Tips on VMware and Linux

1. I see 4 scrambled screens when installing SLES9 or NLD9

2. Time synchronization problems with Linux guests on VMware ESX Server

1. I see 4 scrambled screens when installing SLES9 or NLD9

During installation of SuSE Linux Enterprise Server 9 or Novell Linux Desktop 9 you will get 4 scrambled graphical screens. This is a problem in VMware Workstation version 4.5.2 and version 5. There is no solution as far as I know. But there is a workaround: in the initial installation screen select F2 and select the text based installation, use VNC installation or provide the paramater listed below.

NEW: there is now also a parameter that you can type in the boot screen: x11i=fbdev (source)
ALSO: Be aware that this problem does not occur on SLES 10 and SLED 10

2. Time synchronization problems with Linux guests on VMware ESX Server

There are many issues with keeping the correct time when running some Linux guests OS's in VMware ESX Server. This is especially a problem when running applications in such an environment that are relying on time being synchronized between machines, such as Novell eDirectory. There are two very good documents that descibe how to fix these problems:

Novell Technical Information Document 3858673: Time drifting when running eDirectory on a Linux guest under VMware ESX server.

VMware Knowledgebase article: Clock in a Linux Guest Runs More Slowly or Quickly Than Real Time