Ubuntu, VMware Server, Core 2 Duo, clock problem: fixed!

Well, I’m actually using Kubuntu (I prefer KDE over GNOME); anyway the distribution is the same.

I have installed VMware Server into my brand new Core 2 Duo laptop and I have found the well know clock/time problem affecting the guest OS: the time into the virtual machine is running much slower or faster than the host time (the real world). With my Core 2 Duo, this time, was faster…

However, to fix this annoying problem, the recipe is:

• install VMware Server from the partner repository (to enable it you have to uncomment or add this line at the bottom of the /etc/apt/sources.list

[source: js] deb http://archive.canonical.com/ubuntu gutsy partner
[/source]

• install the last VMware form the just added repository

[source: js] sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install vmware-server
[/source]

• edit the file /etc/vmware/config and add the following lines:

[source: js] host.cpukHz = 2200000
hostinfo.noTSC = TRUE
tools.syncTime = TRUE
[/source]

The value of host.cpukHz must be (your CPU mhz)*1000. In my case, I have the Core 2 Duo 2200, so…

• final step: restart VMware to apply the changes

[source: js] sudo /etc/init.d/vmware-server restart
[/source]

You have to install VMware Tools into your guest operative system and enable the time synchronization option. That’s all.
I’m using Kubuntu 7.10 with VMware Server 1.0.4-1gutsy2 running a guest Windows XP SP2, working just fine.