VMware Player is the easiest way to run multiple operating systems at the same time on your computer.
With its user-friendly interface, VMware Player makes it effortless for anyone to try out Windows 10, Chrome OS or the latest Linux releases, or to create virtual "sandboxes" to test pre-release software in. VMware Player can also be used to run a virtual copy of an old PC so that you can recycle the old machines you have under your desk or stored in the closet.
- Run multiple operating systems simultaneously on a single computer
- Experience the benefits of preconfigured products without any installation or configuration hassles
- Share data between host computer and virtual machine
- Run 32- and 64-bit virtual machines
- Use 3rd-party pre-configured virtual machines and images
- Share data between the host computer and virtual machine
- Broad host and guest operating system support
- Support for USB 2.0 devices
- Gain easy access to virtual machines via an intuitive home page interface
What"s New in VMware Workstation Player 17.6:
New Guest Operating System Support
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
New Host Operating System Support
- Windows Server 2025
- Windows 11 Version 23H2
- Ubuntu 24.04
- Fedora 40
Product Support Notices
- Legacy VMTools ISOs are no longer included by default but are available for download.
- Bluetooth hub passthrough support has reached its end of life and has been removed from VMware Workstation.
- Physical host parallel ports support has reached its end of life and has been removed from VMware Workstation for Windows.
- The Enhanced Keyboard driver has reached its end of life and has been removed from VMware Workstation for Windows.
Known Issues
- CentOS 9 Stream with kernel versions later than 5.14.0-432 is not supported on Workstation Player 17.6 as a host
- Inline product upgrade from versions earlier than 17.6 will not be automatic for Workstation Player on Windows Host
- Due to the migration from VMware services to Broadcom, Workstation Player cannot automatically apply this upgrade.
- Workaround: Download and install Workstation Player 17.6 from the Broadcom support portal.
- The multi-monitor feature might not work correctly in specific topologies
- In specific situations, based on different hardware and topologies, the multi-monitor feature does not work as expected. You might see issues like reverting the topology to a single screen, or not cycling through monitors.
Resolved Issues
- VMware KVM crashes while running the "vmware-kvm --preferences" command
- VMware KVM crashes when you try to open its Preferences dialog by using the "vmware-kvm --preferences" command.
- Virtual machines run unusually slowly on Windows hosts
- Running virtual machines on Windows hosts as a non-administrator user might result in high host CPU usage and poor guest performance.
- Workstation installation fails on Linux hosts with a compilation error
- If you try to install Workstation on Linux hosts with kernel version 6.8, you receive a compilation error. For details, see this article.
Security Issues
- OpenSSL has been updated to 3.0.14
- Expat has been updated to 2.6.2
- 7zip has been updated to 23.01
Download page: VMware Workstation Player 17.6.0 | 213.0 MB (Free for personal use)
View: VMware Website | Release Notes