This issue occurs if the .vmx file is corrupted. To resolve this issue, either build a new .vmx file or manually repair the existing file.
Restore from backup
If available, restore the .vmx file from the backup.
Creating a new .vmx file
To create a new .vmx file:
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Locate the virtual machine files and delete the .VMX file.
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Open the VMware product or VMware Infrastructure Client.
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Click File > New > Virtual Machine (if listed).
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Follow the new virtual machine wizard making sure to select the Custom configuration installation option. When prompted to create a new virtual hard disk file, choose to specify an existing file. Specify the existing .vmdk file.
Note: For related information when using a Fusion virtual machine, see Creating a virtual machine from an existing virtual disk in Fusion (1023555).
Manually rebuilding the .vmx file
It is possible to reconstruct the corrupted .vmx file provided a copy of the vmware.log is available where the virtual machine started correctly.
To manually rebuild the .vmx file:
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Open the vmware.log file where the virtual machine started successfully with a text editor. In Macs, use Text Edit.
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Find the line in the log file that contains: --- CONFIGURATION. Beyond this line -- until the next line that contains --- -- are the complete contents of the .vmx file as it was parsed by the vmx process.
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Copy the text into a new .vmx file, overwriting the damaged .vmx file.
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From the new file, clean the logging output from the text to restore the original configuration.
For example, change the line that reads:
vmx| DICT svga.vramSize = 134217728
To:
svga.vramSize = "134217728"
- Save the file and start the VMware product or re-register the virtual machine in an ESX host.
Note:The old vmx file can be deleted/removed.
Additional Information
For translated versions of this article, see: