Console Appears Frozen for VM in vSphere Despite VM Being Responsive via SSH

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When accessing the console of an VM in vSphere using either the HTML5 or remote console (VMRC), the display appears frozen. The following behaviors may be observed:

• The console displays a static screen (e.g., user login prompt), but does not respond to keyboard input.
• The mouse cursor moves within the console window but clicks and typing have no effect.
• The VM is otherwise operational and accessible via SSH.
• Other VMs on the same host and datastore function correctly.

Environment

VMware vSphere Client (HTML5 or VMRC)

Cause

This behavior is caused by the absence of a configuration parameter in the VM’s .vmx file. Specifically, the parameter "svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware" is not set to "TRUE". This setting allows the VM to properly manage display resolution and input mapping in the console session.

Without this parameter, the VM console may render a static screen that appears frozen, even though the underlying VM is healthy and responsive, we can access the VM using SSH/RDP.

Resolution

To resolve the issue, follow these steps:

1. Power off the affected VM from the vSphere Client.
   
   
2. Edit the VM’s configuration (.vmx) file:

• Right-click the VM and select Edit Settings (or access the .vmx file directly if required).
  
  
• Navigate to the VM Options > Advanced > Configuration Parameters.
  
  
• Click Add Configuration Params.
  
  
• Add the following entry:

  Name:  svga.guestBackedPrimaryAware
  Value: TRUE

• Save the changes and power on the VM.

     3. Access the console again via the vSphere Client or Remote Console to verify the issue is resolved.

Additional Information

• In some cases, resizing the browser window or console tab may temporarily restore interactivity. However, this is not a permanent fix.

• This issue may only affect specific VMs where the display configuration is not explicitly defined. Other VMs with identical OS and hardware versions may function correctly if they include the required parameter.

• If further assistance is required, contact Broadcom Support and reference this Knowledge Base article.