1 What is a Virtual Machine

A virtual machine (VM) is a software implementation of a machine/computer that can run programs as if it is a physical machine/computer. A system VM runs an operating system (that then runs application programs). The operating system on such a VM is isolated from the physical machine/computer.

2 VMware Player

Some of the JMU Computer Science Department's labs run VMware Player which gives you the ability to run one or more VMs (and, hence operating systems) on the same physical machine.

To start VMware player, enter:
vmplayer
in a terminal/command shell. Then, click on Open an Existing Virtual Machine and choose the VM (i.e., the .vmx file) that you want to run. (Note: If you copied the .vmx file you may need to click on I copied it when prompted.)

The VM will run inside of a window on the host operating system. In order to grab input (e.g., keystrokes, mouse movements) from the host operating system, you will need to give that window the focus (e.g., by clicking on it) and press Ctrl+G.

To return input to the host operating system (e.g., to move a window on the host) you must press Ctrl+Alt.