Let me start this article by saying I love VMware! Like most hackers and penetration testers, I spend most of my day working in various Virtual Machines [VMs]. Over time you get to see lots of errors and quirky bugs, and you learn how to fix these issues. Quite often, a colleague will send me a screenshot over the internal comms, asking if I know how to fix a particular issue. To reduce support time and share the wealth with my readers, I have decided that each time I encounter one of these from now on, I will document the fix.
The Error
VMware Workstation cannot connect to the virtual machine. Make sure you have the right to run the program, access all directories the program uses, and access all directories for temporary files. The VMware Authorization Service is not running.
How to fix this?
Step 1]Right-click on the taskbar and select task manager.
Kill off any VMware Processes
Press Win + R and type in services.msc
Start the “VMware Authorization Service”
All done! You should now be able to login into your Virtual Machin!
If these steps do not work for you or you encounter a different problem, then please leave a comment. Also, leave a comment if you have a better workaround or you have found a different solution.
Im using Windows8, the problem is while connecting to Ubuntu though VMware I receives an error that I do not have a rights. It is not my first time I use it. Don't know what gone wrong. The error I have got : Error while powering on: VMware Player cannot connect to the virtual machine. Make sure you have rights to run the program, access all directories the program uses, and access all directories for temporary files.
The VMware Authorization Service is not running.
asked Mar 29, 2015 at 11:01
1
This worked for me:
- Open Task Manager Kill all the VMware Processes
- Press Win + R --> Type [Services.msc]
- Go to VMware Authorization service and Click START
- Start VMware and Power ON your Virtual Machine
Wai Ha Lee
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answered Jul 24, 2015 at 21:04
Vincent CharlesVincent Charles
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2
I had a similar problem. For me this worked:
In command prompt [cmd] opened as administrator type services.msc and click OK. Then scroll down the list and locate that the VMware Authorization service and start the service.
Also I followed this steps to kill all processes before.
answered Mar 29, 2015 at 17:55
IrinaEIrinaE
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What worked for me was running VMware as an administrator.
answered Aug 9, 2015 at 16:48
cangrEE_23cangrEE_23
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Well, I hate this but, have you tried to reboot your PC ? In my case, I have tried : restart services ; run in admin ; delete lock folder ; delete process of VMWare ; start another VM [if it would fix the boot]
But none of that worked, except... restarting the pc
answered Sep 4, 2019 at 8:30
AzutanguyAzutanguy
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Please go through the following steps, and I am sure it will help
Close the VMware. Open the Task manager, then go to Services.
Click on Open Services which you will find right at the bottom of the screen. A new window will open. Now scroll down and go to VMware Workstation Server. Right Click on it and go to properties. You will see a drop down list next to Startup Type. Click on it and select Automatic [Delayed Start], then apply the changes. Now again right click on VMware Workstation Server and click on Start, you will immediately see a popup which will show you that the remote server is starting up. Once this is done, go to VMware workstation and start it.
Now you will be able to start your virtual machine .
Hope this helps, all the best.
answered Sep 25, 2018 at 10:15
Sonal Sonal
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I get this issue in VMWare Workstation on Win 10. It usually happens after VMWare hangs for a guest that is located on an external USB hard drive. Restarting the pc works but going to Task Manger and killing the 'VMWare Workstation VMX' [may be named something slightly differently] also works for me and is obviously preferable to a restart.