VMWare Windows
Installation Guide
Section 1 - Prerequisites
1.1 Processor, Disk Space and RAM
The requirements for your PC/Laptop to run the Virtual Machines are:
OS: Windows 10 or Windows 11 with Administrator Rights
Processor: x86/x64 - Intel Core i5/i7/i9 or AMD Ryzen 3/5/7 Processor
RAM: At least 4GB
Disk Space: At least 80GB
Take Note: ARM Based Processors (e.g. Apple M1/M2/M3 Chips) are not supported. You
must use a x86/x64 based processor.
If you already have VMWare Player/Workstation running on your computer, you can skip to
Section 3 to download the required Virtual Machines.
1.2. Enabling Virtualisation (Intel VT-X / AMD-V)
Check if Virtualisation has been enabled on your computer by:
1. Open the Task Manager (Ctrl+Shift+Esc)
2. Go to the Performance Tab
3. Select CPU
4. Under Virtualisation, it should indicate enabled.
If virtualisation is disabled, you need to enable it on your computer through the BIOS/UEFI.
You may refer to the following links for guides to enable Virtualisation on your computer.
OS Version Guide to Enable Virtualisation
Windows 10 https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/115003174386
Windows 11 https://support.bluestacks.com/hc/en-us/articles/4409279876621
Section 2 - VMWare Player Installation
2.1. Download VMWare Player
If you already have VMWare Player/Workstation running on your computer, you can skip to
Section 3 to download the required Virtual Machines.
Download VMWare Player: https://www.vmware.com/go/getplayer-win
2.2. Installing VMWare Player
Launch the installer that you downloaded (it should be in the Downloads Folder).
The following screen should appear:
Click on Next to Proceed with the Installation.
On the License Agreement page, click on the checkbox to accept the terms in the License
Agreement. After accepting, click on the Next button.
On the Custom Setup page, you can change the directory that VMWare will be installed to
or leave it as the default. It is recommended to leave it as the default settings. Click on
Next button to proceed.
On the User Experience Settings page, you can set it according to your preference. Click
on the Next button to proceed.
On the Shortcuts Page, click “Next” to create the shortcuts.
On the final page, click the Install button.
The following screen will appear when the installation is successful. Click on the License
button.
On the License Page, click on the Skip button. You do not need to fill in a license key.
Finally, click on the Finish button to complete the VMWare Workstation 17 Player setup.
You may now start VMWare Player by double clicking on the shortcut created on your
Desktop or in the Start Menu.
If you are prompted for a License when you first start VMWare Workstation 17 Player,
select the “Use VMWare Workstation 17 Player for free for non-commercial use” and click
on “Continue”.
Section 3 - Running Kali Linux
3.1. Download Kali Linux
Download the Kali Linux provided for this event at the following link:
https://cyberthon24.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/VM/Kali-Linux-2021.7z
3.2. Extracting the zipped file
To run the Kali Linux VM that we had provided, you will need to first extract the file using
the following steps:
i. Right click on the downloaded zipped file and select “Extract files…” under your
7-zip tool.
ii. If 7-zip is not available on default, please install it from the following link
https://www.7-zip.org/download.html
iii. Select your destination path and click “Ok.”
iv. Once extracted, you will find the following files in your extracted folder.
3.3. Running Kali Linux
To run the VM, double click on the vmx file with the following logo:
Select “I Copied It”, ff you receive the following prompt,
You will be prompted to key in the VM credentials
Enter the following credentials to enter your VM
- Username: rootyourfuture
- Password: ilak
Some users might wish to change the ram and CPU used for that particular VM. You may
do so by selecting “Player” -> “Manage” -> “Virtual Machine Settings”
For users who have downloaded and installed older versions of VMWare Player /
Workstation (older than version 16), you might be unable to run the Kali Linux VM. If so,
you can try changing the version in the vmx configuration by:
i. Right click the vmx file with the following logo and open with your preferred text
editor.
ii. Change the virtualHW.version to the version you are currently using, and click
“Save”.
iii. Double click the vmx file again to run the VM with the updated configuration.
iv. To view your current VMWare version, click on “Player”, followed by “Help” and
“About VMWare Workstation…”.
Section 4 - FAQ
1. I received the following error when I double clicked the vmx file.
Please extract your file first according to Section 3.2 Extracting the Zip File.
2. Can I run the VM provided in Virtualbox?
It is not possible to run our VM in Virtualbox directly without adjustments. If you wish to do
so, you may download the ova file from the following link and import it into your Virtualbox.
https://cyberthon24.sgp1.digitaloceanspaces.com/VM/Kali%20Linux%202021.ova
3. Can I run VMs in Virtualbox and VMs in VMWare at the same time?
It is not recommended to do so, as both Virtualbox and VMWare would be fighting for
resources and may result in undesirable behaviors. E.g drivers issues or network
connection issues.
4. I can’t run my Docker, Virtualbox, Qemu, or other virtualisation tools after installing
VMWare.
Please refer to Section 1.3 Enabling/Disabling Windows Features on the Windows
features related to virtualisation.
For example, Docker on Windows requires Virtual Machine Platform and Windows
Subsystem for Linux features. When these 2 features are enabled, you will not be able to
run VMWare or Virtualbox. Similarly, you will need these 2 features to be enabled again to
run Docker on Windows.
By default, both VMWare and Virtualbox are type 2 Virtualisation using VT-x/AMD-V and
do not need any of the features mentioned in Section 1.3. However, if you previously
performed some customization to the feature settings to allow Hyper-V and Virtualbox to
run concurrently, you will need to reinstate these features to use your “customized
Virtualbox”.
