Same, the real question is why the password prompt when a password is never requested the the point of VM creation/encryption. The logic of the issue is what is the concern, not the result or recovery. Clearly having a known good backup, that is accessible (i.e. not encrypted) is key. But, for enterprise sites where vCenter/ESXi/vSphere is used, the issue should not be as significant. Transport of VMs, even VMDKs is not an expectation for enterprise sites per se as a one off, outside of VMotion or area storage replication, IMHO. But where VM Workstation should have that expectation to a limited degree, meaning there is always the possible need to have an transportable VM, say a Live Linux distro for example. But why you would need explicit encryption for that is a different story.
The risk is that VMDKs, if not the entire VM, can't be an easy move or copy, and if they are to be password protected after encryption I would expect VM Workstation to have a BRIGHT RED DIALOG WITH FLASHING GREEN LETTERS prompting the user for a password, no? Ok, so red and green is over dramatic, but not nearly as dramatic as my favorite 'media' VM that has years of iTunes songs collected over 10 years, encrypted and lost due to a stealth password requirement. Reminds me of the guy that has billions in bitcoin, forgot the password, and he only has like 2 attempts of 10 remaining to guess the password? Or the bitcoins are lost forever!
