topic Re: Failed to start the virtual machine. in VMware Workstation Pro Discussions

Failed to start the virtual machine.

msbb — Thu, 20 Jul 2023 06:01:53 GMT

All my virtual machines are prompted to start: Failed to start virtual machines.

This is on VMWare Workstation 17.

I tried reinstalling the virtual machine, but it still didn't work, whether it's Linux or Windows.

I tried to search for the problem from the logs but couldn't find anything.

I also tried reinstalling VMWare Workstation 17 but it still didn't work.

I found a similar fault that caused me to shut down Hyper-V, but I am unable to do so because other software requires the use of Hyper-V.

Below are some logs that may be helpful.

The log files have been attached below.

Please help.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

bluefirestorm — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 01:32:59 GMT

From one of the vmware.log files.

2023-07-20T05:33:34.797Z In(05) vmx Host is Windows 11 Pro, 64-bit (Build 25393.1)
2023-07-20T05:33:35.050Z In(05) vmx Command line: "D:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\x64\vmware-vmx.exe" "-T" "querytoken" "-E" "zh_CN" "-s" "vmx.stdio.keep=TRUE" "-#" "product=1;name=VMware Workstation;version=17.0.0;buildnumber=20800274;licensename=VMware Workstation;licenseversion=17.0;" "-@" "pipe=\\.\pipe\vmx2954146985720eb4;msgs=ui" "D:\虚拟机\Windows 11 LTSC\Windows 11 LTSC.vmx"
2023-07-20T05:33:35.195Z In(05) vmx IOPL_Init: Hyper-V detected by CPUID
2023-07-20T05:33:35.353Z In(05) vmx Monitor Mode: ULM
2023-07-20T05:33:37.090Z Wa(03) vmx ULM: Failed to create virtual processor 0, res 0xc0350050.

Your host OS is an Insider Preview version of Windows 11 Pro. You should switch the host to a stable Windows 10/11 22H2 build.

Another thing is it looks like you installed VMware Workstation on Drive D. There has also been strange crashes when Workstation is installed on a different location other than the default.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

DhairyaT — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 06:55:57 GMT

@msbb

Please try to clean uninstall and install WS by following below steps-

1) Uninstall WS Pro/Player.
2) Go to this location - C:\ProgramData\VMware and delete the folders for VMware Workstation and VMware Player.
3) Go to this location - C:\Users\dtomar\AppData\Roaming\VMware and delete all the files inside
4) Go to this location - C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware and delete the folders for VMware Workstation and VMware Player.
5) Install WS Pro/Player

With respect to steps 2,3,4 you may have to go to D drive as @bluefirestorm pointed out. With respect to step 5 try installing Workstation on C drive.

Check if VMs are getting powered on.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

msbb — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 13:56:59 GMT

I thoroughly uninstalled using GeekUninstaller and cleaned up file and registry residues (the specific list is shown in the figure).Then

reinstall, using the default settings throughout the installation process, and still unable to start the virtual machine.

The error message remains: Unable to start the virtual machine.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

msbb — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:00:38 GMT

Before this, my attempt to update the system to the latest version was still invalid.

So I tried to update to the latest preview version.

I also tried reinstalling VMware Workstation using the default settings.

None of these worked, still unable to start the virtual machine.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

bluefirestorm — Fri, 21 Jul 2023 14:30:15 GMT

@msbb wrote:
Before this, my attempt to update the system to the latest version was still invalid.
So I tried to update to the latest preview version.
I also tried reinstalling VMware Workstation using the default settings.
None of these worked, still unable to start the virtual machine.

The problem is the host OS is on the Insider Preview. As mentioned earlier, you need to switch back to a stable version Windows 10/11 such as 22H2. With Hyper-V enabled, VMware Workstation will be using Windows Hypervisor API instead of root Intel VT-x/AMD-V native calls to the CPU.

If you insist on using Insider Preview, I would suggest you then remove Hyper-V from the host OS. But you already mentioned you need Hyper-V. So you choose whether you want a working VMware system or Hyper-V.

If your use of Hyper-V does not involved direct device access (such as using GPU for machine learning from WSL2), maybe just run the Hyper-V inside a VM and remove the Insider Preview on the host OS and switch to 22H2.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

msbb — Sat, 22 Jul 2023 14:56:10 GMT

Thank you very much.
Today, everything was normal after I was relegated to 22H2.
Both Hyper-V and VMware Workstation are working properly.
The virtual machine can also start normally.

Re: Failed to start the virtual machine.

DhairyaT — Tue, 25 Jul 2023 12:57:56 GMT

@msbb Thanks for confirming.

We had raised this ticket for internal tracking- #3252743