I run Windows on my Linux desktop using VMware Server. It works pretty well. However, one thing I hate about VMware is the fact that it has a direct key binding to reboot the system, without confirmation. The key binding is to one of my most oft-used keys: Ctrl-R. I hit Ctrl-R on a very regular basis because that's the hot key to reload a page in Internet Explorer and Firefox, which is something I do pretty frequently as a web developer. Anyway, since I mouse back and forth between VMware and my Firefox browser, about once in every 50 Ctrl-R's, focus is occasionally back on VMware, which causes an immediate reboot and also an immediate expletive from me.
This is stupid and, from reading the VMware forums, a problem that's existed since at least 2004 that still hasn't been addressed. So far the solutions are either to make it so that it's really hard to give VMware focus by accident or to turn on hints and enabled the hint on resets to add an additional confirmation when you make this action. Both are unsatisfactory.
However, in case you are also frustrated by this, I can keep you from going further to look for a solution. Close your VMware Console and edit the preferences file, which is ~/.vmware/preferences under Linux. In that file, add a line reading:
pref.vmui.reset = "TRUE"
Next, save the file and open VMware Console back up and go to Help > Hints > Show Enabled Hints. Make sure you do both or you will still be frustrated the next time you hit Ctrl-R.
Cheers.
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Someone with the same thoughts and problems as me!
I am incredibly grateful for your hint on disabling this CTRL-R crap in VMware. I'm a web developer as well, and I just had my day ruined again, losing work in VMware, and losing another 5 minutes because I wanted to refresh the Firefox inside VMware and forgot to click to focus first.
Thank you!
(BTW Your information is wrong though ;-) It is "hint.vmui.reset", not "pref.vmui.reset".)
Update 12-31-2006 7:42 pm: I had to strip out the caps and superfluous exclamation points. Everyone please remember some excellent advice Mrs. Lawrence, my seventh grade English teacher, gave me: You only get five exclamation points per life time, don't waste them. — Sterling
Thanks
Um... thanks for the correction. Your enthusiasm is... wow. Cheers.
This also works on Windows XP. The preferences file is in C:\Document and Settings\{your username}\Application Data\VMware\preferences.ini
Andrew, thank you for this sanity-saving tip! :)
Many thanks - still works in VMWare 6.5 and should save trememdous future frustration!
Just found this page, after getting annoyed enough to go googling for a solution. Very useful.
But really, who at VMWare thought it was a good idea to provide a keyboard shortcut that reboots the VM without prompting, bound to a key combination commonly used inside the VM? Someone wasn't thinking there...
We're not worthy! We're not worthy!
About once in a fortnight I accidentally restart a Win 2003 server with ctrl+r. Today I did it during a security update :-(.
I googled for solution several times before, never found one that worked until today, when I found this page. Really helpful.
Thanks,
Szaky
didn't work for me (vista, vmware 6.5.2 build-156735)