Workstation 16.1.2 Pro, under Windows 11 host, Windows guest in VM crashes on startup

[dsesdg]

This Reddit post sums up this issue well:  https://www.reddit.com/r/vmware/comments/ph590g/vm_does_not_start_on_workstation_1612_pro_windows/

Basically using Workstation Pro 16.1.2 on a Windows 11 host, if you create a Windows guest VM, and the host system has Hyper-V enabled in any form (in my case its present because I have WSL2 enabled in the host), and if you have more than one processor and/or one core per processor selected for the guest, the Windows guest VM crashes at boot:

VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)

Exception 0xc0000005 (access violation) has occurred.

A log file is available in "C:\Users\test\Documents\Virtual Machines\Windows 10 x64\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.

In my case, I'm running this all on the released Windows 11 using an AMD Ryzen 5950x.  This same host configuration works without issue under Windows 10 (multiple processors, multiple threads per processor, etc.)  Also, if I disable and remove all instances of WSL2/Hyper-V on the Windows 11 host, then everything works fine in the guest with multiple threads enabled.

A similar issue appears to have been reported here back three months ago as well:  https://communities.vmware.com/t5/VMware-Workstation-Pro/VMWARE-16-1-2-on-Windows-11-host/m-p/285495...

It may be interesting to note that I also have several Linux guests running in the same host, and they work without issue (one processor, 32 threads per processor).  So this appears to be related only to Windows guest operation in this host configuration.  It doesn't matter if the guest installation is Windows 10 or Windows 11, the crash is the same.  

It'd be great to learn if VMware is working on this issue for an update soon...it's unfortunate that I can only run Windows guests using one core + one thread, on a 32 thread machine...

Thank you!

[mattskey]

this needs a bump. it's clearly an issue.

I'm having the extact same issue

wsl/hyper-v enabled. clean install of windows 11, 5950x.

I've a whole lab running under vmware workstation and wanting to use wsl2, no dice. was working fine on windows 10 before upgrading.

[amowat]

+1

Having the same issue, I think it started with 16.2. I was using Linux machines fine, but I went to power on Win 10 and it won't launch with more than 1 CPU (physical or core). 

[sterkey25]

Hey VMware. How about a status update?

[dsesdg]

It's surprising that Oracle was able to quickly fix this situation with VirtualBox (e.g., see https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/20536), and VMware is still completely silent on this problem after several months.

Does VMware actually support Workstation any longer...?

[CWmorin]

This problem can be resolved by disabling Windows Virtual Machine feature. This can be done by either cmdline or through Windows Features. Turning this feature off also disabled WSL2.

##Save bootconfig

bcdedit /enum > bcdedit_pre-disable_hyperv.txt

bdcedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype off

reboot

bcdedit /enum > bcdedit_post-disable_hyperv.txt

##Re-enable 

bdcedit /set hypervisorlaunchtype on

reboot

If any of your options were changed in bootmgr then correct them using the pre/post files above.

Hopefully, we get a better solution in place sson.

[xsm1997]

Exactly the same issue on AMD 5800X CPU and Windows 11.

I need to use both VMWare and Hyper-V(wsl2) due to my work, and it is not a good practice for me to temporarily switch hypervisor settings on and off in bcdedit.

How about a fix of VMWare?

[Eric24]

Quick Question:  Can we expect an update or response directly from VMWare on this community?  

ie Some companies do monitor and respond.  others just provide the forums for the community, but don't actively participate.

[xsm1997]

Don't know about this.

But I can comfirm that my colleague with an Intel 11gen CPU and Windows 11 host can run Windows guest without any issue on Workstation 16.2.1 Pro even with Hyper-V enabled.

He does not have the issue. So this is probably an issue related to AMD CPU support.

[Supernatant]

BUMP.

This is pretty unacceptable VMWare. New laptop that shipped with Win11 is having the same issue. Is there a patch coming for this? Is anyone even working on a fix? Is anyone even reading these messages?

[Supernatant]

Don't hold your breath... I've been seeing comments on this same issue for months now...

[Qlippoth]

Maybe a Windows update fixed it for Intel? There are multiple complaints in this thread using Intel processors as well. If anyone had an issue but now doesn't let us know.

[noel2004]

Can reporduce almost the same issue (5900X, a VM guest can only run with 1 core) but have some interest discovery:

The VM guest I have test is running a windows XP so I have set the guestOS options to "windows XP professional". When I have changed the guestOS to "windows 2000 professional" I can run it with 2 or more vcpus.

And for another VM running a windows 7 it is always can run with mutiple vcpus.

[xsm1997]

According to my further test, my AMD 4800H (Zen2) laptop does not have the issue. It can normally start windows 11 setup iso with 4+ cores and Hyper-V enabled.

It seems that the issue is dedicated to AMD 5xxx (Zen3) platforms.

[BrianBuresh]

If you read the thread, you'll see many people (including myself) reporting the issue on 10th and 11th gen Intel as well.

[awesie]

I have the same issue with a new Intel i5-1135G7 laptop running Windows 11 host and Windows guest in a VM.

[redsolja]

Can anyone make this issue more public?

This is their twitter: https://twitter.com/vmw_workstation

[WillyWonka_]

I think if vmware doesn’t fix this issue soon enough I’ll have to switch to virtualbox. It’s truly sad as I’ve used vmware ever since I started using virtual machines.

Hope they come up with a solution before people start leaving in masses

[WillyWonka_]

Well, turns out virtualbox doesn’t have the same problem. I converted my vmx file to ovf using ovftool and virtualbox is doing quite well 🙂

[KTM888]

Having the exact same problem here. The Guest OS (linux) shutdowns unexpectedly when the Guest OS is operating or when Host Machine goes to sleep for a while or when it goes to lock screen. I am running the latest windows 11 version, using AMD CPU 5800h and rtx 3070 although as I understand this is a CPU handling issue. I also have WSL2 enable, hypervisor running in the background, although no instance running while using VMware vm though. I have also attached support log files, to support my claim. Hopefully, this issue gets resolve quickly.

[EpicLPer]

Coming here to say the same as everyone already did: Same issue.

As soon as Hyper-V is enabled I can't use VMware anymore. Linux VMs do seem to boot but throw a few "unsupported CPU features" at the boot log. Windows (at least 10 and 11) refuse to boot up at all tho. Very annoying...