Windows 7 RC 7100 – NAT not working in Guest – Fix!

If you aren’t already aware… Windows 7 RC build 7100 and previous versions have a tough glitch with VMWare Workstation/Server/Player et al, that makes using the NAT networking method unusable.  There are a few solutions that are floating around the web that try and help, but unfortunately for me, none of them helped me.  I was able to find a solution, however, which I hope will assist several of you.  It’s a relatively easy fix, and I’m surprised it took me so long to get working (all day!).

Before you try my solution, give this one a shot first:

http://blog.tiensivu.com/aaron/archives/1818-How-to-get-VMWare-Workstation-6.5-Guest-VM-NAT-working-with-a-Windows-7-Build-7000-host.html

The above site has presumably helped others, as I have read comments and other blogs that have also linked the address as a fix.  This was only half the solution for me.  After following those steps exactly, and then not exactly, and then not at all, I was still unable to get Internet connectivity in my Virtual Machines.

What I ended up doing was bridging my main connection to to the vmnet1 connection adapter you create in the above steps.  You will need to disable the Internet Connection Sharing, and reset the vmnet1 adapter to defaults.  Meaning you must change the IPv4 settings to obtain address automatically, as well as DNS.  Make sure the default gateway is not set as well.  You will also need to add a DWORD value in your registry settings for this to work.

Please follow the steps as outlined by VMWare’s Knowledge Base to complete this step:

http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=1212

Once you have that complete and the Registry Editor closed, proceed to the Network and Sharing center in your Windows 7 host operating system.  From here, on the far left side bar you’ll notice the first link is Change Adapter Settings; click it.  Once you are in the new window, highlight your main network adapter and then the vmnet1 adapter.  You should be able to bridge these connections.  It will take a few moments for it to update and then establish connectivity.  Don’t bother trying to access the Internet until you see the bridged connection back in the main Network and Sharing centerscreen looks like mine below:

Once you have a screen that looks like this, the hard part is over and now you just need to set up the virtual machines to use this new connection.  If you have them already running and know how to change the connection, change it to the vmnet1 adapter.  It should say (Host-Only).  Also remember to release/renew your Guest connection.  If you don’t know how to change the adapter settings, for the sake of this article I’ll make it easy, shut down the virtual machine and click Edit.  From here you should be able to change the settings in the Network section to vmnet1.  Do not select: bridge, nat, or any combination of anything else other than vmnet1 or whatever adapter you created previously.  Start up the virtual machine!

Okay so you have everything set up and the Internet is now working.  If you have any suggestions or had any trouble with my directions, please leave a comment and share your experience.  We are all learning right now, since Windows 7 is so new.

If you have to edit your VMX file by hand here is what I found in mine:

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"
ethernet0.connectionType = "custom"
ethernet0.virtualDev = "e1000"
ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"
ethernet0.addressType = "generated"
ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "33"
ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:08:77:be"
ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"
ethernet0.vnet = "VMnet1"