Note: VMware Workstation 2.0.4 (for Windows NT and Windows 2000) is a free update for customers who have paid for version 2.0. If you are now running Workstation 2.0, 2.0.1, 2.0.2 or 2.0.3 (for Windows NT and Windows 2000), you do not need to take any special steps before installing the new release. Your existing license will continue to work. And documentation for version 2.0 also applies to version 2.0.4.

• Support for virtual machines with guest operating systems that use Linux 2.4 kernels

  • Support for Red Hat 7.1 and SuSE 7.1 distributions
    Note: Kernel 2.4.3 may not run as a guest because of a networking bug that has been fixed in kernel 2.4.4. (A failure would generate a message referring to bugNr=4935.)

• Increase in default memory size of a Linux virtual machine to 64MB

• Pentium 4 support

  • Fixes for two issues -- misdetection of the clock rate and problem that generated a pop-up message referring to unhandled feature bits

• CD-ROM improvement

  • Correct detection of CD-ROMs
    
  • Support for Windows 2000 hosts with CD-ROM drives configured for digital audio

• Miscellaneous

  • Fix for problem with virtual SCSI disks under load that generates a dialog referring to bugNr=235
  • Fix for problem that occurs while installing VMware Tools that generates a dialog referring to bugNr=3189

Build 799 - 11/2/00 - 2.0.3 Production Release

• Improved mouse performance

• Support for wheel mouse

• Support for installation of SVGA driver in a Windows Me guest

• Fix for installing the VMware Tools SVGA driver in certain Linux guest operating systems, including Red Hat Linux 5.2

• Fix for installing guest operating system over a network

• Fix for blue screen when Workstation is installed on Windows 2000 Advanced Server

• Fix for blue screen when under heavy networking load on SMP Windows NT 4.0 host

Build 621 - 8/1/00 - 2.0.2 Production Release

• Fixes for running DOS as a guest operating system

• Fixes for virtual machines running with large workloads

Build 570 - 6/19/00 - 2.0.1 Production Release

This release addresses a number of bugs encountered by customers. It includes:

• Fixes for raw disk

• Fixes for product installation

• New version of Windows installer that should prevent "you should not see me" dialog boxes when installing Workstation on a Windows 2000 host operating system or installing VMware Tools inside a Windows 2000 guest operating system

• Fix for assert bugNr=3823: failure in a Windows 95 or Windows 98 guest operating system boot sequence when running a DOS-mode scandisk after a Norton Antivirus scan

• Fix for assert bugNr=4282

• Fix for not implemented bugNr=4270

• Performance fix for SMP hosts running Windows 9x and Linux guest operating systems

• Checks to identify Pentium III (Coppermine) systems with an out of date BIOS, which may result in bugNr=3813 or other random failure of Workstation

Build 476 - 3/3/00 - 2.0 Production Release

• Increased desktop performance, especially for Windows 98 guest operating systems.

• VMware Tools install from floppy image via Settings > VMware Tools Install

  In this version of Workstation, VMware Tools for Linux and VMware Tools for Windows are provided as floppy images.

  To install the tools:

  1. Choose Settings > VMware Tools Install
  2. Click Yes to view the installation instructions

• Windows 2000 Release to Manufacturing

  This version of Workstation supports memory and power user changes in Windows 2000 after the RC2 release. Additionally, when running Workstation on a Windows 2000 host operating system, there is improved mouse movement, bug fixes for networking, correct telnet and TCP/IP with network cards that support hardware checksum, and the ability to eject the PCMCIA network card.

• Improved upgrade to new Workstation releases

  In Workstation 1.x for Windows NT and Windows 2000, you need to uninstall your existing version of Workstation before installing a new version. This process requires you to reboot your computer twice -- once after uninstalling the existing version of Workstation and once after installing the new version of Workstation. In Workstation 2.0 for Windows NT and Windows 2000, you simply run the installer program, which will automatically upgrade your version of Workstation. There's no need to uninstall the earlier version before you begin, and you only have to reboot your system once after the new version of Workstation is installed.

• Improved flexibility to selectively uninstall Workstation licenses

• Improved install of Windows 2000 SVGA driver into freshly installed Windows 2000 guest operating system

• SCSI support for disks and CD-ROM devices

  Note: SCSI support is limited at this time.

  For example, booting from SCSI CD-ROM devices configured as virtual SCSI drives and support for scanners and tape drives is not available. A tech note is available on using SCSI support.

• Suspend and Instant Restore

  In prior versions of Workstation, the Suspend button allowed suspension of the virtual machine to memory. In this version of Workstation, the Suspend button will, by default, save the virtual machine to disk, allowing you to instantly restore the state of your machine without having to reboot.

  To configure suspend options:

  1. Choose Settings > Configuration Editor > Automation
  2. Choose the desired settings for Suspend to memory (off is suspend to disk), and Use APM to suspend a virtual machine. By default, Workstation suspends to disk and does not use auto-power management (APM).

• Shrink disk
  

  In this release of Workstation, you can physically reclaim unused space in virtual disks using the shrink functionality provided in VMware Tools for Linux and VMware Tools for Windows.

  Note: The virtual disks to be shrunk must be booted in persistent mode. (The mode of a virtual disk may be modified before the virtual machine is powered on by choosing Settings > Configuration Editor > IDE Drives > IDE X:Y and selecting Mode Persistent.)

  This operation requires free disk space equal to the size of the virtual disk being shrunk.

  To shrink partitions of a virtual disk:

  1. Maximize VMware Tools
  2. Select the Shrink tab
  3. Consult the VMware Tools Help > Shrink help... for detailed information on shrinking virtual disks

• Floppy images

  This version of Workstation will allow configuration and use of floppy images. To configure floppy images, use Settings > Configuration Editor > Floppy Drives. Under Type, select Image.

• Serial connections

  A tech note is available on installing a serial connection.

• Bidirectional parallel port
  A tech note is available on using bidirectional parallel ports.

• Sound output

  This version of Workstation supports improved sound output and the addition of a device selector to the sound panel in the Configuration Editor.

• Flexible removable devices configuration

  In this version of Workstation, removable devices may be disconnected and modified or edited while the virtual machine is running. This may be done via the Devices menu.

• Raw disk support

  This version of Workstation has improved support for raw disks.

• Plain disk support - experimental

  A tech note is available on using plain disks.

• Interesting bug fixes

  Fix for bug 3823 when using the Norton Antivirus 5.0 startup scanner (NAVDX.EXE)

  Fixes for autofit, screen size and position