Vmware Server 2.0 breaks keyboard mapping on Ubuntu 8.10

I thought I’d give Vmware Server 2.0 a try today on Ubuntu 8.10 Intrepid Ibex, after all it was almost 5 times larger than Vmware Server 1.0.x. Version 2.0 has taken a web based approach for the interface and completely dumped the old 1.0 console interface which I kinda like. After all FF seems to be getting slower with each upgrade and taking control of a vm now uses a browser plugin! I hope they spend most of they money researching web and browser security rather than attempting to be the next App Store selling packaged VMs. :crazy:

Whats next Vmware? Portable VMs that you can carry around on a mobile phone (I hope I get royalties for this)?

Well, after uninstalling 1.0.x and installing 2.0, I fired up my XP vm and behold, arrow keys were not working on the hardware profile selection screen.

The following keys are screwed on mine in a sense that they are mapped to something else, not sure if its the same for all.

Finally found the fix after much trolling on VMware forums, Google wasnt much help so I though I’d blog about this.

• PrtScn aka Print Screen
• Scroll Lock
• Pause
• Insert
• Home
• Delete
• End
• PgUp aka Page Up
• PgDn aka Page Down
• Up
• Left
• Right

I have not tried this but ralph-d on vmware forums mentioned that the Print Screen key was mapped as Delete so he could execute Ctrl + Alt + Del by hitting Ctrl + Alt + PrtScn instead

Simply add

xkeymap.keycode.108 = 0x138 # Alt_R
xkeymap.keycode.106 = 0x135 # KP_Divide
xkeymap.keycode.104 = 0x11c # KP_Enter
xkeymap.keycode.111 = 0x148 # Up
xkeymap.keycode.116 = 0x150 # Down
xkeymap.keycode.113 = 0x14b # Left
xkeymap.keycode.114 = 0x14d # Right
xkeymap.keycode.105 = 0x11d # Control_R
xkeymap.keycode.118 = 0x152 # Insert
xkeymap.keycode.119 = 0x153 # Delete
xkeymap.keycode.110 = 0x147 # Home
xkeymap.keycode.115 = 0x14f # End
xkeymap.keycode.112 = 0x149 # Prior
xkeymap.keycode.117 = 0x151 # Next
xkeymap.keycode.78 = 0x46 # Scroll_Lock
xkeymap.keycode.127 = 0x100 # Pause
xkeymap.keycode.133 = 0x15b # Meta_L
xkeymap.keycode.134 = 0x15c # Meta_R
xkeymap.keycode.135 = 0x15d # Menu 

to /etc/vmware/config which solved all my key mapping issues.:yes:

Someone else also suggested instead of adding the above code just add to /etc/vmware/config

xkeymap.nokeycodeMap = true