> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://mintlify.com/serenityOS/serenity/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Running in VMware

> Installation guide for running SerenityOS in VMware

<Warning>
  There are currently known issues with running Serenity in VMware. Please refer to the [open issue](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/issues/5716) for a list of currently known problems. At the time of writing, audio and networking do not work in VMware.
</Warning>

## Creating the Disk Image

Before creating a disk image for VMware, you need to create a GRUB image as described in the [bare metal installation guide](/tools/bare-metal).

<Info>
  Skip the final step of the bare metal guide (writing to physical drive) as that's only relevant for real hardware.
</Info>

<Warning>
  You **cannot** use the same disk image created for QEMU. Using that image will halt immediately with the message `FATAL: No bootable medium found! System halted.`
</Warning>

### Converting the Image

The easiest way to convert the disk image is with QEMU:

```bash theme={null}
qemu-img convert -O vmdk /path/to/grub_disk_image /path/to/output/serenityos.vmdk
```

## Creating the Virtual Machine

<Info>
  These instructions were written with VMware Player 15 in mind. Steps may not match exactly for past and future versions or VMware Workstation.
</Info>

<Steps>
  <Step title="Create new virtual machine">
    1. Open the **Create a New Virtual Machine** dialog
    2. Select **I will install the operating system later**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose guest operating system">
    Choose **Other** as the guest operating system.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name and location">
    Give the VM any name and store it anywhere you prefer.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Specify disk capacity">
    Choose any size for the hard disk. This disk will be removed in the next steps and replaced with the converted GRUB image.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Finalize creation">
    Select **Finish** to create the virtual machine.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## Configuring the Virtual Machine

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open settings">
    1. Select the newly created virtual machine
    2. Click **Edit virtual machine settings**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set memory">
    Serenity requires at minimum 512 MiB of memory. Set **Memory for this virtual machine** to 512 MiB or above. The currently recommended size is 1 GiB (1024 MiB).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Remove existing hard disk">
    1. Select the existing **Hard Disk**
    2. Click **Remove**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add converted disk image">
    1. Select **Add**
    2. Select **Hard Disk**
    3. Select **IDE (Recommended)**
    4. Select **Use an existing virtual disk**
    5. Click **Browse** and navigate to the converted VMDK disk image
    6. Click **Finish**
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and power on">
    1. Click **Save**
    2. You can now **Power On** the virtual machine
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Note>
  At the time of writing, audio and networking do not work in VMware.
</Note>

## That's It!

You should now be able to boot SerenityOS in VMware. The system should boot from the GRUB bootloader and load into the SerenityOS environment.

## Troubleshooting

If you encounter issues during boot:

1. Verify that you created the GRUB disk image (not the QEMU image)
2. Ensure the VMDK conversion completed successfully
3. Check that the IDE controller is properly configured
4. Verify sufficient memory allocation (minimum 512 MiB)

For more detailed troubleshooting, see the [troubleshooting documentation](https://github.com/SerenityOS/serenity/blob/master/Documentation/Troubleshooting.md).