Error: "The VMware Authorization Service is not running" while Powering on a Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Powering on a Windows virtual machine fails with an error message:
  The VMware Authorization Service is not running

Environment

VMware Workstation 11.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation 12.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation 14.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation 16.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation 17.x (for Windows)

Cause

This issue occurs when the VMware Authorization service is not running or when the service does not have Administrator rights.

Resolution

Resolution of the Error: "The VMware Authorization Service is not running":

To resolve this issue, follow the steps below:

• Start the VMware Authorization service or to check whether it is running
• Provide Administrator rights to the VMware Authorization service

 

Process to Start the VMware Authorization Service or to check Whether it is Running:

1. Login to the Windows operating system as Administrator.
2. Click Start and enter Run. If you are unable to find the Run option, refer to Microsoft article What happened to the Run command?
   
   Note: The preceding link was correct as of September 30, 2015. If you find the link is broken, provide a feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
3. Enter services.msc and click OK.
4. Scroll down the list and locate the VMware Authorization service.
5. Click Start the service, if the service is already not showing a status of Started.
   
   Note: The VMware Authorization service depends on the Windows Management Instrumentation service. This service must be running as well. If the VMware Authorization service does not start, or starts and then stops, locate and start the Windows Management Instrumentation service.

**If the VMware Authorization service is already showing a status of Started, then the service does not have Administrator rights.

 

Note: This issue typically occurs with Windows Vista hosts, but can occur with other versions of Windows operating systems too.

 

Process to Provide Administrator Rights to the VMware Authorization Service:

1. If using Windows Vista or later, disable User Account Control (UAC).
   
   Notes:
   • For information about UAC and Windows Vista (including instructions on disabling it), see the Microsoft article How to use User Account Control (UAC) in Windows Vista .
   • For information about UAC and Windows 7, see the Microsoft article What is User Account Control? .
   • For instructions on disabling UAC on Windows 7, see the Microsoft article Guided Help: Adjust User Account Control settings in Windows 7.
   • The preceding links were correct as of July 31, 2018. If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
      
2. Add Administrator rights to the Windows user account that runs the VMware Authorization service.
   
   Notes:
   • To ensure that you have Administrator permissions in Windows XP, follow the instructions in Step 1 of Microsoft's Knowledge Base article 951244.
   • To log on as an administrator in Windows Vista, see the Microsoft article Change a user's account type.
   • To log on as an administrator in Windows 7, see the Microsoft article How do I log on as an administrator?.
   • The preceding links were correct as of July 31, 2018 If you find a link is broken, provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
      
3. Uninstall VMware Workstation.
4. Reboot the host machine and log in as a local administrator (not as a domain administrator).
5. Reinstall VMware Workstation.

If this problem persists, contact VMware support.

Additional Information

For information on issues related to incorrect permissions, see Settings changes are not saved in VMware Workstation (1006213).Settings changes are not saved in VMware Workstation