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AppDNA Current Release AppDNA 7.15
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VMware Workstation

Aug 14, 2017

This example provides step-by-step instructions for setting up a VMware Workstation virtual machine and its host machine for use with Install Capture when migrating from Windows 7 to Windows 10. This example shows one possible approach.

For the generic setup requirements, see Set up a virtual machine.

Note: This example assumes that a suitable Windows 7 virtual machine is already available.

Install and configure the VM

  1. Install VMware Workstation on the host machine.

  2. Launch VMware Workstation from the Windows Start > Programs menu.

  3. In the VMware Workstation console, click Open Existing VM or Team.

  4. In the Open dialog box, browse to the VMX file that represents the Windows XP virtual machine, and then click OK.

  5. On the virtual machine’s tab in the VMware Workstation console, click Edit virtual machine settings.

    The Virtual Machine Settings dialog box opens.

  6. On the Hardware tab, click Network Adapter, and in the Network Connection section, select Bridged: Connected directly to the physical network.

  7. Click OK to save your changes.

  8. On the virtual machine’s tab in the VMware Workstation Console, click Power on this virtual machine.

    The virtual machine starts.

  9. Open a browser on the virtual machine and open a web page on the Internet to show that the bridged connection is working.

  10. In the VMware Workstation console, click the red square on the toolbar to power off the virtual machine.

Turn off simple file sharing on the AppDNA and virtual machines

Carry out the following steps on both the AppDNA machine and the virtual machine.

  1. In Windows Explorer, choose Folder Options > View.
  2. Clear the Use simple file sharing (Recommended) check box.
  3. Click OK.

Create the shared folder on the AppDNA machine

These instructions describe how to create a folder on the AppDNA machine and share it so that the virtual machine can read and write to it.

  1. Create a folder (for example, C:\AppDNAOutput) on the AppDNA machine to store the Install Capture output.
  2. Share the folder and give everyone read and write permissions. For example:
    1. Open Windows Explorer and locate the folder that you want to share.
    2. Right-click the folder and from the shortcut menu, choose Sharing > Advanced Sharing.
    3. Click Advanced Sharing and then in the Advanced Sharing dialog box, select the Share this folder check box.
    4. Click Permissions.
    5. In the Permissions dialog box, click Everyone, and then for Full Control, Change, and Read, select the Allow check box.
    6. Click OK twice.

Note: The virtual machine also needs access to the location of the input files. To use an existing shared folder that contains the applications deployed within your organization, ensure that it is accessible from within the virtual machine. Otherwise you can either store these input files in the same folder as the output, or you can create a separate shared folder for the input files. In all cases the virtual machine must have read access to the input files.

Create a user on the AppDNA machine and the virtual machine

  1. Create an administrator user account called, for example, appdna, on the AppDNA machine and give it a password that never expires. For example:
    1. Open Control Panel. If necessary switch to Classic View.
    2. In the Administrative Tools group, double-click Computer Management.
    3. Expand the tree in the left pane like this: System Tools > Local Users and Groups > Users.
    4. Click Users and from the Action menu, choose New user.
    5. Type the appropriate information in the dialog box.
    6. Click Create, and then click Close.
    7. Right-click the user and from the shortcut menu, choose Properties.
    8. Click the Member Of tab.
    9. Click Add and then type Administrators in the Enter the object names to select box.
    10. Click Check Names and then click OK.
  2. If necessary power on the virtual machine, and use the equivalent steps to create an identical administrator user account on the virtual machine, also with a password that never expires.

Configure the virtual machine for automatic log on

This is an optional step. It speeds up Install Capture because it means that you do not need to log on manually every time the virtual machine starts up.

  1. On the virtual machine, open a Windows command window.
  2. In the window, enter: control userpasswords2.
  3. In the User Accounts dialog box, clear the Users must enter a user name and password to use this computer check box, and then click OK.
  4. In the Automatically Log On dialog box, enter the Install Capture user’s name and password, and then click OK.
  5. If you are using an operating system that supports UAC, disable UAC. See http://support.microsoft.com/kb/975787.

Note: For an alternative method of setting up automatic logon, see http://support.microsoft.com/kb/315231. You must use this mechanism for a domain user account.

Verify access to the shared folder

You now need to check that the virtual machine can access the shared folder that you created earlier on the AppDNA machine.

On the virtual machine, type the following into the Windows Start > Run prompt:

pre codeblock \\<AppDNA machine name>\AppDNAOutput

Where <AppDNA machine name> is the name of the AppDNA machine.

If this opens the shared folder on the AppDNA machine, it verifies that the virtual machine can access it. For troubleshooting tips, see Troubleshooting Access to a Shared Folder from the Virtual Machine.

Install the AppDNA VM Configuration MSI on the virtual machine

To do this, you need the installer (called Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration.msi). This comes with AppDNA. It is copied into a Tools subfolder of the AppDNA installation folder when you install AppDNA. The default location is C:\Program Files\Citrix\AppDNA\Tools (C:\Program Files (x86)\Citrix\AppDNA\Tools on a 64-bit machine).

  1. Install the Citrix AppDNA VM Configuration MSI within the virtual machine, accepting the default file location.
  2. Restart the virtual machine.

Important: Ensure that the AppDNA VM Configuration MSI has the same version number as the version of AppDNA that you are using. This means that you need to upgrade the VM Configuration on the virtual machine when you upgrade AppDNA.

Anti-virus configuration on the AppDNA machine

You must configure the anti-virus software on the AppDNA machine to disable on-access scanning of the Install Capture output and input folders. For example, for Norton Anti-Virus, you disable the auto-protect option for the AppDNA output and input folders.

Take a snapshot of the virtual machine

  1. Click the red Stop button to shut down the guest operating system within the virtual machine.
  2. In the VMware Workstation console, from the VM menu, select Snapshot > Take a Snapshot to create a snapshot of the virtual machine’s state.

You are now ready to use the AppDNA Virtual Machine Configuration wizard to set up a virtual machine configuration for use with Install Capture. See Configure a VMware Workstation VM for instructions.