vmware - script automatic backups

Question

I run VMWare Workstation 6.5 on WinXP.

How can I script a way to automatically clone my VM images?

I've read about the "vmware-cmd" tool but believe that is only available with VMWare ESX, not Workstation.

Answer 1

Since VMWare images are just files on disk, you can just use XCOPY. When next running the VM you'll be prompted asking if you moved, or copied the VM. Make sure you select copy to ensure the cloned VM network card is assigned a different hardware MAC address.

XCOPY /S /I WinXP WinXPClone

If your guests are Windows based machines, then ensure you generate a new SID on the clone. Sysprep is a pain if you're just cloning for personal use, a much quicker and simpler way is to use NewSID.

Answer 2

vmrun will do what vmware-cmd did. It's found with ESX, Workstation, and Server.