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Configuring Serial Ports

You can have up to four serial connections in a virtual machine.

To add or modify a serial connection:

  1. Open the Configuration Editor.
  2. Click the plus sign to the left of Serial Ports.
    This reveals four entries named COM1, COM2, COM3, and COM4.
  3. Click the serial port that you wish to define or modify.
  4. Click Install to define a serial port.
  5. To attach the serial port of your machine to the virtual machine, choose Device as the Type.
    To send the output of the virtual serial port to a file, choose File as the Type.
    To configure a serial pipe, choose TTY as the Type.
  6. Enter the Path name to the serial port.
  7. Click OK or Save to exit the Configuration Editor, or you may add or modify another feature.

A serial port may be used by the host operating system and one or more guest operating systems. By default, the configured serial port will be enabled when the virtual machine is powered on. If the serial port (for example, a modem) may be inaccessible to the guest operating system at power on, uncheck the Start Connected box in the serial port configuration panel. To disable or enable access to the serial port while a virtual machine is running, use the Devices menu. This can also be done from within the virtual machine if the VMware Tools have been installed. The VMware Tools may be installed by following these installation instructions.