PC To Thin Desktop

Technical Note
Repurposing a PC to a Thin Desktop

Using VMware® View
VMware View 3.0
Built on the industry‐leading VMware virtualization platform, VMware View enables you to deliver rich,
personalized virtual desktops to any device with all the benefits of centralized enterprise desktop
management. The VMware View portfolio of products lets you run virtual desktops in the datacenter while
giving end users a single view of all their applications and data in a familiar, personalized environment on any
device at any location.
VMware View transforms the way you use and manage desktop operating systems. You can deploy desktop
instances rapidly in secure data centers to facilitate high availability and disaster recovery, protect the integrity
of enterprise information, and remove data from local devices that are susceptible to theft or loss. By isolating
each desktop instance in its own virtual machine, you eliminate typical application compatibility issues and
deliver a more personal computing environment.
The standard refresh rate for equipment is usually every four years for desktops and approximately every
three years for laptops. Refreshing computers generally helps improve reliability and facilitates standardized
rollouts. As companies tighten spending, they are investigating options to extend the lifespan of their existing
desktop endpoints for an additional three to five years.
Moving to “thin” desktops allows you to reduce costs and, at the same time, makes desktops easier to manage
and gives end users the opportunity to use a newer operating system such as Windows Vista from existing
older desktop hardware. This approach also makes it easier to patch and manage desktop operating system
software and accelerate operating system upgrade cycles for end users.
Repurposing legacy PCs to connect to virtual desktops helps you centralize the control of desktop PC images,
applications, and data. The primary drivers for deploying desktop virtualization are improved management
of endpoints and rapid provisioning of new desktops for employees. In addition, desktop virtualization
provides isolation of application software and centralized access control. Other benefits include simplified
regulatory compliance. You no longer need to track security patches and back up data for a diverse mix of end
user computers. Instead, updates and backups take place in the datacenter, in the VMware View environment.
There are several approaches you can use to turn a legacy PC into a thin client or locked down device with
direct access to virtual desktop. This technical note highlights some of your options. It is not all‐inclusive, and
you may prefer to achieve the same objective using different methods.
This paper provides information for both Windows and Linux platforms. It does not constitute an
endorsement or product validation of any third‐party tools.
To use this guide, you should have a good understanding of the system administration techniques involved in
configuring system policy and the local registry and should have a basic understanding of how a thin client
works.
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Repurposing a PC to a Thin Desktop Using VMware® View
This document covers the following topics:
 “How Thin Clients Function” on page 2
 “Conversion Options on Windows Platforms” on page 2
 “Conversion Options on Linux Platforms” on page 5
 “Summary” on page 18
How Thin Clients Function

To reduce the overhead of device management and meet security policies, thin clients are generally diskless
workstations centrally managed from administrative servers. The thin clients generally use wake‐on‐LAN or
preboot execution environment (PXE) boot features.
Instead of booting from a hard drive as a traditional desktop computer does, a thin client can boot from PXE,
flash, optical media, or USB devices. The best known thin client operating systems are Windows XP
Embedded, Windows CE, Linux, and various proprietary operating systems. When repurposing a legacy PC
as a thin device, your goal is to turn a PC into a locked down device and provide users with simple access to
a virtualized desktop client, such as VMware View. In such a configuration, users do not see the local
computer’s Windows login screen or the local computer’s Windows Start menu.
In most respects, users interact with a virtual desktop environment as they would with a local operating
environment. However, if the hardware used for the thin client is not on the remote protocol hardware
compatibility list, users might experience some incompatibility on physical hardware such as sound cards.
You must carry out two main tasks to configure a thin client.
 Replace and lock down the default shell, using the VMware View client as the shell. You can use the same
approach with the earlier VMware VDM client.
 Lock down the login profile and policy.
Conversion Options on Windows Platforms

You can turn a Windows PC into a thin device by changing the shell from explorer.exe to the VMware View
or RDP client (wswc.exe). This configuration allows the user to log in to the PC, or you can remove the PC
login to minimize user confusion and the number of times the user has to log in. The only application that can
be launched directly on the computer is the application listed as the shell.
Before you modify the registry settings or enforce a new policy for the system, you must make sure the PC has
network connectivity and has the VMware View or VDM client installed
After you confirm that the client is operational, make the registry changes described in “Changing the Default
Shell (All Users)” on page 2 or “Changing the Default Shell (Only Current User)” on page 3. The first registry
modification locks down all users who log in to the environment, including administrators.
The procedures in this paper describe the steps you need to take to convert a Windows XP computer.
Changing the Default Shell (All Users)

Take the following steps to change the default shell for all users, including administrators:
1 Start the Windows Registry Editor by entering regedit at a command prompt.
2 Locate the following subkey:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
3 In the right pane, select Shell.
4 Select Edit > Modify.
5 Change the value data from explorer.exe to the new shell path—for example,
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VDM\client\bin\wswc.exe
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6 Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor, log out, and log back in.
Changing the Default Shell (Only Current User)

You may prefer to lock down the shell for specific users. This approach allows administrators to make changes
as necessary without using a boot disk to change the registry.
Take the following steps to change the default shell for only the current user:
1 Log in to Windows as the user whose shell you want to change.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
4 Select Edit > New > String Value and give the new value the name Shell.
5 With the new value selected, select Edit > Modify.
6 Set the value data to the path of the new shell— for example
7 Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor, log out of the user’s account, and log back in.
You can also change the default shell using a group policy that is enforced for the users when they log in. A
group policy is easier to push out to large groups of users if you have the appropriate management
infrastructure in place.
Take the following steps to set up a group policy that changes the default shell:
1 Working at the workstation you normally use for setting group policies, start the Group Policy Editor by
entering gpedit.msc at a command prompt.
2 Select and expand User Configuration.
3 Select and expand Administrative Templates.
4 Select System.
5 Select Custom User Interface in the right pane.
6 Select Action > Properties.
7 Select Enabled, and then in the Interface file name field enter the path to the View or VDM client—for
example
8 Click OK, and then exit Group Policy Editor.
9 Push the updated policy to the affected users using the procedures appropriate for your management
tools.
When the affected end users log in, they see only the VMware View login.
When the user’s shell is restricted in this way and the user logs out of the virtual desktop, nothing remains on
the screen but a blank Windows environment with no shell at all. You can avoid this frustrating experience by
setting up the appropriate restart logic in the View or VDM client.
Take the following steps to set up the PC where you are working so that it presents a View login if the user
logs out of the virtual desktop:
1 Use Notepad or another text editor to create a file named View.cmd with the following content:
@echo off
:View
"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware View\Client\bin\wswc.exe"
goto View
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2 Save the file in a location of your choice—for example, C:\BatchFiles
3 Create a VBScript script named view.vbs with the following content:
Set WshShell = CreateObject("WScript.Shell")
WshShell.Run Chr(34) & "C:\BatchFiles\view.cmd" & Chr(34), 0
Set WshShell = Nothing
4 Save the script in the C:\BatchFiles directory.
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Winlogon
NOTE Modifying this subkey affects all users, including administrators, and leaves all users with no
interface except the View client. You can modify the registry setting that affects a specific user by logging
in as that user and modifying the corresponding subkey under HKEY_CURRENT_USER, instead.
7 In the right pane, select Shell.
8 Select Edit > Modify.
9 Change the value data from explorer.exe to the Windows scripting command and the new shell
path—for example:
wscript c:\BatchFiles\view.vbs
10 Click OK, and then exit Registry Editor. Reboot the system.
Thin Desktop
If you prefer to use a commercial conversion product, several are available. One is Thin Desktop, is a
third‐party application that makes it easy to turn a Windows based PC into a locked down device that restricts
the user to running a single application, which becomes the entire user interface. The standard Windows
desktop and start menu do not appear. The Thin Desktop software is packaged in .msi format so you can
deploy it easily using system management tools. This solution is for Windows only.
Functionally, the result you achieve with Thin Desktop is the same as the result of applying a group policy or
manually changing registry settings. The key difference is the ease of using its GUI to push the package to end
users and select the applications that end users are allowed to access.
Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

Another approach is to use a Microsoft tool kit called Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs. Windows
Fundamentals is derived from Windows XP Professional with SP2. It is software based and has enhanced write
filter (EWF) functionality like that in XP Embedded. EWF allows all changes to be written to a disposable part
of the drive so anything a user changes is lost when the client is rebooted.
Windows Fundamentals strips out most of the standard Windows XP functionality, leaving a core operating
system designed to run the RDP and ICA clients, a browser, management and security agents, document
viewers, and the .NET framework.
Because Windows Fundamentals is built on Windows XP Pro, you can add Windows Fundamentals machines
to your domain and lock them down using group policies or manage them using SMS. To SMS, they appear
as Windows XP Professional SP2 systems. You can also manage and patch them in the same way that you do
standard Windows XP workstations.
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Conversion Options on Linux Platforms

The large variety of Linux distributions makes it difficult to provide a generic approach to repurposing PCs as
thin clients. Red Hat, which provides Red Hat Enterprise Linux, and Novell, which provides SUSE Linux, are
the two leading commercial Linux distributors. For the example in this paper, we use openSUSE, the
noncommercial version of SUSE Linux.
If you are an experienced Linux user, you can follow the process described in this paper to create a bootable
“live” CD that an end user can use to run a locked down Linux environment, which runs a View client.
The procedures that follow assume that you have a Windows computer equipped with a CD and DVD burner
and a second computer on which you can install openSUSE. The openSUSE computer becomes the build
server for creating the live CD for end users.
Before you begin, use the Windows computer to obtain the following software packages:
 WinSCP (http://winscp.net) or another file transfer tool that you can use to transfer files from the
Windows computer to the build server.
Download WinSCP and install the WinSCP client on the Windows computer.
This is an optional step. If you save the View Open Client configuration files and packages to a file server,
you can also use the Firefox browser to transfer them to the build server.
 The openSUSE 11.1 DVD image (http://opensuse.org).
You need the DVD for two reasons:
 To install openSUSE on the build server.
 To serve as the package repository when you build the live CD.
You use the kiwi tools to build the live CD. The kiwi tools include a prepare_image script, which
performs a second installation to a temporary directory, and a build-ISO script, which turns that
secondary installation into a live CD image file. The kiwi tools need an installation source, and it is
convenient to use the DVD for that purpose. If you prefer, you can copy the files from the DVD to
local storage and use those files as the package repository.
 View Open Client RPM (http://code.google.com/p/vmware‐view‐open‐client/). Download the file
VMware-view-open-client-<version>-<build>.i386.rpm.
VMware View Open Client lets you connect from a Linux desktop to remote Windows desktops managed
by VMware View.
 ViewOpenClientFiles.tar.gz (http://communities.vmware.com/docs/DOC‐9965)
This file includes View configuration files that are required for the build process. This is not a
commercially supported solution, and it is used here for demonstration purpose only.
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Install openSUSE 11.1 on the Build Server

1 Burn the openSUSE DVD image to a DVD and boot the build server from the DVD.
2 When the boot menu appears, select Installation and press Return
3 When the openSUSE installer starts, select the appropriate language and keyboard layout and click Next.
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4 Select New Installation, deselect Use Automatic Configuration, and click Next.
5 Select the appropriate time zone settings and click Next.
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6 Select GNOME for the desktop type and click Next.
7 Select Partition Based and click Create Partition Setup.
8 Select Hard Disk 1 and click Next.
9 Deselect Propose Separate Home Partition and click Next. Be sure that you have only a swap partition
and a root partition defined and click Next.
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10 On the Create New User panel leave the fields blank and do not fill in any information. Click Next.
11 Enter a password for the root user and click Next.
Be sure to remember this password.
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12 On the Installation Settings panel, select Software and click Change.
13 Click Details.
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14 On the Filter drop‐down menu, select Search.
15 In the Search field, type kiwi and click Search.
16 In the top right pane, select all packages except kiwi-desc-xenboot and kiwi-pxeboot. Click Accept.
17 In the Search field, type squashfs and click Search.
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18 In the top right pane, select the squashfs package. Click Accept.
19 In the Search field, type nano and click Search.
20 In the top right pane, select the nano package. Click Accept.
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21 If a Changed Packages window appears, click Continue.
22 On the Installation Settings screen, click Install.
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23 Click Install on the confirmation screen and wait while the installer installs the packages. This installation
can take several minutes.
24 When all the packages are installed, the progress bar shows 100 percent and the Writing System
Configuration pane shows the word Done.
25 Enter an appropriate host name and domain name, deselect Change Hostname via DHCP, and click Next.
26 In the Firewall section, select Disable.
27 Click Network Interfaces. If a Network Bridge device is listed, highlight it and click Delete.
28 Select your primary network interface and click Edit.
29 If you are using DHCP, click Next. If you are using a static address, enter the information into the
appropriate fields and click Next.
30 If you are using a static address, click the Hostname/DNS and Routing tabs under Network Settings and
configure those settings.
31 When you have finished configuring networking, click OK.
32 On the Network Configuration panel, click Next.
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33 On the Test Internet Connection panel, select Yes and click Next. If the test is successful, click Next.
34 When asked if you want to “Run online update now?” select Run Update and click Next.
35 On the following panel, do not change anything, just click Accept.
36 Accept or decline any license agreements that display prompts and click Continue if prompted.
37 After patching is complete, click Next.
38 Some patches may have updated the online update tool. Click OK if prompted.
39 If another list of patches appears, click Accept.
40 If a list of additional packages to include appears, click Continue.
41 After patching is complete, click Next.
42 If prompted, click OK to reboot the computer.
43 On the User Authentication Method panel, select Local and click Next.
44 On the New Local User panel, click Next.
45 When the empty user login dialog appears, click Yes.
46 On the Release Notes panel, click Next.
47 On the Hardware Configuration panel, click Next.
48 On the Installation Completed panel, click Finish.
This completes the openSUSE 11.1 installation steps on the build server.
Prepare Build Packages

To prepare the packages used to build the live CD, you work mostly at the build server. You need to copy some
files that you downloaded on your Windows computer to the build server.
Take the following steps to prepare the build packages:
1 Log in to the build server as root.
2 Use the WinSCP client or access file servers to copy ViewOpenClientFiles.tar.gz to /tmp on the build
server.
3 Use the WinSCP client or access file servers to copy
VMware-view-open-client-<version>-<build>.i386.rpm to /tmp on the build server.
4 On the build server, open a terminal window and execute the following commands.
cd /tmp
tar -xzf ViewOpenClientFiles.tar.gz
/tmp/prepare_system.sh
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Build the Live CD

To build the bootable live CD, you work at the build server.
Take the following steps to build the live CD:
1 Log in to the build server as root.
2 Insert the openSUSE 11.1 install DVD in the DVD drive and execute the following command:
mount /dev/cdrom /tmp/openSUSE-11.1
3 To modify the default View client options, execute the following command.
nano /usr/share/openSUSE-kiwi/ViewOpenLive-2.0/root/home/viewclient/viewclient.conf
You can edit the VIEWCLIENTOPTIONS variable to suit your needs, and then press CTRL+X to save changes
and exit the nano editor.
4 Execute the following commands to build a live CD image.
/root/bin/prepare_image.sh
/root/bin/build-ISO.sh
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These two commands create the following ISO image file:
/tmp/ViewOpenLive-2.0-ISO
5 Use WinSCP or other tools to copy the ISO image file from your build server to a machine with a CD
burner and burn the CDs for distribution to your end users.
NOTE You can run build-ISO.sh multiple times if needed, but if you make changes to viewclient.conf,
you must run prepare_image.sh before running build-ISO.sh again.
The process described in this section is far more complicated than simply using a Linux distribution to run the
View open client and connect to a virtual desktop. Also, neither the installation packages nor the View client
is supported or recommended by VMware. Unless you are experienced with Linux administration and shell
scripting, VMware recommends that you select a repurposing solution from a commercial Linux or thin client
vendor. VMware is working with thin client vendors so they can provide commercial conversion packages
with services and support in the near future.
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Summary
Repurposing a PC, turning it into a thin desktop, can help you extend the life of a legacy PC by three to five
years. With no disruptions, you can move to secure and managed virtual desktops that meet your key
regulatory compliance mandates.
Thin desktop features are also beneficial in such use cases as
 Providing access for external partners or contractors who need to connect to a dedicated virtual desktop
using View
 Restricting students to the curriculum‐specific applications in a training organization
A thin desktop is not prone to data loss or viruses as a PC would be. At the same tine, the thin desktop can use
a wide variety of virtual desktop applications. Because those applications are running on datacenter servers,
end users gain access to applications that they might not be able to run on their older PCs and operating
systems.
About the Authors

Tommy Walker is a member of the desktop specialists group in the VMware sales organization.
Brandon Williams is a system engineer in the VMware sales organization.
Cynthia Hsieh is a member of the technical marketing team in the desktop solution group at VMware.
If you have comments about this documentation, submit your feedback to: docfeedback@vmware.com
VMware, Inc. 3401 Hillview Ave., Palo Alto, CA 94304 www.vmware.com
Copyright © 2009 VMware, Inc. All rights reserved. This product is protected by U.S. and international copyright and intellectual property laws. VMware products are covered by
one or more patents listed at http://www.vmware.com/go/patents. VMware, the VMware “boxes” logo and design, Virtual SMP, and VMotion are registered trademarks or
trademarks of VMware, Inc. in the United States and/or other jurisdictions. All other marks and names mentioned herein may be trademarks of their respective companies.
Revision: 20090521 Item: TN-093-INF-01-01
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Technical Note

Repurposing a PC to a Thin Desktop

How Thin Clients Function

Conversion Options on Windows Platforms

Changing the Default Shell (All Users)

Changing the Default Shell (Only Current User)

Windows Fundamentals for Legacy PCs

Conversion Options on Linux Platforms

Install openSUSE 11.1 on the Build Server

Prepare Build Packages

Build the Live CD

About the Authors

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