Install Red Hat into VMWare VM

I am trying to install Red Hat Enterprise Linux 8 into a VMWare VM.

The problem is that the window is too small; part of the RHEL window is chopped off. If I understand what the settings for the display are saying, I need to give the VM 16 GB. I have only 16 GB so the system will do very much swapping if I give the VM 16 GB.

Is there something I am missing or is this typical of VMWare? Is there a way I can get larger windows (graphics memory?) without giving the VM 16 GB?

My display adapter is an AMD Radeon HD8490 with 4864 MB of memory. That is not much, correct? I do not know what other specifics are relevant.

I am sorry, I should have used a more relevant title. I do not see where to change the title.

Edited by SamHobbs, 05 February 2022 - 10:18 PM.

Hi,

I can't help with VMWare as I stopped using it sorry, but what I can do is suggest using Oracle VirtualBox instead. 

I use VirtualBox extensively (see snapshot below) and find it just as powerful as VMWare solutions and considerably less demanding on system resources as well.

Have you ever tried it?

 

Have you ever tried it?

Sorry, I intended to say that I did try VirtualBox first. There are a couple of things about it that caused me to want to try something else. And VMWare is easier. The size of the windows using VirtualBox was the main problem. I might have to return to VirtualBox with the smaller screen. I realize I could add memory but that will take time and money.

I do not know if it is possible to upgrade my display adapter (I should create a separate question to ask about that) and if that would help. I might investigate that. Either a memory upgrade or display adapter upgrade or both would be worthwhile.

The size of the windows using VirtualBox was the main problem.

 

To get a full sized Window with VirtualBox, you need to install Guest Additions for the VM you have created.

With VB open, and VM loaded ...

• Click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD Image ...
• VB will install Guest Additions (allow any prompts you receive)
• On completion VB will reboot.

Once your VM has re-loaded ...

• Click View > Auto Resize Guest Display (you may need to do this twice before the display resizes to the size of your screen).

Why they have never just installed this by default is beyond me, it's just one of VB's little quirks that you have to know.

Why they have never just installed this by default is beyond me, it's just one of VB's little quirks that you have to know.

I've often wondered the same thing Gary.

Yes, it's the same with transferring files between a VM and USB, you need to install the appropriate additions or you can't do it.

These things could and IMO should be installed by default.

But then it's free program, so really we shouldn't complain, and IMO it's still one of the easiest ways to run a second (or more) OS.

With VB open, and VM loaded ...

 

• Click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD Image ...
• VB will install Guest Additions (allow any prompts you receive)
• On completion VB will reboot.

 

It is saying that VBoxGuestAdditions.iso is locked.

Update: now it is working. I see that the addition must execute in the VM and I tried to do it during installation of the operating system.

Edited by SamHobbs, 06 February 2022 - 02:25 PM.

Glad to hear you got it working.

Hope you were able to get RedHat installed and running on VirtualBox also.

Glad to hear you got it working.

 

Hope you were able to get RedHat installed and running on VirtualBox also.

Yes I did. The window that was truncated using VMWare was the same for VirtualBox. Using VirtualBox I am able to resize windows nicely after installation.

I am installing into a VM so I can write an article about installing RHEL, but the article will primarily be about installing on a real hard drive. I hope I can save others some time if they are new to Red Hat and Linux. Since IBM is offering RHEL to developers for free, there are probably other developers like me that want to switch from Windows.

I intend to publish the article in my website and in the C# Corner website. If this website wants me to publish it here too then I can.

Hi Sam,

Great to hear it all worked out for you. 

Another thing I'd encourage you to do now is to give Puppy Linux a try. 

One of the things that impressed me about Puppy Linux builds is that they run as root by default (you can change that if you want to), so most things can be done in its GUI, considerably easing the dependence on the use of Terminal that other Linux builds insist on to perform many functions.

Puppy does work considerably differently from other Linux OS's you may have used, so it can take a little getting used to, but the learning curve isn't all that big, and I find most of those differences refreshing and helpful, particularly the ability to log in as a root user by default.

If interested in giving Puppy a try, you can run it from a Live CD if you prefer, but if you want a permanent install, I've published a couple of walkthroughs here on Bleeping Computer as installation to a VDI is a different process for all other Linux builds I've tried. It's not hard; you just need to follow the steps in my article correctly. 

I find Puppy great, and it's now become my go-to Linux distro whenever I want to use Linux. Links to my articles are here:

How to: Install Puppy-Linux to a VirtualBox VDI on a Windows Host

How To: Enable Shared Folders with Puppy-Linux Guest in VirtualBox

I'd urge you to give it a look, and as with all Linux OS builds, you can't beat the price.      

Hope you find that helpful.

Regards, Andrew 

Edited by achzone, 06 February 2022 - 08:26 PM.

Another thing I'd encourage you to do now is to give Puppy Linux a try. 

I have, as in my article Installing Puppy Linux to a Dedicated Partition.

I began programming half a century ago. At that time the environment I was in was pure IBM. I have become frustrated with Microsoft and hope to return to the IBM environment. I was excited when I discovered that IBM is offering Red Hat Linux for free for developers. Sure, learning RHEL might take more time but I really want to use it. It is used by businesses; it is designed for businesses. I think it is very worthwhile for other developers that want to switch away from Windows.

Edited by SamHobbs, 06 February 2022 - 09:42 PM.

When you finish writing your article Sam, if you post a link to it here, then I'm sure there will be people who will want to read it.

Like both you and Andrew, I'm a Puppy fan as well, and even if you're not using it as your daily driver, then because of its small size, and mode of operation, it comes in useful for all sorts of little jobs, and IMO should be in everyone's toolbox.

Edited by Gary R, 07 February 2022 - 02:08 AM.