Workstation 11 - Not enough physical memory available error

[noetus]

I have installed an evaluation version of Workstation 11.1 (I have a license for Workstation 10 currently) on a Windows 8.1 machine.  Build is 2496824.

I have 7 VMS, each one very similar Windows 7 installs, 2GB allocated to each one, 32GB RAM on the host system.

I cannot run more than 2 VMS concurrently.  When I try to start the third one, I get the "Not enough physical memory available" error.

I have read up on the issue with Microsoft KB 2995388 but apparently this issue was fixed with version 10.0.4, so definitely shouldn't affect version 11.  Also I did not run into this issue with Workstation 10 when it was installed on this host, with the same guests.

Even though I am a licensed user of Workstation 10, since I am just evaluating 11 I cannot get official support.  This seems a bit odd to me as an official policy, because it means that licensed users like me who are trying out new versions and run into issues cannot get support and therefore are less likely to solve the issue and upgrade.  VMware shooting itself in the foot, really.

Anyway, since my only recourse for help is this forum, can anybody assist?  If not, I downgrade back to Workstation 10 and VMware loses the opportunity to sell me a new license....

[dariusd]

Hi noetus,

Please provide (as an attachment to a reply in this thread) the vmware.log created in the third VM's folder after it fails to power on.  It should provide more detail about the "Not enough physical memory" condition.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[noetus]

Here is the log file.  I created a new one to ensure that it contains information pertaining only to this failed start.

[mtabor]

@noetus open up Workstation and go to Edit > Preferences and then select Memory (as seen in the attached image). How much of your host memory has been allocated to be used by Workstation? Also are you allowing the virtual machines to swap at all or making the VM's run all in memory?

[noetus]

This is one of the first things I checked.  Memory allocated is 28623 MB.

And "Allow some virtual machine memory to be swapped" is checked.

I don't think the issue is to do with my settings on the VMs.  As I mentioned, all was working perfectly under Workstation 10.  Installed Workstation 11 and immediately had this issue.

[dariusd]

Thanks very much for the log, noetus.  I'm not quite sure what's going on at this stage.  To collect some more useful information, try this:

1. Restart your host.  It usually shouldn't be required, even after a Workstation upgrade, but there's some information that we can collect only after a fresh restart.  (Just for the record: I dislike being told to restart my host, and it pleases me none to ask you to restart your host... but in this case it is quite difficult to avoid the need.)

2. Immediately launch Workstation as Administrator.

3. Power on any VM.  It doesn't matter which VM (it can even be a dummy/"empty" VM), and it doesn't matter if the "Not enough physical memory" error does not appear.  Power it off again normally.

4. Grab the vmware.log out of that VM's directory, and attach it again to a reply here, just like you did earlier.  It's important that it be the first VM powered on since your host restart, and that it be run as Administrator.

It is possible that simply restarting your host machine might clear out the problem, although I don't see how it could happen that way.  Regardless of whether it solves the problem, the vmware.log generated by the steps above could give me a good clue where to look next.

Thanks for your patience and help with this!

--

Darius

[noetus]

Well, thank you for going to these lengths to try to solve this issue.

I followed your instructions: shutdown WS11, restarted host, started WS11 as Administrator, started VM, shutdown VM, grabbed log and attached it to this post.

The VM had previously experienced an unexpected shutdown, not sure why but I assume it does not affect the log.

[dariusd]

Thanks again, noetus... The log contains exactly the information I was hoping for.  I'd be interested to hear if you are still encountering the "Not enough physical memory" error now that you've rebooted.  The logs suggest you might, but I still don't have an explanation for the how/why...

Cheers,

--

Darius

[noetus]

Indeed, the restart has not changed anything.  Still getting the error with the third VM I attempt to start, and doesn't matter the order of VMs I start, it's always the third one.

[noetus]

I just tried changing the following setting in Edit>Preferences>Memory from

"Allow some virtual machine memory to be swapped"

to

"Allow most virtual machine memory to be swapped"

This allowed me to start 4 VMs before I got the familiar error, on the fifth one.

This doesn't solve the problem, obviously, but perhaps it gives you a clue as to where to look.

The host RAM reservation is still set to 28623, which is the maximum for my system.  Lowering this (to still a reasonable amount) does not seem to change anything.

Also, if I set Edit>Preferences>Memory to

"Fit all virtual machine memory into reserved host RAM"

which would actually be my preference given how much RAM I have available, I can only start one VM before getting the error on the second one I attempt to start.

Also the Hardware Compatibility for each VM is set to Workstation 10 not 11 (which is where I would like to keep it, in case I have to downgrade to my licensed copy of Workstation 10).

[noetus]

Another piece of information which may or may not be relevant is that concurrently with installing Workstation 11, I had to change the drive letter of the volume where the guest machines are stored.  This caused me to get the "Was machine moved or copied?" query upon attempting to start each guest when starting WS11 for the first time, to which I replied "moved" (even though technically they had not been moved, just the path had changed).

[dariusd]

Very bizarre.  It seems we are quite adamant that you have less than 3 GBytes of available RAM.  (Is it safe for me to assume that Task Manager is showing twenty-something gigabytes of free RAM?)

Which version of Workstation 10 were you running earlier?  It would be superb if you could uninstall Workstation 11, reinstall Workstation 10.0.4 or 10.0.5, and repeat the earlier process of rebooting, launching Workstation as Administrator, powering on a VM, powering it off again, and posting the resulting vmware.log, if you have the time to do that for me.

This is quite the mystery.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[noetus]

Yes, checking Task Manager shows 29.7 GB available.

The whole uninstalling/reinstalling thing sounds quite arduous.  I am also hesitant to do it because the current install of my host OS is very clean (very new install) and uninstalling software is inherently messy and just one of those things I don't want to do unless I have to.

I can tell you that I have another physical machine, with almost the same specifications (slightly different model system board and different brand memory, but otherwise identical, same guest OS) and a copy of Workstation 10 installed, running 7 VMs that are almost the same as the ones I have been reporting about here.  In fact they all (across both machines) stem from the same original VM, although the copies were made some time ago and they have since undergone separate Windows updates.

I am basically running the exact same setup on two nearly identical physical machines, but decided to give Workstation 11 a try on one of them.

Is there any point in reporting what is going on with that machine before doing the uninstall/reinstall thing?  Also, out of interest, any point in uninstalling Windows update KB 2995388 even though that is not supposed to affect WS11?

[dariusd]

I totally understand your reluctance to do the uninstall/reinstall thing.

Do you mind sharing the system and/or motherboard make/model numbers?

Hard to say whether or not to try uninstalling KB 2995388.  I wouldn't expect it to make any difference, but then again I wouldn't have expected us to be somehow recognizing about 26 GBytes less RAM in your system than is actually available and usable...

Hmmmmm... OK, here's another thought.  Have you checked for firmware (BIOS/UEFI) updates for the Workstation 11 host system?  It's not impossible that bad firmware could cause a problem like this.  I don't think it's likely, but again, it seems we've somehow ended up in uncharted territory anyway.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[noetus]

It's late here now so will have to continue this tomorrow.

Machine with the problem (Workstation 11 installed) has Asus P9X79 PRO motherboard.  BIOS firmware was recently updated to latest version so no issues there.  CPU is Intel Core i7 4960X.  Not currently overclocked.  Windows 8.1 Pro 64 bit with all updates.

Machine running Workstation 10 without a problem and copies of the same VM has Asus Rampage IV Gene motherboard.  CPU is also Intel Core i7 4960X.  Both have 32GB RAM.

Agree it's a puzzle.

[noetus]

PS.  Uninstalling KB 2995388 did not help.

[noetus]

OK, so I uninstalled WS11, rebooted, installed WS10 (latest version), started WS10 just to enter license key, rebooted, started WS as Administrator, started VM, shutdown VM, and grabbed the log as before which I am attaching.

The problem now repeats itself on WS10 as well.  One detail that I didn't mention before is that I had to reinstall (clean reinstall on reformatted disk) Windows 8.1 Pro because of a possible virus infection, between the old install of WS10 and the new install of WS11/WS10.  So I am no longer using the exact same physical installation of Windows 8.1 Pro as before when everything was working fine.

[noetus]

One last note before I go to bed.  I tried disabling all startup items and used msconfig to disable all non-Microsoft services (except for VMAuthdService) and restarted the host, in case there is some strange conflict with something else on my system.  The problem persists.

[dariusd]

Just to clear things up, would it be correct to say that:

• You have never had a problem with Workstation 10.0.x on your Asus Rampage IV Gene system, and have not tried Workstation 11 on that system;

and

• You have never had Workstation (either 10.0.x or 11.x) work correctly (more than 3 VMs at once) on your Asus P9X79 PRO system?

Or am I misunderstanding something?  (Please spell it out in detail if I am getting confused or making incorrect assumptions!  It's unclear whether you successfully ran 10.0.x on your P9X79 PRO before.)

What video card(s) are you using in the two systems?

Thanks,

--

Darius

[noetus]

No, I need to clarify this.

• Correct, I never had a problem with Workstation 10.0.x on the Asus Rampage IV Gene system, and have not tried Workstation 11 on that system
• No, I have been using Workstation 10.0.x without issue on the Asus P9X79 system until a few days ago. At that point I made a fresh install of Windows 8.1 Pro (having newly formatted the drive) and installed Workstation 11.  The VMs reside on a separate volume which was not touched during the Windows re-install.  From the moment I installed Workstation 11 on the new installation of Windows 8.1 I have had the issues reported here.

I am not sure if this is related, both upon returning to my computer this morning I discovered that both running VMs crashed at some point with the following error (I had left them running overnight).

VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)

NOT_IMPLEMENTED d:/build/ob/bora-2443746/bora/vmcore/vmx/main/physMem.c:2877

A log file is available in "D:\Oikos\Virtual Machines\Vesta-10\vmware.log". 

You can request support. 

To collect data to submit to VMware support, choose "Collect Support Data" from the Help menu.

You can also run the "vm-support" script in the Workstation folder directly.

We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.

And the other one:

VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)

NOT_IMPLEMENTED d:/build/ob/bora-2443746/bora/vmcore/vmx/main/physMem.c:2877

A log file is available in "D:\Oikos\Virtual Machines\Vesta-11\vmware.log".

You can request support.

To collect data to submit to VMware support, choose "Collect Support Data" from the Help menu.

You can also run the "vm-support" script in the Workstation folder directly.

We will respond on the basis of your support entitlement.

I have saved both log files in case you need to see them.

Incidentally I did run the Windows Memory Diagnostic and that did not show any problems with this\system.