1.      Browse to “C:\Virtual Machines” and find the VM that you would like to work with.

2.      Open the needed VM’s folder and double click on the .vmx file in that folder. VMWare Workstation will start and load the selected VM. 

3.      To actually use the VM (where you can save your information for later use), you will need to create a linked clone. In the Commands section on screen, click “Clone this virtual machine.” -This will start the Clone Virtual Machine Wizard.

4.      When prompted for the Clone Source, choose to clone from “An existing snapshot” and select the snapshot labeled Master.

5.      Choose to create a Linked Clone.

6.      Choose a name and location for your new linked clone on the local PC.

NOTE: As the name implies, you have created a copy of the selected VM which is linked to the original. This allows the copied version to take up very little disk space and be very fast to transfer to and from the file server. However, your copy will not work on any computer outside of the lab because it needs the original “base” VM in order to operate.

1.      If this is the first time you are using the linked clone, then browse to the folder in which you placed your created clone(s), otherwise if you have saved your linked clones to your student account on the server, you must connect to the server with your credentials and copy the clone back to the PC before use. Open the clone’s folder and open the clone itself by double clicking the .vmx file.

2.      In the Commands section on screen, click “Start this virtual machine.”

3.      When you are done with your work, halt your VM by either shutting it down or suspending it.

4.      Close your VM’s tab within VMWare Workstation.

5.      Save any linked clones you have modified back to your server account.

1.      Click Start > Run

2.      Type \\optimus and press enter. –This will display the shared files on the server.

3.      Browse to the Students folder and find the appropriate subfolder for your quarter, course-section, and username. –EXAMPLE: optimus\students\20082\517-02\abc1234

4.      When prompted for credentials, log in with your username and the password your instructor created for you when he/she set up your account for the course.

–Example Username:  forensics\abc1234

5.      You can copy your linked clones and other files to/from this folder as desired.

1.      Make sure the clone is turned off and no longer open in VMWare Workstation.

2.      Browse to your clone’s folder.

3.      Select the entire folder (the one directly containing the .vmx file).

4.      Delete the folder.

5.      You may delete linked clones on the server by connecting to your account as stated in Saving and selecting the linked clone and pressing delete.