Why don't shared files show up in HGFS?

Question

Sharing files between my Guest Kubuntu OS and Host Windows has become a real headache.

So, far I have done the steps below:

GUEST LINUX OS

VM -> Settings -> Options -> Shared Folders. And added my folder.
Installed properly my VMware tools (I can drag and drop files so I am confident that it is installed)

HOST WINDOWS OS

Shared the folder with everyone (to assure that there is no permit limitations with my files)

If I type vmware-hgfsclient in my guest OS, the folder I am sharing does appear. But when I check the /mnt/hgfs folder, it is empty.

I have gone through the VMware manual, and I am sure that I have followed their requirements.

I am really out of ideas. Does any one have a suggestion?

score 45 · Answer 1 · edited Aug 17 '19 at 10:47

45

Run this command:

sudo vmhgfs-fuse .host:/ /mnt/hgfs/ -o allow_other -o uid=1000

It will magically show all shared folders in /mnt/hgfs.
(I had Ubuntu 16 VMWare running on a Windows 10 host)

VMware documentation here

edited Aug 17 '19 at 10:47

steampowered

103
3

answered Apr 03 '19 at 19:53

Syed Mehedi Masud Obi

551
4
3

I noticed sometimes there is a delay (using VMware workstation 14). And sometimes `/mnt/hgfs` is in use. I created a new folder `/mnt/shares1` and got instant success. – steampowered Aug 16 '19 at 22:28
It works, but it's not remounted after reboot. – realtebo Jul 30 '20 at 14:22
working, thank you – Amrit Pal Singh Nov 10 '20 at 12:15
1

@realtebo Just modify the entry that shows up in /etc/mtab and stuff it in /etc/fstab for a permanent mount. It will probably look like this: `.host:/ /mnt/hgfs fuse.vmhgfs-fuse rw,nosuid,nodev,uid=1000,gid=1000,allow_other 0 0` – oligofren Oct 12 '21 at 12:25

score 32 · Answer 2 · answered Sep 05 '13 at 10:16

32

I had this exact problem. It turned out IT had installed some old version of VMWare tools with non-functioning vmhgfs kernel module.

My solution was to run the configuration with the clobber-kernel-modules setting to overwrite the existing vmhgfs module.

 sudo vmware-config-tools.pl -d --clobber-kernel-modules=vmhgfs

The -d selects all the defaults for you (remove it if you don't want the defaults).

answered Sep 05 '13 at 10:16

extabgrad

391
4
3

2

bingo, I had the same issue, and running the command above solved it. Thanks a bunch. – Waqas Sep 20 '13 at 16:14
1

Just want to mention that this worked for me with OSX as host, vmware Fusion running CentOS 6.4 – Kev Nov 29 '13 at 11:58
2

Perfect! Worked for me with OSX as host and VM runnig Ubuntu 14.04 – pjvds May 02 '14 at 12:18
4

command not found error, i am using vmware workstation 12 an ubuntu 15.04 – 151291 Feb 25 '16 at 10:00
The -d alone was worth the vote. Didn't know about that. – T.Rob Oct 18 '16 at 15:58
ubuntu16.04.3 failed:Unable to find the database file (/etc/vmware-tools/locations) – Venus May 11 '21 at 05:10

Bruno Pereira · Answer 3 · 2011-11-02T16:18:21.047

4

mount -t vmhgfs .host:/share /mnt/hgfs/ where host is the host you are connecting to share is the share name and /mnt/hgfs is the mount point for the share in your system.

vmware-hgsclient will show you the available mounts, you still need to mount them with vmware-hgfsmounter or using the mount command above described.

If that does not work check if the module vmhgfs is loaded lsmod | grep "vm."

edited Nov 02 '11 at 16:18

answered Nov 02 '11 at 16:13

Bruno Pereira

72,895
33
199
223

1

It gave me this answer. Host in share name must be ".host". Error: share name is invalid, aborting mount. _vmhgfs_ is not loaded, how can I load it? Thanks. – Peretz Nov 02 '11 at 16:53
mkdir /mnt/hgfs/ – Martin Zeitler Feb 27 '13 at 05:21

score 2 · Answer 4 · answered Mar 12 '13 at 13:11

2

For me, it turned out that vmware-hgfsmounter was not installed (ubuntu 12.10). After installing that module, I was able to mount my share as descibed above

answered Mar 12 '13 at 13:11

Dan

21
1

I have it installed in /usr/lib/vmware-tools/sbin64, but it still doesn't work for me. – IgorGanapolsky Oct 31 '14 at 14:18

score 1 · Answer 5 · answered Jun 27 '19 at 14:23

1

This was working for me on Ubuntu 18.04, but suddenly stopped working sometime in February/March 2019. What was needed to be done, was sudo mkdir /mnt/hgfs, as that directory is being used by the vmware init script.

answered Jun 27 '19 at 14:23

oligofren

630
9
20

ak89224 · Answer 6 · 2022-04-05T10:59:57.590

I ran into same issue while working with Ubuntu 21.10 impish. Below is a complete solution guide for this shared folder issue.

Pre-work

Make sure open-vm-tools (and open-vm-tools-desktop if you're using a desktop environment) are installed, and that you've rebooted after their installation.

sudo apt update
sudo apt install open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop

Make sure you have a /mnt/hgfs directory made and empty. If not:

sudo mkdir -p /mnt/hgfs

Mounting

To mount the filesystem, run:

sudo mount -t fuse.vmhgfs-fuse .host:/ /mnt/hgfs -o allow_other

The shared folders will now be in subdirectories of /mnt/hgfs

Setting up auto-mounting

Add the following line to /etc/fstab:

.host:/   /mnt/hgfs   fuse.vmhgfs-fuse    auto,allow_other    0   0

Update: based on extensive testing, the auto keyword seems to work fine. Prior versions suggested noauto. If you have trouble with auto, change to noauto and see below

If using the `noauto` keyword, but you want automount

Create or edit the script /etc/rc.local (as root), and add the line:
```
mount /mnt/hgfs
```

make sure rc.local is executable and owned by root:

sudo chown root:root /etc/rc.local
sudo chmod 0755 /etc/rc.local

enable the rc.local service in systemd:
```
sudo systemctl enable rc-local.service
```
reboot

The rc.local script runs as the last step of startup, allowing the HGFS filesystem to mount after open-vm-tools services are running, which is required for successful operation.

Browse /mnt/hgfs at will.

Ref :

https://gist.github.com/darrenpmeyer/b69242a45197901f17bfe06e78f4dee3

Unlike using VMWare Tools to enable Linux guest capabilities, the open-vm-tools package doesn't auto-mount shared VMWare folders.

Reference from official docs : https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-Workstation-Pro/16.0/com.vmware.ws.using.doc/GUID-AB5C80FE-9B8A-4899-8186-3DB8201B1758.html

While this link may answer the question, it is better to include the essential parts of the answer here and provide the link for reference. Link-only answers can become invalid if the linked page changes. - [From Review](/review/late-answers/1215135) — matigo, Apr 01 '22 at 08:55
Thanks, @matigo for correction, I have updated the answer with essential parts from the reference link. — ak89224, Apr 05 '22 at 11:05

score 0 · Answer 7 · answered Apr 12 '16 at 00:46

0

For me, I installed "Development Tools" and reinstalled VMware Tool. Then I see the shared folder.

Host: Windows 7 Guest OS: CentOS 7

answered Apr 12 '16 at 00:46

Yong

1

Why don't shared files show up in HGFS?

7 Answers7

Pre-work

Mounting

Setting up auto-mounting

If using the noauto keyword, but you want automount

If using the `noauto` keyword, but you want automount