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kirk881
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Error 31: A device attached to the system is not functioning, Windows 7 host, v. 7.1.4

Windows 7 host, Windows XP, Linux guest OSes. Have tried every fix online, including downgrading, upgrading, and uninstalling and reinstalling. Nothing is working. It was working, and then stopped.

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kirk881
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The fix is:

  1. Shut down Workstation.

  2. Open the registry (Start > Run > regedit).

  3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\hcmon\.

  4. Create a new key called Parameters.

  5. In Parameters, create a new DWORD value entry named DisableDriverCheck, and then set the value to 1.

     6. Reboot

Appears this issue is for Windows 7 host. The fix worked on the few I tried.

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Hello Kirk,

Please explain in detail about the exact issue that you are currently facing and also the chain of events leading to the error message.

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kirk881
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I receive an error when the VM first starts.

"Host USB device connections disabled. The connection to the VMware USB arbitration service was unsuccessful. Please check the status of this service in the Microsoft Management Console."

I try and start the usb arbitration service and receive "Error 31". Like I said, this was working fine, and then I started getting this error. I have uninstalled and reinstalled, I have deleted the upperfilters in the registry, I have uninstalled all USB devices in device manager, and nothing works. I don't have the AMD driver, and I don't have the .SYS file in c:\windows\system32 folder.

Edit:

Unable to use any USB drive in any vm client, USB works on the host OS. I can also map an .ISO as my CDRom.

Message was edited by: kirk881

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This issue occurs if some of the files that are required to run the service are missing. The files may be missing if the product was installed or upgraded using an account that does not have sufficient privileges/permissions.

To resolve this issue:

  1. Launch a command prompt on the host machine using a Local Administrator account.
  2. Run this command:

    net start hcmon

    Open the Windows service console and start the service manually.

If the service fails to start, try installing the hcmon service manually. To install the hcmon service manually:

  1. Launch a command prompt on the host machine using a Local Administrator account.
  2. Run this command:

    • In a 32-bit host operating system:

      "C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Workstation\vnetlib.exe" -- install hcmon

      In a 64-bit host operating system:

      "C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\vnetlib64.exe" -- install hcmon


  3. Open the Windows service console and start the service manually. The service should now start successfully.

If the issue persists even after trying the preceding steps, reinstall/repair VMware Workstation as a user with Administrative rights on the Windows host.

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kirk881
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hcmon already running. Have repaired, uninstalled and reinstalled. Just finished reinstalling again.

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kirk881
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The fix is:

  1. Shut down Workstation.

  2. Open the registry (Start > Run > regedit).

  3. Browse to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\hcmon\.

  4. Create a new key called Parameters.

  5. In Parameters, create a new DWORD value entry named DisableDriverCheck, and then set the value to 1.

     6. Reboot

Appears this issue is for Windows 7 host. The fix worked on the few I tried.

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