Powering on a virtual machine in Workstation fails with the error: VMWare Workstation unrecoverable error: (vmx)
search cancel

Powering on a virtual machine in Workstation fails with the error: VMWare Workstation unrecoverable error: (vmx)

book

Article ID: 329349

calendar_today

Updated On: 12-16-2024

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

  • Cannot resume a suspended virtual machine in VMware Workstation
  • Cannot power on a virtual machine in Workstation after a power failure
  • Powering on a virtual machine fails
  • You see these errors:
     
    • VMWare Workstation unrecoverable error: (vmx)
      Exception 0xc0000006 (disk error while paging) has occurred.
    • This virtual machine appears to be in use.
      If this virtual machine is not in use, press the "Take Ownership" button to obtain ownership of it. Otherwise press the "Cancel" button to avoid damaging it.



Environment

VMware Workstation Pro 15.x
VMware Workstation Pro 14.x
VMware Workstation 11.x
VMware Workstation 10.x
VMware Workstation 9.x 
VMware Workstation 8.x 
VMware Workstation 7.x 

Cause

This issue occurs if the virtual machine suspended state file is corrupted.

Resolution

Remove the suspended state file.

Notes:
To remove the suspended state file:
  1. Navigate to the folder where the virtual machine files are stored.
  2. Delete all files and folders that end with:
     
    • .lck
    • .vmss
       
  3. Edit the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file. For more information, see Tips for editing a .vmx file.
  4. Locate the entry that begins with checkpoint.vmState.
  5. Remove everything between the quotation marks. For example, the entry should appear similar to:

    checkpoint.vmState = ""
     
  6. Save and close the .vmx file.

Note: Ensure that changes made to the file are appropriate and correct. Improper configuration of the .vmx file may result in a virtual machine failure.

 

Additional Information