Solved How to (manually) upgrade VM's in VMware Player

Hopachi

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This will show you how to manually update a VM in VMware Player to the latest hardware version.

Upgrading VM's to the latest version of Workstation is easy to do in VMware Workstation because there is a UI button that simplifies this task.

If you're using VMware Player only, you've probably noticed that you cannot upgrade a VM because there is no button for this anywhere.

The good news is that we can upgrade the VM maunally by editing the machine's VMX file.

In this example, we'll upgrade from version 8 to 9.
The used VM is a Win8 that uses version 8 of Workstation's hardware:

w8-old.png

We will upgrade the virtual machine to the (now) latest version which is 9.
To do this, open the desired VMX in your Notepad, Notepad++ or any other text editor:
Close the VM and close Player.
Modify the highlighted text just like in the picture and set it to 9:
edit-w8.png

in code:
Code:
config.version = "8"
virtualHW.version = "9"

You may have an 8 here or even 7 or 6 if the machine is older.

IMPORTANT:
The config is set to 8. Leave it this way or the VM won't start with a 9 here.

After the 'one number change' we are ready:
Start Player and see:
w8-new.png

The upgrade provides newer hardware and improvements. After starting the VM, the operating system installed there will detect new drivers and a re-installation of the VM Tools may be required.

That's it.
Hopachi
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
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