How to Create virtual machines in VMware Workstation

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article provide steps to create a virtual machine using VMware Workstation.

Environment

VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation Pro 16.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation Pro 16.x (Windows)

Resolution

Process to Create Virtual Machine using VMware Workstation:

Follow the below steps to create a virtual machine using VMware Workstation:

1. Launch VMware Workstation.
2. Click New Virtual Machine.
3. Select the type of virtual machine you want to create and click Next:
   
   Note: Your choice depends partially on the hardware version you want your virtual machine to have. For more information, see Virtual machine hardware versions (1003746).
    
   • Custom: This gives you an option to create a virtual machine and choose its hardware compatibility. You can choose from Workstation 16.x, Workstation 15.x, Workstation 14.x .
   • Typical: This creates a virtual machine which has the same hardware version as the version of Workstation you are using. If you are using Workstation 16.x, it creates a virtual machine with hardware version 16. If you are using Workstation 15.x a virtual machine with hardware version 15 is created.
      
4. Click Next.
5. Select your guest operating system (OS), then click Next. You can install the OS using:
    
   • An installer disc (CD/DVD)
   • An installer disc image file (ISO)
      
6. Click Next.
7. Enter your Product Key.
8. Create a user name and password.
9. Click Next.
10. Enter a virtual machine name and specify a location for virtual machine files to be saved, click Next.
11. Establish the virtual machine's disk size, select whether to store the virtual disk as a single file or split the virtual disk into 2GB files, click Next.
12. Verify the other configuration settings for your virtual machine:
     
    • Memory – change the amount of memory allocated to the virtual machine.
    • Processors – change the number of processors, number of cores per processor, and the virtualization engine.
    • CD / DVD – with advanced settings where you can choose between SCSI, IDE.
    • Network adapter – configure it to bridge, NAT, or Host-only mode, or customize where you can choose between 0 to 9 adapters.
    • USB Controller.
    • Sound card.
    • Display – enable 3D graphics.
       
13. Click Finish.
14. When the virtual machine is powered on, the VMware Tools installation starts. You are prompted to restart your virtual machine once the Tools installation completes.