmware-cmd -s unregister /path-to-.vmx-file
vmware-cmd -s register /path-to-.vmx-file

This error might either be the vm guest cannot locate or use the swap file, or it is not properly registered with the vmware-server. So try regestering the virtual server and then try to launch again. Also make sure you have debug logging level on for the virtual server.