Share files with VMWare virtual machine

[The Liquidator]

Hi

I'm running 8.10 and winXP via VMWare on a dell laptop. Things are now working great. The only thing I can't figure out is how to share files between the 2. I have a FAT 32 partition which was a shared drive in my dual-booting days and I would like to set things up so I can create a document within the VM (which has voice recognition) and save to the FAT 32 partition. I have installed what I think are the necessary Samba Files but can't seem to configure it so that the VM can see the FAT32 partition. That's all I want it to do really, so I won't need to use a pen drive to do it.

Any assistance will be very welcome. Also, am I likely to suffer any reduction in performance if I set up filesharing in this way as both Kubuntu and the virtual XP are currently very quick and I wouldn't like to adversely affect that if possible.

Thanks

ian

[dibl]

Re: Share files with VMWare virtual machine

I don't consider myself very proficient on networking issues, but this is one that I have managed.

Your windows networking stuff needs to be enabled, and your data folders marked for sharing on both ends, of course. Windows firewalls have to be disabled, and it seems like there are three different ways you have to get at them and disable them, before it's totally stopped. Samba daemon needs to be running. I use a real simple smb.conf file, which I don't have access to at this moment, but I'll post it tonight from home if you happen not to get it working by then.

[The Liquidator]

Re: Share files with VMWare virtual machine

Thanks dibl - look forward to more info.

You touch upon Windows firewalls. I currently have Zone alarm running, as it was there on the hard disk windows install. However, I've configured my linux firewall with guarddog - I imagine that as any internet access for Windows will now be through kubuntu that I can actually uninstall Zone Alarm?

[dibl]

Re: Share files with VMWare virtual machine

Yep. I use a Win XP VM that is a totally clean Win XP installation -- no virus or malware checkers of any kind. This is fine because the VM is "behind" Linux, if you think of it that way. Then, you have to go in to the Windows firewalls and turn them off. In the Control Panel there is a firewalls icon, and you need to use that one to turn it off. But then there is "My Computer>My Network Places>View Network Connections" and there's a "Change Firewall Settings" in there that you have to set to "Off". And I think there's one more, somewhere -- it's not popping into my mind at the moment.

The caution is, when you set it up this way, you can't use the VM to do browsing or e-mail -- so I do that strictly from Linux. If you want to use your Windows VM to do your web browsing and e-mailing, then you probably need to treat it just like a native Windows installation. But, I think doing that might impair the Samba networking that you want to do, because then it won't let you in from the Linux side of the system.

EDIT: Control Panel > Security Center is the third place you have to shut off firewalls.

One time when I had nothing better to do, as an experiment I used my clean Win XP VM and opened IE and browsed to a porn site and did click-click-click. In less than 5 minutes, IE was totally loaded with malware and redirectors -- it went totally out of control. Couldn't even get it to stop long enough to do Ctrl-Alt-Del so I could do a shutdown -- I had to close VMware Player. So I went in to Linux and deleted the VM, and reinstalled it (I keep backup copies of the clean .vmx and .vmdk files). That took about 3 minutes, and I was totally set to go again with a brand new clean Win XP system.

[The Liquidator]

Re: Share files with VMWare virtual machine

Well, I've reached the stage where I can access the shared Windows folders from within 'buntu. You are right (of course) about the windows firewall - if it's running I am asked for some kind of authentication but none of my passwords work. With the firewall off, I can access the folders.

Trouble is, I would like it to be the other way around i.e accessing the data drive from within windows. Must be some config work needed in Samba.

What I think I will do is remove the windows firewall but keep the AV as I will need to access a couple of windows only sites although to the best of my knowledge they are not ...ahem.... dodgy. I won't be using IE for general browsing.

Thanks for the tips!

[dibl]

Re: Share files with VMWare virtual machine

OK.

Here's my big bad smb.conf file:

[global]

workgroup = WORKGROUP
interfaces = eth0
map to guest = bad user

[Data]

path = /home/dibl
read only = no
guest ok = yes
case sensitive = no
strict locking = no
force user = dibl



[Epson_84]

printing = cups
path = /var/tmp
printable = yes
guest ok = yes
guest only = yes

Try one like that, and maybe Windows will be able to see your Kubuntu data folder(s). It sounds like you have the Windows sharing and networking set up right, if you can see it from Linux.