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Daryl Spitzer
Asked: 2009-10-27 16:25:37 +0800 CST

How do I setup Linux running in a VMware Fusion VM so directories created in shared storage have write access?

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I have Ubuntu (Ubuntu 8.04.3 LTS) running in a VMware Fusion VM, and I'm sharing my Mac's home directory using Fusion's sharing feature. I've created a subdirectory in my home directory and used the Finder's Get Info (and "Apply to Enclosed Items") to give read & write access to "Everyone". But when I (or a program) create a sub-subdirectory in Ubuntu, I (in Ubuntu) don't get read access:

drwxr-xr-x 1 1818155768 302979775  68 2009-10-26 14:20 temp

(This is a line from an ls -l in my VM, after mkdir temp.)

Is it possible to configure the VM (or the Linux guest or the Max OS X host) so directories are created with write access? How?

Update: I created a /temp directory on my Mac and shared it in Fusion with read & write permission. Then I did the following:

$ cd /mnt/hgfs/temp/
$ ls
$ mkdir foo
$ ls -l
total 1
drwxr-xr-x 1 1818155768 80 68 2009-10-27 17:21 foo

As you can see, foo was created in the (Ubuntu) VM, but the VM doesn't have write access.

linux

2 Answers

  1. Try setting the uid= option when mounting hgfs - example on the web here. You probably want the uid set to whatever your uid in ubuntu is (id to find out).

    Alternatively if you wanted every folder you made to be mode 777, that's umask. I'm unclear when you talk about the "vm not having access" - the VM has access, but not your account.

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  2. Did you set the shared folder to "Read & Write" in Fusion's preferences? And you do have VMware tools installed and up to date right?

    EDIT: After ensuring that the VMware tools are installed properly, try a reboot of the virtual machine to ensure all modules are loaded properly.

    If that doesn't work, try creating a new shared folder, maybe on the root of your Mac's hard drive, and see if you can share that Read/Write. This will help determine where the problem is.

    EDIT2: If you're able to mkdir foo, then the VM has access to the shared folder. Can you do the same thing in your home directory?

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