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akarpo
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Fusion 5 - Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory.

Receiving the following errors when I try to start up my virtual machine(s) in Vmware Fusion 5 -

  • Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory.
  • Failed to initialize monitor device
  • Cannot find a valid peer process to connect to.

Reinstalled Vmware Fusion 5 using these instructions - http://kb.vmware.com/selfservice/microsites/search.do?language=en_US&cmd=displayKC&externalId=101783...

Uninstalled. Restarted. Reinstalled. Restarted. Started virtual machine, same errors.

Thinking it might be a problem with the virtual machine, I copy over another virtual machine that's running just fine on another Mac downstairs. Same errors. I'm running 10.8.2 on a 2012 Macbook Air.

Starting to think this is an enviroment problem, but I'm not sure where to start looking beyond the manual uninstall instructions. Any assitance would be greatly appreciated.

One strange thing I noticed - even after a manual uninstall and subsequent reinstall, it still lists the old virtual machine name in the Virtual Machine library list. Also, /dev/vmmon is still missing after a reinstall.

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dariusd
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Hi vmwtece!

The cause of your problem is quite different: Your hardware does not meet Fusion's System Requirements.  You'll need to move Fusion to supported host hardware before we can help.

Cheers,

--

Darius

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vmwtece
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Darius,

Thanks for taking a look. 

Here's how I 'fixed' the issue.  

I edited the Library configuration of the image (option-click) and changed the state of the VM to powered down.

I moved the VM out of the library location and rebooted my Mac.  On return I re-started Fusion without a VM present.  I quit Fusion.  I moved the VM image back to the library and re-launched the VM.   There was no message about /dev/vmmon!  The VM came back to my Windows login screen much to my joy and I logged into the Admin account.  The VM crashed and offered to save a debug image for support.  I thought I had lost the VM.   Naturally I have not attached that crash resport as you won't examine it.

Following the crash with nothing to lose  I attempted to boot the VM into Safe Mode of WIndows.  It came up in safe mode.  I rebooted to normal mode. The admin login crashed again the same way.  I rebooted to Safe Mode once again.  I changed nothing as nothing appeared to be wrong.  On my third re-cycle to normal mode the Admin account allowed a login without crashing!   The VM is now back up and running.  It looks normal.

Perseverance pays off I suppose.

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WoodyZ
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vmwtece wrote: I moved the VM out of the library location and rebooted my Mac.

Well according to the information in the support bundle, you do not have a Mac and are not in compliance with Apple's SLA for OS X by running it on non-Apple-branded hardware!  Illegally running OS X on a PC doesn't make it a Mac! Smiley Wink

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gschiltz
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Darius, I appreciate your response since I'm pretty sure I have the same problem. Would you please elaborate on your answer (number 18 of this thread)? Specifically, how could you tell from the directory listing of /dev how many "character drivers" are in use and how many are available? I have attached a file with the results of an 'ls -l /dev' command. I have the HAX driver for doing Android development installed (which I saw mentioned elsewhere in this thread) as well as openvpn. All is well until I install VirtualBox, which I suspect steals some of the necessary devices from Fusion, after which VirtualBox works but Fusion gives the message about /dev/vmmon not existing. If I uninstall VirtualBox, all is well, but at times I'd like to have both installed at the same time. Many thanks in advance.

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geeklizzard
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I'm having a similar issue, and I need to keep VirtualBox and Viscosity both installed. Do you have any advice that might help me be able to use Fusion as well? Would upgrading to the latest version help? Thanks!

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dariusd
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I don't think there will be any difference between Fusion 5 and Fusion 6 regarding this issue.  I have not yet investigated whether OS X 10.9 makes this situation better, makes it worse, or is unchanged...

Unfortunately this is a limitation within OS X that we're running into, and I don't know of any way to work around it short of building your own Darwin kernel that allows more character devices...

--

Darius

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dariusd
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Hi gschiltz,

There is no easy way to determine the number of available character device nodes from the listing of /dev.  It can provide clues, but the interpretation of those clues would be challenging to explain – it involves matching up the list of loaded drivers with the names of registered nodes in /dev, and matching all of that up against the source code for the "xnu" kernel of Mac OS.  I lack the time to write up a full explanation... sorry.

If you are encountering the issue described in this thread, and you can resolve it by removing one or more of the software packages you mentioned, then you probably have no workaround other than to remove one of those software packages, I'm afraid.

--

Darius

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Masa201110141
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I had the same issue of vmmon not found after installing Intel HAXM. Just uninstalled it, and restarted VMware Fusion. All is well now. Thank you for your post!

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ironrob
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Darius,

Here is my support info file. I'm getting the same error. I believe it has something to do with having an expired trial version of Fusion7. Post trial, I'm interested in going back to my licensed Fusion5 and am unable to shutdown the VM last used with Fusion7 in order to edit compatibility settings, etc. It appears the only way to shutdown a session is to open it, which requires an upgrade post trial. I've tried uninstalling Fusion7, reinstalling Fusion5, and adding another VM. Note: I'd prefer to use the existing VM if possible. However, I get this "error message" when starting the new VM and the "upgrade requirement" when I try to open the VM used with Fusion7. How do I get out of this error or upgrade loop?

Thanks

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dariusd
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Hi ironrob, and welcome to the VMware Communities!

The cause of the problem you're facing is simply that VMware Fusion 5 is not compatible with OS X 10.10 (Yosemite).  You'll need at least Fusion 6.0.5 simply to be compatible with your newer version of OS X.

--

Darius

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ironrob
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Darius,

Thanks for the response. Your message serves as a much more instructive error message...perhaps that can be coded into the software reducing frustration and streamlining the upgrade process. FYI, I initially initiated the trial required to test a SAS product, however I discovered a workaround. My Yosemite auto upgrade took place within the past couple days during this issue, so I wasn't suspecting it as the cause for error as I was not shopping a Fusion upgrade. Other than typical functionality I really didn't notice gains from the upgrade. Unless there are new Yosemite dependent features, which I was unable to experience; perhaps such upgrades can be done with a patch? This whole experience has brought your competition into my consciousness.

That said, from reading through many of your posts I find your personal service to be top notch.

Thank you for your service

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jginnever
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This helped me solve my problem.  I realized that I had installed an Android SDK since my Fusion quit working.  I did a search for uninstalling HAXM and found these instructions - sudo sh /System/Library/Extensions/intelhaxm.kext/Contents/Resources/uninstall.sh.  They are from this page - https://software.intel.com/en-us/forums/topic/477793. 

I didn't have to reboot.  Just shut down Fusion and restarted it.  Now my Windows VM comes up without the "Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory" message.

jkuppens
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What a crock. VMWare holding us to ransom. Surely they can make it compatible with Yosemite, they just want to extract more $$ from their customers. I'll be looking at Virtual Box for sure.

I don't use VMWare much, so it was a "want" not a "need" purchase. Very disappointed that an operating system upgrade disabled Fusion. That sucks bigtime.

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loganinwonder
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Hey there, I am having the same problem described here, can you take a look at my support information and see if there's a solution possible? I'll attach the support info and paste the results of the "ls -ld /dev /dev/vmmon" command.

Thanks!

Logan

Logans-MacBook-Pro:~ loganinwonder$ ls -ld /dev /dev/vmmon

ls: /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory

dr-xr-xr-x  3 root  wheel  4287 Sep  3 10:06 /dev

Logans-MacBook-Pro:~ loganinwonder$

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dariusd
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Hi Logan, and welcome to the VMware Communities!

Fusion 5.0.5 is too old to work with OS X 10.10.  Apple have been steadily improving the security around the use of kernel extensions, and those included with Fusion 5.0.x (which was designed to work with OS X 10.8) do not meet the requirements of OS X 10.10.  There are probably many other compatibility issues beyond that one, but that is specifically what's causing the failure you are seeing.

To resolve the problem, you'll need to upgrade your copy of Fusion.

--

Darius

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loganinwonder
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Balls... do you have a coupon or $50 i can borrow ??

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loganinwonder
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Thanks for the quick response!

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sshaw_
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I have not yet investigated whether OS X 10.9 makes this situation better, makes it worse, or is unchanged...

I encountered this on 10.9.

My box has a ton of VirtualBox, OpenVPN, Cisco VPN, Docker, etc...  stuff. To free up a slot I uninstalled OpenVPN. Fusion is now working, only needed to restart it.

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