How to install VMware Workstation 17 Pro on Windows 11 & 10



 Virtual Machines, also called hypervisor or Virtual Machine Monitor have been around for quite sometime and allow us to run multiple operating system on the same physical machine. They are the backbone of the corporate IT infrastructure but can also be used on personal computers to experiment/work on various other operating systems without having to use other options such as duel boot or do a clean install on the existing PC.
In this post let me show how you can install one of such software VMware workstation 16 on your windows 10 PC.
 You can start by watching the video first. This video is for VMware Workstation Pro 16. Rest of the blog will show how to install VMware Workstation 17 on Windows 10 and Windows 11.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Pf48WUCt4N4

What is VMWare Workstation Pro?

To begin with, VMware Workstation 16 Pro is a virtualization software from VMware Inc. USA for windows and Linux platform. For Mac OS it is available as VMware Fusion.

Please note that, VMware Workstation is not a freeware and can be purchased from the VMware Store.  They do provide 30 day trial, but if you are looking for a free version of the software, you can try VMware Player, which is free for personal use.
 If you would like to install VMware player on your system, please follow my post here.

Lets get started. Installing the software is fairly straight forward. All you have to do is to download the installer from the website, run it and follow the instructions. Below are the steps:

Step 1- Download Link

Link for downloading the software is this. Download the software for windows. Good thing is that there is no signup process. Click and download begins. Software is around 622 MB.

Step 2- Download the installer file

It should probably be in the download folder by default, if you have not changed the settings in your browser. File name should be something like VMware-workstation-full-16.1.0-17198959.exe. This file name can change depending on the version of the software currently available for download. But for now, till the next version is available, they will all be VMware Workstation 16 Pro.

Step 3- Run the Installer

Find the installer on your system and double click to launch the application. By default, the downloaded files are placed in the downloads folder.

Now you should see User Access Control (UAC) dialog box. Click yes to continue.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro installer windows 10 UAC screenshot

VMware Workstation 16 Pro installer windows 10 UAC screenshot

Initial Splash screen will appear. Wait for the process to complete.

VMware Workstation 16  Installation Splash Screen

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation Splash Screen

Step 4- VMware Workstation Setup wizard

Now you will see VMware Workstation setup wizard dialog box. Click next to continue.

VMware Workstation 16 Installation – Setup Wizard

VMware Workstation 16 pro Installation – Setup Wizard

Step 5- End User Licence Agreement

This time you should see End User Licence Agreement dialog box. Check “I accept the terms in the Licence Agreement” box and press next to continue.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation - End User Licence Agreement

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation – End User Licence Agreement

Step 6- Custom Setup options

Select the folder in which you would like to install the application. There is no harm in leaving the defaults as it is. Also select Enhanced Keyboard Driver check box.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro installation - Select Installation Folder

VMware Workstation 16 Pro installation – Select Installation Folder

Step 7- User Experience Settings

Next you are asked to select “Check for Updates” and “Help improve VMware Workstation Pro”. Do as you wish. I normally leave it to defaults that is unchecked.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation - User Experience Settings

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation – User Experience Settings

Step 8- Application Shortcuts preference

Next step is to select the place you want the shortcut icons to be placed on your system to launch the application. Please select both the options, desktop and start menu and click next.

VMware workstation 16 Pro installation shortcut selection checkbox screenshot

Step 9- Installation begins

Now you see the begin installation dialog box. Click install to start the installation process.

VMware Workstation 16 pro installation

VMware Workstation 16 pro installation

Below screenshot shows Installation in progress. Wait for this to complete.

VMware Workstation 16 pro installation process

VMware Workstation 16 pro installation process

At the end you will see installation complete dialog box. Click finish and you are done with the installation process. You may be asked to restart your computer. Click on Yes to restart.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation – Installation Complete

VMware Workstation 16 Pro Installation – Installation Complete

Step 10- Launch VMware Workstation

After the installation completes, you should see VMware Workstation icon on the desktop. Double click on it to launch the application.

Screenshot for VMware Workstation 12 Pro icon on windows 10 desktop.

Screenshot for VMware Workstation 16 Pro icon on windows 10 desktop.

Step 11- Licence Key

If you see the dialog box asking for licence key, click on trial or enter the licence key. If don’t have the licence key, you will have 30 days trial. Click on trial to start your trial.

VMware Workstation - Enter License

VMware Workstation – Enter License

That’s it, you can start using VMware Workstation.

VMware Workstation 16 Pro home screen

VMware Workstation 16 Pro home screen

Step 12- At some point if you decide to buy

At some point of time if you decide to buy the Licence key, you can enter the Licence key by going to Help->Enter a Licence Key
You can enter the 25 character licence key in the dialog box shown below and click OK. Now you have the licence version of the software.

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Underneath a boring IT professional lies a passionate student of computer science. I love computers and this blog is about everyday computer issues that a common man faces. Through this blog I try to reconnect with my long forgotten self.

Show 11 Comments
  • ganesh waghmare December 5, 2023, 9:50 am Link Reply

    I have installed vm ware workstation 17 pro.
    I want to copy one folder from my original PC to vmware PC.

  • Chester January 15, 2021, 10:01 am Link Reply

    I downloaded a trial copy of vmware workstation 16 pro after watching your well documented instreuctions. When I started the installer, I got an error message “unsupported CPU”.
    Here is my computer specs:
    HP Z800 workstation (year launched 2014)
    CPU: Intel Zeon E5530 @2.40GHz X 2 Gaintown Technology
    RAM: 20.0 Triple Channel DDR @ 531MHz (7-7-7-20)
    MotherB: HP 0AE Ch (cpuo processor)

    Can you please recommend which Hyper-V will work with my Z800 please? I am using Win 10 64x

  • Hussaini October 9, 2020, 11:58 am Link Reply

    It is the greatest post ever.

  • Victor M. Perez April 26, 2020, 5:10 pm Link Reply

    It worked for me, but I also had to desactivate all de Hyper-V services from msconfig

  • King November 8, 2018, 10:13 pm Link Reply

    Great post, but as of today there is an issue with running VMware while the credential guard is activated.

    • Shailesh Jha November 9, 2018, 10:50 am Link Reply

      Hi King,

      VMware now supports credential guard since version 14 and now version 15 in Windows 10 Enterprise editions. It was not supported for earlier versions of VMware.

      https://www.derekseaman.com/2017/12/windows-10-credential-guard-vmware-workstation-14.html

      Normally, If I want to work on VMware Worstation, I disable Hyper-v by running these commands as an admin.

      Disable Hyper-V —— bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off (Restart system)
      Enable Hyper-V ——– bcdedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype auto (Restart system)

      After I disable Hyper-V, I don’t get the Credential Guard error.

      If I am working on Docker, I enable Hyper-V because docker requires hyper-v.

      Thanks,
      Shailesh

  • Sunil June 24, 2017, 10:14 pm Link Reply

    Nice tutorial. Thanks

  • Ben March 18, 2017, 1:03 pm Link Reply

    can you install VMware on another disc other than C?

    • Shailesh Jha March 18, 2017, 2:04 pm Link Reply

      Yes, you can. You can install any program in any directory other than C. Most of the time people install large programs in partitioned drives such as D to save disk space in drive C.

  • PRABHAT RANJAN January 9, 2016, 3:23 pm Link Reply

    Hey Shailesh… its a nice and informative blog and video on VM Ware. Good One!!

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