Bridged networking not working on Vista host (Workstation 6)

[Frazz]

Hi All,

I've been using Workstation 6 betas for a number of months (hosted on Vista Ultimate). After installing the relesae version of Workstation 6 bridged networking in my VM (XP Pro) no longer works.

Virutal Network Editor settings contains:

Summary:

VMnet0 (Bridged to an automatically chosen adapter - subnet/DHCP are blank)

VMnet1 (A private virutal network)

VMnet8 (NAT) (Used to share host's IP address)

Automatic Bridging:

Checkbox for 'Automatically choose and available physical network adapter to bridge to VMnet0' is checked but is disabled (greyed out).

Strangely, the 'Add Excluded Adapters' dialog shows no network adapters if the 'Add...' button is clicked on this tab.

Host Virtual Network Mapping:

VMnet0 set to 'Bridged to an automatically chosen adapter'

Host Virtual Adaters tab is empty.

DHCP tab shows just VMnet1 and VMnet8

On starting the VM the following message is posted:

'The network bridge on device VMnet0 is not running.

The virtual machine will not be able to communicate with the host or other machines on your network.

Virtual device Ethernet0 will start disconnected.

I've tried:

Uninstalled the final beta (which worked) correctly.

Ran the setup with the /c option.

Reinstalled the release version several times but with no success.

The setupapi.app.log file contains the following line mentioning vmware_bridge:

cci: \[NCI BEGIN Install Queue (0x000010E4)]

cci: NCI: 10 items in the queue

cci: NCI: Install Queue asking for write lock.

cci: NCI: Install Queue acquired write lock.

cci: \[NCI BEGIN IQ Notify engine: Action 2 for device ROOT\VMWARE\0000]

cci: \!!! NCI: (loading external data) Error 0x80070002 opening vmware_bridge instance key

cci: \[NCI END IQ Notify engine: Result 0x80070002 for device ROOT\VMWARE\0000]

Any help would be much appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Frazz

[GarethHarrison]

Same problem running Windows Vista Ultimate (32 bit). Have logged a call with support, will post again when I get a response.

[jbranc]

i managed to fix my uninstall issue that was causing the Network Manager service to run at 50% and load up the setupapi.app.log file with error messages.

i needed to delete the 2 keys related to VMWARE's legacy drivers from

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\NcQueue

(if you view the binary data of the keys there, you will see vmware 0000 and 0001 buried in the text)

and also delete

HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Network\NetCfgLockHolder key

this is apparently leftover from a botched install and was keeping the network properties sheet locked. not sure if this will help the other Bridged Adapter issues

[tWiZzLeR]

I am having the exact same problem on a Vista Ultimate x64 host using Workstation 6.0.0 build 45731 but I seem to have found a work around that works for me. Under each Virtual Machine I changed the settings on the ethernet adapter from "Bridged: Connected directly to the physical network" to "[b]Custom: Specific Virtual Network[/b]" and select "[b]VMNet0[/b]" in the drop down box.

Even though these are both the same networks (Bridged and VMNet0) this seems to have fixed my problem and the guests now start successfully with the network connected and no errors.

Can someone else try this and see if it helps?

[gehringc]

Hi !

Are there any news about the issue ?

Thanks

Christian

[rbenigno]

I have the same issue (on 32-bit Vista Enterprise) - VMWare Workstation 6 networking stopped working after upgrading. This happened a few months back when upgrading from one of the beta versions to build 44426 to fix the problem I reinstalled Vista from scratch. I just upgraded from 44426 to 45731 and the same exact thing happened.

The bad part isn't that VMWare stops working, but that it breaks my other network connections (Ethernet & Wireless adapters). Specifically, I get the error about the network property sheet being locked when I go to properties on any network adapter. Deleting the registry entries containing VMWare from "NcQueue" gets rid of the lock error, but all my network bindings disappear, except for "Client for Microsoft Networks" (no TCP/IP or anything). The "Connect using" box is blank, but going to "Configure" goes to the adapter properties.

Do we have anything in common here (besides the problem) - maybe Cisco VPN, Wireshark, any other software?

[rbenigno]

I was able to sucessfully upgrade as follows:

1) Did a system restore to a restore point prior to the attempted upgrade (brought me back to the beta version)

2) Uninstalled VMWare using add/remove programs (removed licenses)

3) Rebooted

4) Deleted the left-over registry entries in HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Enum\Root\LEGACY_VM* (had to take ownership and reset perms first) & HKLM\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vm*

5) Rebooted again for good measure

6) Right clicked the vmware install and selected "Run As Administrator" (nothing special on the install, entered the license during the install per the release notes)

No issues this time around - don't know why this worked but the upgrade didn't...

[bluecollarit]

just had this problem on a host i am responsible for. vmware was not communicating with the host nic. you may have to repair workstation 6 by running install or you may have to uninstall WS 6 and then install. I did this and now the bridge is fine and the image communicates with the world.

[shorinsean]

Any updates on this? It seems like there are a lot of people having this problem.

I've having the problem with Vista Ultimate and Server 1.0.3. Seems to work with NAT, though I haven't rushed into it because I'm running statically addressed domain controllers.

[Frazz]

Still no fix for me I'm afraid. The problem does appear to be something to do with VMWare leaving some sort of configuration information around in the network stack following uninstall.

I've uninstalled/cleaned multiple times but nothing has fixed the problem. For me, I think the clue lies in the error that keeps appearing in the setupapi.dev.log.txt file:

\!!! NCI: (loading external data) Error 0x80070002 opening vmware_bridge instance key

This error occurs when I try and install VMWare or reinstall my network adapters when VMWare has been uninstalled.

My host adapter properties show just 'Client for Microsoft Networks' and nothing else (no protocols etc). If I try and add a protocol or reinstall the NIC completely I get a popup 'Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified' after the correct drivers are found. This even occurs when all NIC drivers are removed and the 'Found New Hardware' wizard runs to reinstall the NIC from scratch.

I have a feeling that if I can get the 'vmware_bridge instance key' error to go then VMWare will install cleanly (and hopefully my network stack will show its bindings/config correctly!). Weirdly though, even though the network configuration appears trashed, the network still actually works!

Frazz

[r_jenkins]

Guess I got lucky....I was having similar problems running multiple VMs on Vista. So, I upgraded to VM 6 and installed 6.0 tools in VMs...still had problem. So, I powered down the VMs...added a new bridged network adapater...deleted the original...powered on VM...and voila! Everything now works as expected!

[treat]

My problem was with an XP host that I upgraded from WS5.5 to WS6. The bridged no longer worked the host could ping the guest OS but the guest could not ping anything on the physical network.

I have resolved this. I think that the solution was to remove then reinstall the Cisco VPN software that was installed on the Host. I am not sure if this is correct because I was no longer being systematic about my troubleshooting but it may be worth a try.

[KevinMull]

Removed Vmware and deleted left over keys re installed using a second license suprise suprise still getting the same problem.

Second system fresh install of vista ultimate installed vmware remains the same.

Xp machines all work fine without any of the problems.

[mkincaid]

FWIW, I'm having the same problem with connecting on startup, but if I right-click the adapter and manually choose Connect, everything is fine. Go figure.

[marsoftsys]

Hi all,

This problem has been driving me more nuts than I already am. I have found a solution that works for me and think it will help you all out. I discovered that there is an entry in the Start Menu under VMWare titled Manage Virtual Networks. Select the Automatic Bridging tab. Here on the bottom portion of the screen you can add any adapters that you may want to exclude from automatic bridging. In my case it was an Hamachi Network Interface.

Hope this helps.

Larry

[sgmurray]

We are running Workstation 6 with XP running as guest on VISTA ultimate. Had same problem. We are new to VMWARE. We somehow succeeded by changing adapter from bridging to NAT.

Now we get basic connectivity, but, we still cannot see the rest of the network. As I said we are new to this game, perhaps NAT prevents us. Did anybody get this package to work with bridging. We tried deleting adapter and then adding. The only thing that works is when adapter is set to NAT.

[sgmurray]

Okay, we found our problem. In the device manager of the host system, we found an erroneous entry for a network adapter. We deleted the entry and the bridged option works. Now, we just have to figure out how to get to our network printers.

[Frazz]

Has anyone managed to fix this issues (or its related issues) yet? I'm completely stumped.

To recap:

Bridged networking is not working on my Vista Host/XP Guest.

My host adapter properties show just 'Client for Microsoft Networks' and nothing else (no protocols etc). If I try and add a protocol or reinstall the NIC completely I get a popup...

'Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified'

This even occurs when all NIC drivers are removed using Device Manager and the 'Found New Hardware' wizard runs to reinstall the NIC from scratch following a reboot.

Each time I try and install/configure parts of the hosts network stack the following error is logged in setupapi.app.log:

cci: \!!! NCI: (loading external data) Error 0x80070002 opening vmware_bridge instance key

Is it possible to force a reinstall of the entire network stack in Vista? I can uninstall the drivers manually using Device Manager but that just results in total loss of any network connectivity and a refusal of the machine to reinstall the drivers (again, the 'Error 2: The system cannot find the file specified' message is displayed when the Add New Hardware wizard runs).

Does anyone know where I could possibly find this magical 'vmware_bridge instance' key so I can attempt to kill it by hand???

Cheers,

Frazz

[Svartur]

I also have a problem with this. I was about to buy Workstation 6 but I am happy now that I ran a trial first.

I have a Vista 32-bit host and Bridged networking is not functioning on a XP Pro 32-bit guest. It does recieve a DHCP-adress via the bridged network and I can also ping it from the host. But any communication out from the guest seems dead.

Stopped the firewall in Wista and XP as well. Checked all settings in the GUI and nothing seems wrong. It's obviously Vista messing something up just can't figure out what.

Here is the content of the vmx-file:

config.version = "8"

virtualHW.version = "6"

scsi0.present = "TRUE"

memsize = "256"

ide0:0.present = "TRUE"

ide0:0.fileName = "Windows XP Professional.vmdk"

ide1:0.present = "TRUE"

ide1:0.fileName = "auto detect"

ide1:0.deviceType = "cdrom-raw"

floppy0.autodetect = "TRUE"

ethernet0.present = "TRUE"

ethernet0.wakeOnPcktRcv = "FALSE"

usb.present = "TRUE"

ehci.present = "TRUE"

sound.present = "TRUE"

sound.fileName = "-1"

sound.autodetect = "TRUE"

svga.autodetect = "TRUE"

pciBridge0.present = "TRUE"

mks.keyboardFilter = "allow"

displayName = "WinXP"

guestOS = "winxppro"

nvram = "Windows XP Professional.nvram"

deploymentPlatform = "windows"

virtualHW.productCompatibility = "hosted"

tools.upgrade.policy = "upgradeAtPowerCycle"

ide1:0.autodetect = "TRUE"

floppy0.fileName = "A:"

floppy0.startConnected = "FALSE"

isolation.tools.hgfs.disable = "FALSE"

ide1:0.startConnected = "FALSE"

ethernet0.addressType = "generated"

uuid.location = "56 4d 55 57 7d 39 8e 24-b9 73 8a 41 ab 91 d2 f2"

uuid.bios = "56 4d 55 57 7d 39 8e 24-b9 73 8a 41 ab 91 d2 f2"

ide0:0.redo = ""

pciBridge0.pciSlotNumber = "17"

scsi0.pciSlotNumber = "16"

ethernet0.pciSlotNumber = "32"

sound.pciSlotNumber = "33"

ehci.pciSlotNumber = "34"

ethernet0.generatedAddress = "00:0c:29:91:d2:f2"

ethernet0.generatedAddressOffset = "0"

tools.syncTime = "FALSE"

ethernet0.connectionType = "bridged"

ethernet0.vnet = "VMnet0"

extendedConfigFile = "Windows XP Professional.vmxf"

sharedFolder.option = "alwaysEnabled"

[sparcdr]

The Hamachi network adapter was the culprit. By doing what marsoftsys said if in the instance you have hamchi, your problem should be solved, else allow all traffic from the vmware-vmx.exe program in C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation directory by navigating the to Security Center, Windows Firewall on the left pane, change settings, and then exceptions.

[wboyd]

I'm new to VMWare but have been using VirtualPC and wanted to move to a better platform.

My PC runs Vista Ultimate 64-bit. It has dual Nvidia nForce NIC's on the motherboard.

My problems are similar. There were considerable problems with the VM's and networking. Most problems with the VM's seem to be related to VM Tools. If I just start VM Ware and build a machine all is good until the tools are installed. After some testing I found I had to start VM Workstation as an administrator and install the tools.

VM's created by others seemed to always have networking problems.

When having problems the list of network adapters to exclude for VMnet0 in the default connection was blank. When I was able to boot correctly and go straight there the list was correct.

As for the host life is much worse. Now most of the time when I boot the computer the NIC can't see the outside world! If I reboot often enough it eventually works. So far. Based on the other messages here I am reluctant to try and change my NIC drivers for fear the whole thing might stop working.

On these attemps my error log is filling with messages like:

"The VMware Registration Service service failed to start due to the following error:

The system cannot find the file specified."

"The description for Event ID 3 from source VMware Virtual Mount Service Extended cannot be found. Either the component that raises this event is not installed on your local computer or the installation is corrupted. You can install or repair the component on the local computer.

If the event originated on another computer, the display information had to be saved with the event.

The following information was included with the event:

invalid vstor id

the message resource is present but the message is not found in the string/message table"

"\SystemRoot\SysWow64\drivers\tandpl.sys has been blocked from loading due to incompatibility with this system. Please contact your software vendor for a compatible version of the driver."

Seems like most of the problems are incompatibilities between Vista security and VMWare. I'm not sure that VMWare is really Vista ready.