VMware Workstation 12 Player version 12.0.1 | 29 OCT 2015 | Build 3160714 Last updated: 29 OCT 2015 Check for additions and updates to these release notes.

What's in the Release Notes

The release notes cover the following topics:

• About VMware Workstation Player
• What's New
• Prior Releases
• Known Issues
• Resolved Issues

About VMware Workstation Player

VMware Workstation Player (formerly known as Player Pro) is a streamlined desktop virtualization application that runs one or more operating systems on the same computer without rebooting. VMware Workstation Player provides a simple user interface, unmatched operating system support, and portability.

For more information, see the broader VMware Workstation Player documentation or specifically the respective VMware Workstation Player Documentation Center:

• VMware Workstation 12 Player for Windows Documentation Center
• VMware Workstation 12 Player for Linux Documentation Center

What's New

VMware Workstation 12 Player version 12.0.1 is a maintenance release that resolves some known issues. It is a free upgrade for all VMware Workstation 12 Player users.

Prior Releases

Features and Known Issues from prior releases of VMware Workstation Player are described in the release notes for each release. To view the release notes for the prior release of VMware Workstation 12 Player, click the following link:

• VMware Workstation 12 Player

Known Issues

The following issues might occur in this version of VMware Workstation Player.

• On the Ubuntu 15.10 guest operating system, replacing open-vm-tools with the bundled VMware Tools version, might cause VMware Tools to work improperly
  On the Ubuntu 15.10 guest, when you replace open-vm-tools with the VMware Tools version bundled with VMware Workstation 12 Pro version 12.0.1, VMware Tools does not work as expected. After you reboot the system, an Ubuntu crash report might appear and one of the services in VMware Tools might stop working.
  Workaround: Use either of the following workarounds, depending on which is most appropriate for your situation.
• Continue to use open-vm-tools. Do not use the bundled VMware Tools.
• If the bundled VMware Tools are installed, perform the following steps:
  1. As root, edit the /etc/vmware-tools/vmware-user.desktop file by changing this line:
     Exec=/usr/bin/vmware-user
     To this line:
     Exec=env VMWARE_USE_SHIPPED_LIBS=1 /usr/bin/vmware-user
  2. Log out of the guest and log in again.
     This change can prevent the VMware Tools service (vmtoolsd) from crashing.
  3. To verify that the preceding steps are effective, issue the following command:
     'ps -aux | grep vmtools'
     The appropriate command return shows both of the following vmtoolsd services running:
     
     • /usr/sbin/vmtoolsd
     • /usr/lib/vmware-tools/sbin64/vmtoolsd

• Using a USB headset with a Windows 8 or later guest operating system might result in poor audio quality
  USB headsets not designed for USB 3.0 controllers might not perform well with Windows 8 and later guests because Windows 8 and later guest operating systems use a USB 3.0 controller by default.
  Using USB headsets not designed for USB 3.0 controllers result in poor audio quality in the following situations:
  • Windows 8: Poor quality audio occurs when used with audio conferencing software, such as Skype and Lync.
  • Windows 10: Poor quality audio occurs in most or all situations.
  Workaround:
  Use the workaround that is most appropriate for your needs.
  • Change the USB controller of the guest from USB 3.0 to USB 2.0.
  • Use a USB headset designed to work with USB 3.0 controllers.
    
    

Resolved Issues

The following issues were resolved in this version of VMware Workstation Player.

• After installing VMware Tools version 10.0.0 on a FreeBSD 10.x virtual machine, the guest might not shut down properly when performed from the VMware Workstation Pro interface
  When you install VMware Tools version 10.0.0 on a FreeBSD 10.x virtual machine, the VMware Tools service, vmtoolsd, might not launch. The VMware Tools service runs in the background and is responsible for a variety of operations. A symptom you might encounter is that the guest operating system does not shout down as intended when performed from the VMware Workstation Pro interface. For example, the first attempt to shutdown the guest from the interface might fail while the second attempt from the interface is converted into a virtual machine power off operation instead of a graceful shutdown.
  
  This issue is resolved.

• Virtual machines fail to start on a host with an Intel Skylake processor
  A compatibility issue might prevent a virtual machine from starting on a host with an Intel Skylake processor when the Gather Debugging Information option in the virtual machine's advanced settings is set to Full. The error message displayed includes ASSERT vmcore/vmm/cpu/fpu.c:347.
  
  This issue is resolved.