Arch Linux

Shahab

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 30

[SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Today, I have updated my kernel to version 4.0.1 and since then I cannot run VMware. It complains that GCC 5.1.0 cannot be found to update its modules:

VMware Kernel Module Updater
======================
Before you can run VMware, several modules must be compiled and loaded into the running kernel.

GCC
GNU C Compiler (gcc) version 5.1.0 was not found. If you installed it in a non-default path you can specify the path below. Otherwise refer to your distribution's documentation for installation instructors and click Refresh to search again in default locations.

I must say the installed GCC version is 4.92. During previous kernel updates I was able to update VMware modules (as instructed here) and it never complained about GCC 5. Needless to say, the VMware installation is not changed (still version 11.0.0 build-2305329).

Does anybody have a clue that how I can update the modules?

Last edited by Shahab (2015-04-30 05:34:46)

gogoer

Member

Registered: 2013-02-26

Posts: 6

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

you can unmask [testing] in pacman.conf and install new gcc 5.1.0, then re compile vmware module, it works for me.

crisap94

Member

Registered: 2015-04-30

Posts: 1

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

you can unmask [testing] in pacman.conf and install new gcc 5.1.0, then re compile vmware module, it works for me.

I'm new using Arch could you describe how did you do that?

ewaller

Administrator

From: Pasadena, CA

Registered: 2009-07-13

Posts: 20,383

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Of … es#testing

---

Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature -- Michael Faraday
The shortest way to ruin a country is to give power to demagogues.— Dionysius of Halicarnassus
---
How to Ask Questions the Smart Way

Shahab

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 30

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Thanks gogoer, it worked just fine. For people comming to this thread, I summerize the steps below:

1. add testing and community-testing repositories in /etc/pacman.conf (more details here)
2. update the pacman database: pacman -Sy
3. install new GCC: pacman -S gcc
4. run vmware and let it update its modules (more info here)
---------
the following steps are in case you want to recede from testing repositories
---------
5. comment the test and community-test repositories in /etc/pacman.conf
6. update the database again and downgrade GCC: pacman -Syyuu

I assume this requirement for GCC 5.1.0 happened because the kernel was compiled with it. Please correct me if I am wrong.

Mercader1902

Member

Registered: 2014-09-01

Posts: 55

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

I think if you only need this package, it will be more "clean" to compile gcc from source or just install the binary manually (and its dependencies, of course).

https://www.archlinux.org/packages/testing/x86_64/gcc/

manuelschneid3r

Member

From: Germany

Registered: 2013-04-14

Posts: 152

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Thank you Shahab. Is this permanent, or do I have to recompile on every start of vmplayer?

---

Please feel free to correct my english.

Shahab

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 30

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Thank you Shahab. Is this permanent, or do I have to recompile on every start of vmplayer?

Compiling the VMWare modules is only necessary if the kernel (and its headers/modules) is updated. And these steps are needed until GCC 5 replaces GCC 4.9 in "core" repository.

Last edited by Shahab (2015-05-04 04:57:52)

namb

Member

From: Toulouse, France

Registered: 2015-03-23

Posts: 8

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Hi Shahab thanks for this, I tried to apply it, but it fails at step 4 (. run vmware and let it update its modules)

the vmnet module fail to build, and the patch here doesn't seem to work now :

# patch -p0 -i /tmp/vmnet-3.19.patch 
can't find file to patch at input line 4
Perhaps you used the wrong -p or --strip option?
The text leading up to this was:
--------------------------
|diff -ur vmnet-only.a/driver.c vmnet-only/driver.c
|--- vmnet-only.a/driver.c	2014-11-20 20:13:56.000000000 -0500
|+++ vmnet-only/driver.c	2015-02-09 15:40:10.916640592 -0500
--------------------------
File to patch: 

thank you

Shahab

Member

Registered: 2011-10-15

Posts: 30

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

namb, according to your log, the patch tool is not able to find the files that should be patched:

can't find file to patch at input line 4

Follow every step as exactly mentioned on the wiki page. This means you have to be in the same path where the "vmnet-only" directory resides before applying the patch.

namb

Member

From: Toulouse, France

Registered: 2015-03-23

Posts: 8

Re: [SOLVED] VMware 11 and Kernel 4.0.1

Hi,

I followed every steps, the problem was that ten vmnet.tar was empty, so no vmnet-only dir, don't know why. I uninstalled and reinstalled vmware-player, then applied the script. It works now.

thanks very much