Fixing Broken VMware Shared Folders in Kubuntu/Ubuntu (f_dentry and d_alias errors)

I recently installed Kubuntu 14.04 LTS (3.19.0-25) 64-bit in a VMware virtual machine. After doing an apt- get upgrade, Shared Folders stopped working. When attempting to build and install VMware Tools, I saw compilation errors relating to f_dentry and d_alias.

I fixed this using rasa’s VMware Tools patcher. It’s a slick tool that automatically applies appropriate patches to the VMware Tools distribution.

Before using the script, I selected Install VMware Tools from the VMware menu. For whatever reason, the VM used /media/username/VMware Tools/, and only after I selected “Open with File Manager” from the Kubuntu popup.

The exact commands I used on a fresh install were:

cd ~
tar xvzf /media/username/VMware\ Tools\VMwareTools-9.6.5-2700074.tar-gz

sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/rasa/vmware-tools-patches.git
cd vmware-tools-patches
mv ../vmware-tools-distrib .
./patch.sh

cd vmware-tools-distrib
sudo ./vmware-install.pl --default

Looking back at the rasa code repository, it looks like I didn’t need to do all those steps. Instead, this should work on a clean install:

cd ~
sudo apt-get install git
git clone https://github.com/rasa/vmware-tools-patches.git
cd vmware-tools-patches
./patched-open-vm-tools.sh

About Jeff Fitzsimons

Jeff Fitzsimons is a software engineer in the California Bay Area. Technical specialties include C++, Win32, and multithreading. Personal interests include rock climbing, cycling, motorcycles, and photography.
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