Windows 11 Virtual Machine on VMware Fusion crashes with error "VMware Fusion has encountered an error and has shut down Windows"

Products

• VMware Fusion

Issue/Introduction

• A Windows 11 Virtual Machine running on VMware Fusion crashes intermittently with error "VMware Fusion has encountered an error and has shut down Windows. Click Restart Windows to start Windows again. Click Report to collect data and to request support from VMware.".


• From the Virtual Machine's vmware.log, the below error message is seen after which the VM enters panic state and crashes:
  YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05) vcpu-0 [msg.log.error.unrecoverable] VMware Fusion unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)
YYYY-MM-DDTHH:MM:SSZ In(05)+ vcpu-0 Unhandled exit: VPC=0xfffff80082e##### ec=0x24 iss=0x6


• After deleting all the .lck files from the VM folder, the VM powers on but continues to experience recurring crashes.
• The issue is seen on Windows 11 Virtual Machines using VMware Tools versions 12.3.0 or 12.3.5 running on Fusion version 13.0 on Apple Silicon GPU.

Environment

VMware Fusion 13.0

Cause

The error code ec=0x24 indicates an Instruction Abort that occurs when the Fusion 13.0 hypervisor fails to translate 3D instructions from the Guest OS (Windows 11) to the Apple Silicon GPU.

Resolution

The issue is resolved in Fusion version 13.5.0.

Workaround:

1. 1. Disable 3D Acceleration:
      
      1. Shut down the VM.
      2. Under Settings -> Display, uncheck Accelerate 3D Graphics.

Additional Information

VMware Tools 12.3.5 Release Notes