Ok... I knew this would turn into something more. No I am not a shill for any company.
I am just trying to let the windows users know how to get a working VM, with pictures and all.
I'd rather be talking to windows users who have given it a try and see what I mean, or not...

Errors? Well here are the files... that should give a VMware tech enough info... just in case you are qualified.

http://home.comcast.net/~johnrw/installer-output.txt
and the vdx is here...
http://home.comcast.net/~johnrw/My_S...asy_VM.vmx.txt
and the log
http://home.comcast.net/~johnrw/My_S...asy_VM.log.txt
and the changed files in /etc
http://home.comcast.net/~johnrw/VMwa..._new_files.txt

It says "The subnet 172.16.124.0"
It changed my /etc/dhcpc/resolve.conf to "The subnet 172.16.124.0" I think.

You see... once I had no network... I started to rip the stuff out in /etc that might get me my network back.
I deleted resolve.conf and all /etc/rc.0 through /etc/rc.6 S##vm* K##vm* stuf and a chmod -x /etc/init.d/vmware and then rebooted. My network came back.

Since there is no way to uninstall this beast... or VirtualBox for that matter... yes now I have both... VirtualBox and VMware Player. I am sure that I can run the installer again and accept the defaults offered and wind up with a broken network... and we can micro analyze why and what options need to be refused in the installation maybe... but that is best done in a separate VMware Player for Knoppix (latest release) topic... don't you think? You are a moderator, and as such should be best at staying on topic.

As for what My_Super_Easy_VM.vdx did... That's not the issue... I could not even ping google.com even after a reboot.
1. Install VMware Player.
2. Launch VM. with Windows XP cd in drive.(yes Setup.exe started)
3. Exit Windows XP Setup with F3 key.
4. try and ping google.com
5. hmmm no network now.
6. Reboot.
7. watch VirtualBox's drivers load after everything else Knoppix finishes.
8. Watch VMware's drivers load next.
9. ping google.com
10. Nope, nuthing. Freak out!
11. Get mad... and rip out.
12. cd /etc
12. find . -mmin -120 -print > /home/knoppix/Desktop/VMware_new_etc_files.txt
13. Remove new files in /etc/rc.0/ /rc.6/ and sudo chmod -x /etc/init.d/vmware

But... VMware's player did in fact start a VM with it... and Windows XP setup started... but since I couldn't even check on what drive/file was going to be written to... I had to Open up the vdx file... and see what statement would govern that... here it is:

# First IDE disk
# This disk image is selected by default
ide0:0.present = "TRUE"
ide0:0.fileName = "My_Super_Easy_VM.vmdk"
ide0:0.mode = "persistent"
ide0:0.startConnected = "TRUE"
ide0:0.writeThrough = "TRUE"

To see what drive/file my VM is "contained in/to" is so super easy in VirtualBox. (see picture)
As a matter of fact... until the user picks one... it isn't going to do squat.
I must mount a drive... and a provide a file name(existing file is not needed, just a filename to use) or a default New_Hard_Disk.vdi located in my $home will be used.

Alas... VMware player found no parallel ports or serial ports to match what the vdx file said to use.. and said it would disable them in the VM.

So using VMware player as a mini workstation requires a prowess that does not belong in a "MS Windows & New to Linux", topic.

In my opinion... ease of use is crucial to successful use. Successful use is first and foremost to mass adoption.
I don't mean to support the minimalist UI people in that... but well written essential features... in a clean UI... is valuable is it not?

Here is the installer output.
root@Knoppix:/KNOPPIX.IMG/home/knoppix/Desktop/VMware-player-2.0.1-55017.i386/vm
ware-player-distrib# ./vmware-install.pl
Creating a new VMware Player installer database using the tar4 format.

Installing VMware Player.

In which directory do you want to install the binary files?
[/usr/bin]

What is the directory that contains the init directories (rc0.d/ to rc6.d/)?
[/etc]

What is the directory that contains the init scripts?
[/etc/init.d]

In which directory do you want to install the daemon files?
[/usr/sbin]

In which directory do you want to install the library files?
[/usr/lib/vmware]

The path "/usr/lib/vmware" does not exist currently. This program is going to
create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want?
[yes]

In which directory do you want to install the documentation files?
[/usr/share/doc/vmware]

The path "/usr/share/doc/vmware" does not exist currently. This program is
going to create it, including needed parent directories. Is this what you want?
[yes]

The installation of VMware Player 2.0.1 build-55017 for Linux completed
successfully. You can decide to remove this software from your system at any
time by invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-uninstall.pl".

Before running VMware Player for the first time, you need to configure it by
invoking the following command: "/usr/bin/vmware-config.pl". Do you want this
program to invoke the command for you now? [yes]

Making sure services for VMware Player are stopped.

Stopping VMware services:
Virtual machine monitor done

Configuring fallback GTK+ 2.4 libraries.

In which directory do you want to install the theme icons?
[/usr/share/icons]

What directory contains your desktop menu entry files? These files have a
.desktop file extension. [/usr/share/applications]

In which directory do you want to install the application's icon?
[/usr/share/pixmaps]

Trying to find a suitable vmmon module for your running kernel.

None of the pre-built vmmon modules for VMware Player is suitable for your
running kernel. Do you want this program to try to build the vmmon module for
your system (you need to have a C compiler installed on your system)? [yes]

Using compiler "/usr/bin/gcc". Use environment variable CC to override.

What is the location of the directory of C header files that match your running
kernel? [/lib/modules/2.6.19/build/include]

Extracting the sources of the vmmon module.

Building the vmmon module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
make: Entering directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.19/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/driver.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/linux/hostif.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/comport.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/cpuid.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/hash.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/memtrack.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/phystrack.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/task.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciContext.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciDatagram.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciDriver.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciDs.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciGroup.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciHashtable.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciProcess.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciResource.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmciSharedMem.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/common/vmx86.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/vmcore/moduleloop.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/vmmon.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
CC /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/vmmon.mod.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only/vmmon.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
cp -f vmmon.ko ./../vmmon.o
make: Leaving directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmmon-only'
The module loads perfectly in the running kernel.

Trying to find a suitable vmblock module for your running kernel.

None of the pre-built vmblock modules for VMware Player is suitable for your
running kernel. Do you want this program to try to build the vmblock module
for your system (you need to have a C compiler installed on your system)?
[yes]

Extracting the sources of the vmblock module.

Building the vmblock module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
make: Entering directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.19/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/block.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/control.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/dbllnklst.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/dentry.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/file.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/filesystem.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/inode.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/module.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/stubs.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/linux/super.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/vmblock.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
CC /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/vmblock.mod.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only/vmblock.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
cp -f vmblock.ko ./../vmblock.o
make: Leaving directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmblock-only'
The module loads perfectly in the running kernel.

Do you want networking for your virtual machines? (yes/no/help) [yes]

Configuring a bridged network for vmnet0.

The following bridged networks have been defined:

. vmnet0 is bridged to eth0

All your ethernet interfaces are already bridged.

Do you want to be able to use NAT networking in your virtual machines? (yes/no)
[yes]

Configuring a NAT network for vmnet8.

Do you want this program to probe for an unused private subnet? (yes/no/help)
[yes]

Probing for an unused private subnet (this can take some time)...

The subnet 172.16.124.0/255.255.255.0 appears to be unused.

The following NAT networks have been defined:

. vmnet8 is a NAT network on private subnet 172.16.124.0.

Do you wish to configure another NAT network? (yes/no) [no]

Do you want to be able to use host-only networking in your virtual machines?
[yes]

Configuring a host-only network for vmnet1.

Do you want this program to probe for an unused private subnet? (yes/no/help)
[yes]

Probing for an unused private subnet (this can take some time)...

The subnet 192.168.190.0/255.255.255.0 appears to be unused.

The following host-only networks have been defined:

. vmnet1 is a host-only network on private subnet 192.168.190.0.

Do you wish to configure another host-only network? (yes/no) [no]

Trying to find a suitable vmnet module for your running kernel.

None of the pre-built vmnet modules for VMware Player is suitable for your
running kernel. Do you want this program to try to build the vmnet module for
your system (you need to have a C compiler installed on your system)? [yes]

Extracting the sources of the vmnet module.

Building the vmnet module.

Using 2.6.x kernel build system.
make: Entering directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only'
make -C /lib/modules/2.6.19/build/include/.. SUBDIRS=$PWD SRCROOT=$PWD/. modules
make[1]: Entering directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/driver.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/hub.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/userif.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/netif.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/bridge.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/filter.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/procfs.o
CC [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/smac_compat.o
SHIPPED /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/smac_linux.x386.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/vmnet.o
Building modules, stage 2.
MODPOST 1 modules
CC /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/vmnet.mod.o
LD [M] /ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only/vmnet.ko
make[1]: Leaving directory `/UNIONFS/usr/src/linux-2.6.19.1'
cp -f vmnet.ko ./../vmnet.o
make: Leaving directory `/ramdisk/tmp/vmware-config0/vmnet-only'
The module loads perfectly in the running kernel.

Starting VMware services:
Virtual machine monitor done
Blocking file system: done
Virtual ethernet done
Bridged networking on /dev/vmnet0 done
Host network detection done
Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet1 (background) done
DHCP server on /dev/vmnet1 done
Host-only networking on /dev/vmnet8 (background) done
DHCP server on /dev/vmnet8 done
NAT service on /dev/vmnet8 done

The configuration of VMware Player 2.0.1 build-55017 for Linux for this running
kernel completed successfully.

You can now run VMware Player by invoking the following command:
"/usr/bin/vmplayer".

Enjoy,

--the VMware team

root@Knoppix:/KNOPPIX.IMG/home/knoppix/Desktop/VMware-player-2.0.1-55017.i386/vm
ware-player-distrib#