How to Locate VMware Workstation Serial Numbers

What is VMware?

VMware is a company that develops software for virtual machines, including software for VMware Workstation, VMware Player, and VMware Server. VMware software is compatible with Windows, macOS, and Linux operating systems.

VMware Workstation software supports 3D graphics and allows users to create numerous virtual machines (VMs) on a single computer. It also provides communication between multiple computers on the virtual network.

VMware requires the serial number to activate, install, or reinstall VMware Workstation. This tutorial shows how to locate the serial numbers for your hosted VMware server on several operating systems.

How to Find the VMware Serial Number on a Windows Virtual Machine

By pressing Windows Key + X, you will open the command prompt on the Windows virtual machine. In the command prompt, execute the following command to display your VMware server serial number.

wmic bios get serialnumber

You can also find the workstation serial number in the Windows registry.

1. Right-click the Start button and click Run.
2. In the text box, type regedit andpress Enter.
3. Click the arrow next to or double-click Computer.  
4. Click the arrow next to or double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE. 
5. Click the arrow next to or double-click SOFTWARE. 
6. Click the arrow next to or double-click VMware, Inc. 
7. Click the arrow next to or double-click VMware Workstation. 
8. Click the License.ws.x.x folder.
9. Serial is near the bottom of the list and displays the VMware server serial number.

Use the following method to locate the serial number if you are using 64-bit versions of Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, or Windows 10.

1. Right-click the Start button and click Run.
2. In the text box, type regedit andpress Enter.
3. Click the arrow next to or double-click Computer.
4. Click the arrow next to or double-click HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE.
5. Click the arrow next to or double-click SOFTWARE.
6. Click the arrow next to or double-click Wow6432Node.
7. Click the arrow next to or double-click VMware, Inc.
8. Click the arrow next to or double-click VMware Workstation.
9. Click the License.ws.x.x folder.
10. Serial is near the bottom of the list and displays the VMware server serial number.

How to Find the VMware Serial Number on a macOS Virtual Machine

On your macOS virtual machine, press Command+ Space Bar, type Terminal, and open it. In Terminal, execute the following command, and the VMware serial number displays in a twelve capital letter format.

ioreg -l | grep IOPlatformSerialNumber

How to Find the VMware Serial Number on a Linux Virtual Machine

On your Linux virtual machine, open a Terminal session and execute the following command.

dmidecode | grep "Serial Number"

Additionally, you can find the Workstation serial number on Linux hosts in the etc/vmware/license-ws-XX-XX-XXXXXX file in the home directory.

How to Find the VMware Serial Number Using a VMware Account

If you cannot find the purchase confirmation email containing the VMware server serial number, view it from your VMware account.

1. Login to VMware.
2. Click Orders.
3. Click View Details.

From there, you can see the expiration date and your serial number.

Wrapping Up

By following these steps, you can locate your VMware Workstation serial numbers on your virtual machine regardless of the operating system. It is also easy to find your serial number on your VMware customer account. 

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