WDDM and XPDM graphics driver support with ESX, ESXi, Workstation and Fusion

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

The WDDM driver, which is included with VMware Tools, only works with hardware version (HW) 7 and above. The WDDM driver does not work with older hardware versions and does not run if installed. The minimum size of VRAM for the WDDM driver is 8MB. For optimum performance, VMware recommends 32MB if possible, but it is not necessary.

These tables list support for WDDM and XPDM drivers on Windows 7, Windows 8, Windows Server 2012, Windows Server 2008 R2, Windows Server 2008, and Windows Vista Guest Operating Systems (GOS) running on ESX, ESXi, Workstation and Fusion.

ESX 4.x, ESXi 5.0, ESXi 5.1

Windows GOS on ESX 4.x, ESXi 5.0, 5.1	WDDM driver requires minimum of HW v. 7	XPDM driver requires minimum of HW v. 4
Windows 7 / 8 / Server 2012	Supported and installed by default	Not supported
Windows Server 2008 R2 *	Supported but not installed by default	Not supported
Windows Server 2008	Supported but not installed by default	Installed by default
Windows Vista	Supported but not installed by default	Installed by default

* Unless there is an explicit requirement for enhanced graphics, the preferred driver for Windows Server 2008 R2 is the Microsoft-provided VESA driver.

Workstation 7.x and later, Fusion 3.x and later.

Windows GOS on Workstation 7.x and later, Fusion 3.x and later	WDDM driver requires minimum HW v. 7	XPDM driver requires minimum of HW v. 4
Windows 7 / 8 / Server 2012	Supported and installed by default	Not supported
Windows Server 2008 R2	Supported and installed by default	Not supported
Windows Server 2008	Supported and installed by default	Supported but not installed by default
Windows Vista	Supported and installed by default	Supported but not installed by default

Environment

VMware Workstation 11.x (for Windows)
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware Workstation 7.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 11.x (for Linux)
VMware Fusion 8.x
VMware Fusion Pro 8.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Windows)
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware Workstation Pro 12.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 9.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 7.x (Windows)
VMware Fusion 5.x
VMware Fusion 6.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware Fusion 3.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 12.x (Linux)
VMware Fusion 7.x
VMware Fusion Pro 10.x
VMware Workstation 8.x (Windows)
VMware Fusion 4.x
VMware Fusion 10.x
VMware Workstation 10.x (Linux)
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware Workstation 9.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 8.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 10.x (Windows)

Resolution

Requirements for supporting the WDDM driver on ESX 4.x, ESXi 5.x, Workstation 7.x and above, and Fusion 3.x and above:

At least 8 MB of video RAM (32MB is recommend for best performance).
Hardware version 7 minimum.

Requirements for supporting the XPDM driver on ESX 4.x, ESXi 5.x, Workstation 7.x and above, and Fusion 3.x and above:

At least 4 MB of video RAM.
Hardware version 4, 6, or 7.

To install a WDDM or XPDM driver, go to Control Panel > Device Manager of the installed Windows operating system.

To locate the drivers, browse to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\video_wddm\ on the hard disk.

For more detailed instructions, see the documentation that accompanies the operating system.

Additional Information

For translated versions of this article, see: