Can you install vmware server 2 on the Windows 8 preview?

Question

Apologies if this has been asked already, searching the web reveals lots and lots of threads about installing the Win8 beta on VMware but not the other way around.

I am trying to install VMware Server 2.0.2 on a Windows 8 Preview machine. It appears to install correctly but I cannot then reach the web based homepage to configure virtual machines, i.e.

https://localhost:8333/ui/

gives the error that the "connection attempt to localhost was rejected. The website may be down or your network may not be properly configured".

Has anyone had any success running VMware Server 2.0.2 on Windows 8 Preview? If so were there any gotchas you needed to avoid?

Answer 1

I don't think it will ever be resolved. VMware Server was declared End Of Availability in January 2010; There will be no support for Windows 8.

Your best try would be trying launching the services in compatibility mode, but why would you do that? Why not use the much more advanced VMware Player or VMware Workstation products?

Answer 2

I've found a way to run it on Windows 8.

On my PC with a x64 version of Windows 8, when I installed VMware Server 2, I found there was a service called VMware Host Agent that cannot be run. When I opened the system Service Manager and clicked to launch this service, it gave me the error.

My solution is to create a service with the same command string and set it to start automatically by using the "sc create" command in cmd.exe. And it worked for me!