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VMware Workstation & Ubuntu ctrl-alt-ins not working?

Duncan Epping · Nov 19, 2008 ·

I just noticed that when running a VM on VMware Workstation 6.5 and Ubuntu 8.10(but this problem probably also occurs on other non-Windows OS’es), you can’t use the arrow keys. But also ctrl-alt-ins isn’t working, which is annoying cause you would have to do it with the mouse. And no arrow keys also means that you can’t browse through your command-line history in Windows or Linux for that matter. Luckily there are two work arounds:

  1. sudo gedit /etc/vmware/config
  2. If that doesn’t work try adding the following:
    xkeymap.keycode.108 = 0x138 # Alt_R
    xkeymap.keycode.106 = 0x135 # KP_Divide
    xkeymap.keycode.104 = 0x11c # KP_Enter
    xkeymap.keycode.111 = 0x148 # Up
    xkeymap.keycode.116 = 0x150 # Down
    xkeymap.keycode.113 = 0x14b # Left
    xkeymap.keycode.114 = 0x14d # Right
    xkeymap.keycode.105 = 0x11d # Control_R
    xkeymap.keycode.118 = 0x152 # Insert
    xkeymap.keycode.119 = 0x153 # Delete
    xkeymap.keycode.110 = 0x147 # Home
    xkeymap.keycode.115 = 0x14f # End
    xkeymap.keycode.112 = 0x149 # Prior
    xkeymap.keycode.117 = 0x151 # Next
    xkeymap.keycode.78 = 0x46 # Scroll_Lock
    xkeymap.keycode.127 = 0x100 # Pause
    xkeymap.keycode.133 = 0x15b # Meta_L
    xkeymap.keycode.134 = 0x15c # Meta_R
    xkeymap.keycode.135 = 0x15d # Menu

Thanks goes out to AlexPX and Johannes for pointing us out to this solution. There’s also a KB article on this one I just noticed.

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Desktop Bugs, Howto, linux, ubuntu, Workstation

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Comments

  1. Robert says

    19 November, 2008 at 21:58

    Cool.
    Could not have come in a better time.
    I have just installed Workstation 6.5, since i read about your good experience with it, and were just installing my first Guest OS.
    And what better thing to do, while its installing, then to optimize my Workstation.

    Thanks for the tip 🙂

  2. Johannes says

    20 November, 2008 at 10:22

    For me it also works to add just one line to the file ~/.vmware/config:

    xkeymap.nokeycodeMap = true

  3. Dave Convery says

    20 November, 2008 at 15:14

    That’s what I did as well. I added
    xkeymap.nokeycodeMap = true

    Works fine on my stinkpad T61p with Ubuntu 8.10 and WS 6.5

  4. Luca says

    29 December, 2008 at 19:15

    Tnx! In my VMware Server Consol ver. 1.0.7 build-108231 with Ubuntu 8.10 64 bit I added only xkeymap.nokeycodeMap = true and now work!

    Thanks!

  5. rbrambley says

    2 February, 2009 at 03:38

    I ran into the same issue using the VMware Server 2.0 remote console from Ubuntu. Turns out in Ubuntu the ins key is mapped to the numberpad del key! ctrl+alt+{numperpad}del worked in a Windows VM for me. http://vmetc.com/2009/01/30/ubuntu-send-ctrlaltdel-command-to-vmware-server-vm/

  6. krisofe says

    2 May, 2009 at 21:12

    Just thanks for this solution which works fine on my ubuntu 9.04 with VMWareServer2 (keymap FR)

    Christophe, FR

  7. whoola says

    17 June, 2009 at 07:26

    thanks johannes. thatt line just worked fine.

  8. Norton says

    22 June, 2009 at 10:09

    +1 it`s work!

  9. zorrek says

    27 July, 2009 at 23:16

    If this problem was known in 8.10 why wasn’t it fixed in 9.04. I have the additional problem of all full screen VM’s jumping to the active desktop and stay where they are opened.

  10. zorrek says

    27 July, 2009 at 23:18

    That should read “and NOT staying where they were opened.”

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About the author

Duncan Epping is a Chief Technologist in the Office of CTO of the HCI BU at VMware. He is a VCDX (# 007) and the author of multiple books including "vSAN Deep Dive" and the “vSphere Clustering Technical Deep Dive” series.

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