VMWare Secure boot and dev vmmon

[yaklinux]

Hi,

I'm trying to follow the directions on this page: https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2146460 so that I can install self-signed certificates, so I can keep 'secureboot' enabled (My other drive is Win)

I don't really understand what's going on there. When I enter the first line of code into the terminal and replace "MOK" with something else (as it says), I get this:

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USERNAME:~$ $openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout VMWARE.priv -outform DER -out VMWARE.der -nodes -days 36500 -subj "/CN=VMware/"
Command 'req' not found, did you mean:
  command 'rep' from deb rep (0.92.5-3build5)
  command 'red' from deb ed (1.18-1)
  command 're' from deb re (0.1-7build1)
  command 'rec' from deb sox (14.4.2+git20190427-2+deb11u2ubuntu0.22.04.1)
  command 'rem' from deb remind (03.04.01-1)
  command 'ree' from deb ree (1.4.1-1)
  command 'seq' from deb coreutils (8.32-4.1ubuntu1)
  command 'rev' from deb util-linux (2.37.2-4ubuntu3)
  command 'rq' from deb python3-rq (1.10.1-1)
  command 'rex' from deb rex (1.13.4-1)
Try: sudo apt install <deb name>

Second question - virtual machines don't appear to show up in the program unless system settings are done a certain way. I had to look all over the internet and apparently it only works if privacy settings in mint are set to never forget a file. So, will checking this option (never forget files) clog up space over time?

[MintMagoo]

If $openssl is what you typed, it is the $ before openssl.

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openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout VMWARE17.priv -outform DER -out VMWARE17.der -nodes -days 36500 -subj "/CN=VMware/"

Is the exact line I use.

[MintMagoo]

Second question - virtual machines don't appear to show up in the program unless system settings are done a certain way.

Not positive what you are asking here,

Do you mean a list of your virtual machines on VMWorkstation/Player apps main page?

If so...

And you already have VM's built, you have to add (Open) each one, after you have added it, it will appear in the list on the apps main page.

Select:
Open a Virtual Machine ==> than navigate to the folder(s) where your VM(s) are stored. It will be looking for the *.vmx file (or *.ovf/*.ova depending on where you got the VM from)

Not a clue of what you mean by privacy settings. If the VM's are in the cloud I would be clueless, if on a separate partition or external drive you create a mount point so it will be available whenever you boot into the system.

I like to create a link in my home directory for this (it's just a link, takes only a few bytes).

Example:

1) In Home directory right click ==> Create New Folder (I'll name it Drive E)

2) Using the Disks app
a. Select (Click) on the drive
b. Select (Click) on the partition
c. Select (Click) on Additional partition options (2 small cogs icon below graphical display of drive/partition).
d. Select Edit Mount Options.
e. Turn off the switch for User Session Defaults at the top.
f. In the text box for Mount Point enter path to the folder you created in your Home directory:
/home/{Your User Name}/Drive E
g. sudo mount -a and/or re-boot


Then you can navigate from VMPlayer to Open or Create your VM(s) and they will always be there as long as the drive is attached.

Or you can just navigate to /media/{Your User Name}/Your Drive

[yaklinux]

@MintMagoo - thank you for that response. Helped a lot. I was able to get through the setup after some more hassle. I was then stuck at the last step where it said:

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$mokutil --import MOK.der

I replaced "MOK" with my own thing of "VMWARE" (since I used it throughout) and nothing worked - kept failing. Digging around online, I found these instructions and it worked from there:


"If you are on Ubuntu you don't need to set a root password. Not sure about other distros, but this should work with any distro that uses sudo."

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sudo su
mokutil --import MOK.der

"It should work without error now. Then to get back to a normal prompt just type exit

You now need to go through the UEFI prompt to add your key. Whatever you named it should show up, at least it did for me on my system.

Now you should be able to use your software"

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https://stackoverflow.com/questions/39226185/kernel-module-mokutil-failed-to-enroll-new-keys

I replaced the "MOK" again with my own name of "VMWARE" - then on reboot it asked me to enroll the key, etc.... VM works now with secure boot enabled.

Regarding the second question - to clarify - the list of virtual machines that appear in VMWARE actually do not appear at all.... unless the settings under "Privacy" in linux mint are set to "Never forget old files". If I toggle that setting off, the VM's won't show up. My question was just around if old files are never forgotten at all (presuming deleted too?), will it start to clog up storage space. As an example, if I delete a file and then search for it on the system, it still shows up even though it's no longer there.

[MintMagoo]

Oh, I guess I have that setting turned off. I have Recently Accessed Files turned off. I created a launcher for Player on a side panel and start the VM's from the player interface. Pinning Player to a panel seems to be first instance only. Creating a launcher allows you to easily launch multiple instances of Player from the desktop (avoiding going into the Menu). Then I just select the VM I want to launch. I'm guessing you're talking about what I call the Start Menu/Application Menu for Mint. It won't use up storage space, but it will create a cluttered Menu of everything recently opened. I have a lot of VM's, between them and opened text documents and folders it would be a mess for me.

[MintMagoo]

I stand corrected "Remember recently accessed files" turned off will clear the list on Player between boots. "Number of days to remember old files" is at the 7 default. I've been testing and restoring and probably haven't gone a week without a restore so did not notice that feature. Just noticed "Clear list" on the start menu clears them from Player too Disappointed with that behavior. I now see your point about space and not sure on the affect on cache even leaving it on 7 days. Not pretty

[MintMagoo]

I was thinking about the issue you pointed out with the privacy setting affecting the list of VM's in the app. I decided to launch all my VM's from a Panel set to Auto Hide assigning png's, jpg's for quick recognition.

Command used to launch:

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/usr/bin/vmplayer /PathToVM/vmxfile

/usr/bin/vmplayer "/home/MyMint/MyVMDrive/VM/LibreVM/LibreVM.vmx"

[yaklinux]

I was thinking about the issue you pointed out with the privacy setting affecting the list of VM's in the app. I decided to launch all my VM's from a Panel set to Auto Hide assigning png's, jpg's for quick recognition.

Command used to launch:

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/usr/bin/vmplayer /PathToVM/vmxfile

/usr/bin/vmplayer "/home/MyMint/MyVMDrive/VM/LibreVM/LibreVM.vmx"

Screenshot from 2024-03-23 07-24-15.jpg

What does this do exactly? I don't fully understand, sorry.

[MintMagoo]

That is the command line to launch individual specific VM's. The panel on the left side of the above picture shows an example of a panel using launchers for different VM's. I used icons for quick visual identification for each VM. Point, click and the VM of your choice launches. If you use the -X switch the VM will launch full screen if that is your preference.

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/usr/bin/vmplayer -X /PathToVM/vmxfile

That saves the user from having to first launch the vmplayer app and then choosing the VM they want to launch.

[yaklinux]

Interesting, thank you for the explanation.

[MintMagoo]

Interesting, thank you for the explanation.

FYI - Over the last couple of weeks I have switched over to QEMU/KVM. I used VMPlayer for years, over a decade, I found it better than VBox. But after getting QEMU/KVM going, it is better and faster than VMPlayer. You do not have to convert VMP vmdk files, you can install them in QEMU and I have not had any problems with windows or linux VM's. But converting them to cow2 format is relatively easy and quick.

I have some sloppy short notes that can give you a clue if you would be interested in switching.