|
|
Case[1078]: VMWare Shared Folders Slow
|
|
Printable View
| Case |
|---|
| Title: | VMWare Shared Folders Slow |
| Number: | 1078 |
| Created: | 06/15/2006 20:24 |
| Created By: | bemowski |
| Page Views: | 11118 |
|
| Status: |
ACTIVE
|
| Approver: | bemowski |
| Keywords: | vmware shared folder drive slow |
| Related Tickets: | |
|
Detail
This applies to VMWare 5.0 and 5.5, and perhaps other versions. The particular problem was witnessed on VMWare Workstation 5.0 and 5.5, and fixed on 5.5. The problem was found using FC4 Linux as a host operating system. The guest OS is Windows XP SP2.
Ok, so I love VMWare. It lets me run Outlook, Visio and some other winware, while maintining the stability and power of Linux as the Host OS.
I wanted to be able to share files, especially my home directory between operating systems. Initially I used the VMWare tools feature of "Shared Folders," but this setup made access to the shared folders painfully slow. So I got clever. I started to run Samba on the Linux OS, and mount drives from the Windows guest system onto the Samba shares of the outer OS. This worked fine for some time.
Along came Cisco VPN. I use the Cisco VPN Client to connect up to an office network and use Outlook for mail. The problem is that when the VPN is active, it disables the standard Windows TCP stack. This is a good security measure, but it meant that my Samba shares become inaccessable when on the VPN. Bugger. This took me back to using VMWare Shared Folders, which are not affected by the VPN, but again, they are DOG SLOW. I'm talking minutes to list the contents of a folder.
It turns out this is a Windows networking problem. Windows is trying to do a WINS or some other type of host lookup on the hostname ".host" - which is what VMWare uses. This can be easily fixed by doing the following:
1) Create a text file called 'lmhosts' in the folder C:\WINDOWS\system32\drivers\etc - if it doesn't already exist. If it does, simply edit it.
2) Add the following line:
127.0.0.1 ".host"
3) Save the file.
That's it. The effect should be near immediate. Try the folder to see if access is moving quicker. It should be. And, it works with the Cisco VPN.
|
Show System Notes
| User |
Date |
Comment |
| anonymous |
12/13/2009
20:34 |
Finally my Windows XP host and guest can use windows file sharing! I hadn't even thought that my linksys (now cisco) client might have anything to do with it. All other solutions I had found online required different vmware software than the really basic "web access" setup I've got. This solution works great. Thank you. |
| anonymous |
09/04/2009
13:24 |
Freaking awesome. Thanks man |
| anonymous |
06/16/2009
09:12 |
Fantastic! Thanks, this has been driving me crazy - such a simple fix. :) |
| anonymous |
01/05/2009
18:34 |
it worked, thanks |
| anonymous |
09/07/2008
06:28 |
Man, thx for sharing this info, you saved me a lot of trouble.
Wolf in der Steppe |
| anonymous |
08/29/2008
02:05 |
Hi there, I just want to know how can I share files/folders between a windows 2003 host and windows 2003 guest? I once saw a configuration where by just typing //hostname in the Vmware guest machine you could actually see the shared folders of the host OS. Is this something to do with NAT, BRIDGED, or HOST ONLY settings?
Appreciate your help |
| anonymous |
08/21/2008
11:39 |
bless you - same problem with mac OSX host -- slow folders -- driving me nuts -- thanks for taking the time to post this. |
| anonymous |
04/11/2008
09:12 |
It works...
I have verified the solution for VMware 4 and higher |
| anonymous |
02/29/2008
07:34 |
This appears to not work for NT4 as guest OS...
You first have to change the line to
127.0.0.1 .host
to be able to 'ping .host' from NT4, but it does not speed up the file access :-( |
| anonymous |
06/01/2007
09:20 |
Dude, you just stopped me from throwing the laptop out the window!
McC |
| anonymous |
05/30/2007
18:37 |
You can also tell the Cisco VPN client to quit filtering local traffic. They have a checkbox I think it's titled "Disable Local Network Access" that is enabled by default in the connection settings. Uncheck that box and reconnect your VPN -- now you can still print to home network printers, access home shares, etc. |
| barney |
05/29/2007
00:55 |
that's a life saver.
especially if, like i am, you use cygwin in vmware(/M$win), and set your cygwin %HOME% to be the same as your real [and shared] linux $HOME. (it makes me feel soo dirty :) |
|
|
|
