Member Avatar for Ctechnology24

Im using windows 7 as my host OS and uses a VMware to run Backtrack 5 r3 inside it, my problem is I can't connect my backtrack to my windows 7's network so that I can connect to other PCs connected in the same network. I need to accomplish that because I'm studying Pentesting

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Dani AI

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Good, and already pointed toward the right areas. If switching the VM to bridged/NAT didn't fix things, use this short, practical checklist to find the real fault and get BackTrack talking to other PCs on your LAN.

Start at the VMware level: open the Virtual Network Editor (Workstation) or the VM settings and verify which physical adapter the bridged network is bound to (do not rely on "Automatic"). In the VM settings, enable "Replicate physical network connection state." If the host is on Wi‑Fi, remember some APs use client/isolation or block extra MACs — try bridging to a wired NIC or a USB Wi‑Fi adapter. Also change the VM NIC type to e1000 if the guest kernel lacks vmxnet drivers and install VMware Tools/open‑vm‑tools in the guest.

Quick guest checks (run these in BackTrack):

sudo ip addr show
sudo dhclient -v eth0
ip route
ping -c 3 <host-or-other-lan-ip>
sudo tcpdump -nn -i eth0 icmp

Host (Windows 7) checks:

C:\> ipconfig /all
C:\> arp -a
C:\> ping <guest-ip>

If ping fails, check Windows Firewall (Inbound rule "File and Printer Sharing (Echo Request – ICMPv4-In)") or enable with:

netsh advfirewall firewall add rule name="Allow ICMPv4-In" protocol=icmpv4 dir=in action=allow

If DHCP never gives the guest an address, try a temporary static IP in the LAN range (avoid duplicates) to rule out DHCP/router issues. If bridging is impossible (Wi‑Fi/AP limits), use NAT with port forwarding or host‑only plus forwarding for services. Final note: because you mentioned pentesting, perform scans or attacks only on networks and hosts for which you have explicit permission.

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Member Avatar for JorgeM

On VMware, you will need to configure the network interface card so it is bridged on the same adapter as your host computer. I am not familiar with the VMware interface to tell you exactly what to click on, but the overall concept is the same with all of the desktop virtual apps. If you want all of the nodes on the same subnet to communicate with the guest VM, the interface for the virtual app needs to be configure in a bridged mode and then the guest VM needs to have an ipconfiguration that is compatible with the other hosts on the network.

Member Avatar for amlinux 
1)Keep the VMnets the same for Guest and Host OSs, i mean if u use the VMnet8 in in you Host OS, then use the Same VMnet8 for ur Guest OS too, 
2) use the same class IPs for both sides (i.e. Host OS's VMnet8 IP=192.168.1.1 and the Guest OS's VMnet8 IP=192.168.1.2), so you can communicate.
3) Enable the ( "Allow connections to this computer") on both sides, i.e. Guest and Host.
4) Ping Guest OS from Host and vice versa, to check if it works,
that is it, it will surely work
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