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pgaltieri
Contributor
Contributor

How do i re-encrypt Windows VMs when going from WP 17.5 to 17.0.2

I upgraded to WP 17.5 which ended up causing major headaches when starting VMs.  During this process I upgraded 2 Windows 11 VMs this required re-encryption.  When going back to 17.0.2 these Windows 11 VMs no longer boot, I get a message that says the .vmx file was created by a VMware product incompatible with this version of Vmware Workstation and cannot be used.

What do I need to do to be able to use this VM with version 17.0.2 of WP?

Paolo

 

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RDPetruska
Leadership
Leadership

Temporarily re-install 17.5, modify the VMs to change the encryption method, likely change the virtual hardware to version 17.0.x.  Then uninstall, reinstall 17.0.2.

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Technogeezer
Immortal
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@pgaltieri wrote:

I upgraded to WP 17.5 which ended up causing major headaches when starting VMs.  During this process I upgraded 2 Windows 11 VMs this required re-encryption.  When going back to 17.0.2 these Windows 11 VMs no longer boot, I get a message that says the .vmx file was created by a VMware product incompatible with this version of Vmware Workstation and cannot be used.

What do I need to do to be able to use this VM with version 17.0.2 of WP?

Paolo

 


You were not required to upgrade the encryption. Workstation 17.5 gives you the option to decline the upgrade. It would have worked fine with the old encryption.

What I believe  @RDPetruska means is that you'll have to remove the encryption in 17.5 Then the VM can be transported back to 17.0 (as long as the virtual hardware version is version 20 or lower).   I don't believe there's a way in Workstation 17.5 to change the encryption type back to the older one that's compatible with Workstation 17.0.  Once back on 17.0, you can re-encrypt - it'll have the older encryption. Then when moving it back to 17.5, decline the re-encryption. (and any virtual hardware upgrade) if you ever want to move the VM back to a prior version of Workstation. 

Note that you will need to remove any TPM device before you can remove encryption. It can be added back after re-encryption and it really won't make much of a difference to WIndows 11 (except if you are running Bltlocker in the VM). You'll need to re-authorize login if you're using a Windows Hello PIN instead of a password. 

You also might want to check out the following KB articlehttps://kb.vmware.com/s/article/93071 which is also referenced in the Workstation 17.5 release notes. .

- Paul (Technogeezer)
Editor of the Unofficial Fusion Companion Guides
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pgaltieri
Contributor
Contributor

I removed the TPM, un-encrypted the disk and changed the hardware compatibility under WP 17.5.  Uninstalled WP 17.5 and re-installed WP 17.0.2 and re-encrypted the drive and added the TPM.  However now when I try to boot the VM it tries to boot from CD and wont boot from disk, and if I disconnect the CD on startup it says I have no OS.

I went back to a Windows 11 VM from April of this year and started it up, but it comes up with no network connections

Paolo

 

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gbohn
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Just a wild guess, but for the case where you removed the TPM (to be able to decrypt) and went back to 17.0.2, maybe you were seeing an issue from 'secure boot' related to losing the TPM values?

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