Knowledge Base

For Windows Server 2003, Windows XP and Windows 2000 guest operating systems, you can change the network driver the virtual machine uses.

If you are running this virtual machine under VMware GSX Server 2.5, go to http://www.vmware.com/support/gsx25/doc/network_adv_vmxnet_gsx.html.

If you are running this virtual machine under GSX Server 2.0.x, either upgrade your GSX Server software to 2.5 or complete the following steps.

1. Shut down the guest operating system and power off the virtual machine.
2. In a text editor, open the virtual machine's configuration file and add the following line:
   ethernet0.virtualDev = vmxnet
3. Save your changes and close the configuration file.
4. Power on the virtual machine. When you log into Windows, a Found New Hardware: Ethernet Controller message appears. Then the Found New Hardware Wizard appears. Click Next.
5. Click Display a list of the known drivers for this device so that I can choose a specific driver, then click Next.
6. In the Hardware Types list, select Network adapters, then click Next.
7. Ready the VMware Tools CD-ROM ISO image. In the VMware console (application) window, select Settings>VMware Tools Install, then click Install.
8. In the Found New Hardware Wizard, click Have Disk.
9. Browse to the vmxnet driver information file. By default, it's located in D:\vmnet\win2k.
10. After you select the file, you return to the Found New Hardware Wizard. VMwarePCI Ethernet Adapter is selected. Click Next.
11. Click Next to begin installing the driver.
12. Click Yes to acknowledge that the digital signature was not found.
13. Click Finish.
14. In the console window, select Settings>Cancel VMware Tools Install.

If you check the Driver File Details for the virtual machine's network adapter, you will see that the VMware PCI Ethernet Adapter is pointing to vmxnet.sys.

If you want to switch back to the original driver, comment out the ethernet0.virtualDev = vmxnet line in the virtual machine's configuration file. When you boot the virtual machine, Windows finds new hardware and you need to select the old driver similar to how you selected the vmxnet.sys driver.