VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 Freezes - Ubuntu 18.04 LTS Host and Any Guest OS

[JeffH322]

Hello,

I recently switched over to using Ubuntu 18.04 LTS on my desktop computer. I installed VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 and have run into multiple cases where any of the guest VMs I run (Windows 10 or Ubuntu 18.04) cause my entire computer to freeze. The system becomes completely unresponsive and I have to hard reset with the power switch to recover.

I'm only running supported versions of guest operating systems and of course, Ubuntu 18.0.4 is a supported host operating system for VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2.

Obviously, if I happen to be working on anything that wasn't saved at the time the host freezes up, it's completely lost!

I've tried switching the VM Tools in my Ubuntu 18.04 guest from open-vm-tools to use the official VMware Tools for Linux and the Windows 10 guest is running the most up-to-date version of VMware Tools that comes with VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2.

I removed VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 and installed Oracle VirtualBox 6.1 instead. I don't experience the system freezes so there's definitely something awry with VMware Workstation Pro.

I found a few articles online that recommended a variety of changes including:

1. Forcing VMware to rebuild the kernel modules:
   1. vmware-modconfig --console --install-all
2. Switching from open-vm-tools to VMware Tools (as mentioned earlier)
3. Limiting the amount of physical RAM available to virtual machines (host has 24 GB of RAM - I restricted the total amount available to VMs to 12 GB). I only had one VM running at a time and the maximum amount of memory allocated to any guest is no more than 6 GB for Windows and 3 GB for Linux
4. Disabling khugepaged defragmenting:
   1. echo never | sudo tee /sys/kernel/mm/transparent_hugepage/defrag

I'm at a loss for what else to try. I rely on VMware Workstation, vCenter, and ESXi for other aspects of my job. Using Linux on my desktop has been an amazing change but not having Workstation is severely hindering my productivity!

Any ideas?

Thanks!

[Scott Vessey]

Post info on your hardware spec (system board, CPU, IO devices), and attach any Workstation or VM logs.

[JeffH322]

As requested...

Two Guests:

Guest 1: Windows 10 Pro 10.0.18363.720

Guest 2: Ubuntu Desktop 18.04.4

FYI - I've tried with 3D graphics acceleration enabled and disabled for each of the guests to see if that was possibly an issue - that didn't seem to make a difference

Logs (from Help -> Support -> Collect Support Data (VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 for Linux) available here:

LINK REMOVED!

vm-2020-04-05.2268.tgz

vm-2020-04-05.8670.tgz

Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS (Bionic Beaver) 64-bit

Kernel Linux 4.15.0-91-generic x86_64

MATE 1.20.1

Dell XPS 8930

Intel Core i7-8700 CPU @ 3.20 GHz x 12 cores

16 GB RAM (2x 8GB)

1x 1TB Samsung SSD Boot Disk

1x 2TB Seagate 7200 RPM SATA

1x 2TB Western Digital 7200 RPM SATA

1x Hitachi/LG DVD+/- RW-ROM Internal

Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet

Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (not used - admin disabled)

Nvidia GeForce GTX 1050 Ti

Intel UHD Graphics 630 (not used)

Gory details below:

lsmod

[639990.209536] Modules linked in: vmnet(OE) parport_pc vmw_vsock_vmci_transport vsock vmw_vmci vmmon(OE) pci_stub xt_tc

pudp binfmt_misc rfcomm ip6table_filter ip6_tables arc4 cmac iptable_filter bnep nls_iso8859_1 8250_dw dell_wmi dell_smb

ios sparse_keymap intel_wmi_thunderbolt dell_wmi_descriptor wmi_bmof mxm_wmi dcdbas intel_rapl x86_pkg_temp_thermal inte

l_powerclamp coretemp kvm_intel kvm irqbypass crct10dif_pclmul crc32_pclmul ghash_clmulni_intel pcbc snd_hda_codec_hdmi

aesni_intel aes_x86_64 crypto_simd snd_hda_codec_realtek glue_helper snd_hda_codec_generic cryptd idma64 virt_dma btusb

btrtl btbcm btintel joydev bluetooth snd_usb_audio snd_usbmidi_lib ath10k_pci ecdh_generic ath10k_core input_leds ath sn

d_hda_intel intel_cstate mac80211 snd_seq_midi snd_hda_codec snd_seq_midi_event snd_hda_core

[639990.209551]  snd_hwdep snd_rawmidi snd_pcm intel_rapl_perf snd_seq cfg80211 snd_seq_device snd_timer snd mei_me inte

l_lpss_pci mei intel_lpss shpchp soundcore mac_hid wmi acpi_pad nvidia_uvm(OE) sch_fq_codel ppdev lp parport ip_tables x

_tables autofs4 dm_mirror dm_region_hash dm_log nvidia_drm(POE) nvidia_modeset(POE) nvidia(POE) hid_generic i915 uas i2c

_algo_bit drm_kms_helper syscopyarea sysfillrect sysimgblt fb_sys_fops usbhid alx drm hid ahci usb_storage mdio ipmi_dev

intf libahci ipmi_msghandler video [last unloaded: vmnet]

lspci -v

00:00.0 Host bridge: Intel Corporation 8th Gen Core Processor Host Bridge/DRAM Registers (rev 07)

Subsystem: Dell Device 0859

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0

Capabilities: [e0] Vendor Specific Information: Len=10 <?>

Kernel driver in use: skl_uncore

00:01.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor PCIe Controller (x16) (rev 07) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16

Bus: primary=00, secondary=01, subordinate=01, sec-latency=0

I/O behind bridge: 0000e000-0000efff

Memory behind bridge: eb000000-ec0fffff

Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 00000000a0000000-00000000b1ffffff

Capabilities: [88] Subsystem: Dell Xeon E3-1200 v5/E3-1500 v5/6th Gen Core Processor PCIe Controller (x16)

Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [90] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [a0] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel

Capabilities: [140] Root Complex Link

Capabilities: [d94] #19

Kernel driver in use: pcieport

Kernel modules: shpchp

00:02.0 Display controller: Intel Corporation UHD Graphics 630 (Desktop)

Subsystem: Dell Device 0859

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 132

Memory at 2ffe000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]

Memory at 2fa0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]

I/O ports at f000 [size=64]

Capabilities: [40] Vendor Specific Information: Len=0c <?>

Capabilities: [70] Express Root Complex Integrated Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [ac] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [d0] Power Management version 2

Capabilities: [100] Process Address Space ID (PASID)

Capabilities: [200] Address Translation Service (ATS)

Capabilities: [300] Page Request Interface (PRI)

Kernel driver in use: i915

Kernel modules: i915

00:08.0 System peripheral: Intel Corporation Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th/8th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model

Subsystem: Dell Xeon E3-1200 v5/v6 / E3-1500 v5 / 6th/7th Gen Core Processor Gaussian Mixture Model

Flags: fast devsel, IRQ 255

Memory at 2fff027000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=4K]

Capabilities: [90] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [dc] Power Management version 2

Capabilities: [f0] PCI Advanced Features

00:14.0 USB controller: Intel Corporation 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family USB 3.0 xHCI Controller (prog-if 30 [XHCI])

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH USB 3.0 xHCI Controller

Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 122

Memory at 2fff010000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]

Capabilities: [70] Power Management version 2

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/8 Maskable- 64bit+

Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

00:16.0 Communication controller: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH CSME HECI #1

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH CSME HECI

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 135

Memory at 2fff026000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [8c] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+

Kernel driver in use: mei_me

Kernel modules: mei_me

00:17.0 RAID bus controller: Intel Corporation SATA Controller [RAID mode]

Subsystem: Dell SATA Controller [RAID mode]

Flags: bus master, 66MHz, medium devsel, latency 0, IRQ 131

Memory at ec180000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32K]

Memory at ec18c000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]

I/O ports at f090 [size=8]

I/O ports at f080 [size=4]

I/O ports at f060 [size=32]

Memory at ec100000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=512K]

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [70] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [a8] SATA HBA v1.0

Kernel driver in use: ahci

Kernel modules: ahci

00:1c.0 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port #2 (rev f0) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17

Bus: primary=00, secondary=02, subordinate=02, sec-latency=0

Memory behind bridge: ec500000-ec5fffff

Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port

Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [100] #00

Capabilities: [140] Access Control Services

Capabilities: [220] #19

Kernel driver in use: pcieport

Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1c.2 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port #3 (rev f0) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 18

Bus: primary=00, secondary=03, subordinate=03, sec-latency=0

Memory behind bridge: ec200000-ec3fffff

Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port

Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [140] Access Control Services

Capabilities: [220] #19

Kernel driver in use: pcieport

Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1c.3 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port #4 (rev f0) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19

Bus: primary=00, secondary=04, subordinate=04, sec-latency=0

I/O behind bridge: 0000d000-0000dfff

Memory behind bridge: ec400000-ec4fffff

Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port

Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [100] #00

Capabilities: [140] Access Control Services

Capabilities: [220] #19

Kernel driver in use: pcieport

Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1c.4 PCI bridge: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port #5 (rev f0) (prog-if 00 [Normal decode])

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 16

Bus: primary=00, secondary=05, subordinate=6f, sec-latency=0

I/O behind bridge: 00002000-00002fff

Memory behind bridge: bc000000-ea0fffff

Prefetchable memory behind bridge: 0000002fb0000000-0000002ff9ffffff

Capabilities: [40] Express Root Port (Slot+), MSI 00

Capabilities: [80] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit-

Capabilities: [90] Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH PCI Express Root Port

Capabilities: [a0] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [140] Access Control Services

Capabilities: [220] #19

Kernel driver in use: pcieport

Kernel modules: shpchp

00:1e.0 Signal processing controller: Intel Corporation 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family Serial IO UART Controller #0

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH Serial IO UART Controller

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 20

Memory at 2fff025000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=4K]

Capabilities: [80] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [90] Vendor Specific Information: Len=14 <?>

Kernel driver in use: intel-lpss

Kernel modules: intel_lpss_pci

00:1f.0 ISA bridge: Intel Corporation Z370 Chipset LPC/eSPI Controller

Subsystem: Dell Device 0859

Flags: bus master, medium devsel, latency 0

00:1f.2 Memory controller: Intel Corporation 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family Power Management Controller

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH PMC

Flags: fast devsel

Memory at ec188000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [disabled] [size=16K]

00:1f.3 Audio device: Intel Corporation 200 Series PCH HD Audio

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH HD Audio

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 32, IRQ 136

Memory at 2fff020000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]

Memory at 2fff000000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=64K]

Capabilities: [50] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [60] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+

Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel

Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

00:1f.4 SMBus: Intel Corporation 200 Series/Z370 Chipset Family SMBus Controller

Subsystem: Dell 200 Series PCH SMBus Controller

Flags: medium devsel, IRQ 255

Memory at 2fff024000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256]

I/O ports at f040 [size=32]

Kernel modules: i2c_i801

01:00.0 VGA compatible controller: NVIDIA Corporation GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti] (rev a1) (prog-if 00 [VGA controller])

Subsystem: Dell GP107 [GeForce GTX 1050 Ti]

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 141

Memory at eb000000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16M]

Memory at a0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=256M]

Memory at b0000000 (64-bit, prefetchable) [size=32M]

I/O ports at e000 [size=128]

[virtual] Expansion ROM at 000c0000 [disabled] [size=128K]

Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [68] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+

Capabilities: [78] Express Legacy Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel

Capabilities: [250] Latency Tolerance Reporting

Capabilities: [128] Power Budgeting <?>

Capabilities: [420] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [600] Vendor Specific Information: ID=0001 Rev=1 Len=024 <?>

Capabilities: [900] #19

Kernel driver in use: nvidia

Kernel modules: nvidiafb, nouveau, nvidia_drm, nvidia

01:00.1 Audio device: NVIDIA Corporation GP107GL High Definition Audio Controller (rev a1)

Subsystem: Dell GP107GL High Definition Audio Controller

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17

Memory at ec080000 (32-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=16K]

Capabilities: [60] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [68] MSI: Enable- Count=1/1 Maskable- 64bit+

Capabilities: [78] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Kernel driver in use: snd_hda_intel

Kernel modules: snd_hda_intel

02:00.0 USB controller: ASMedia Technology Inc. ASM1142 USB 3.1 Host Controller (prog-if 30 [XHCI])

Subsystem: Dell ASM1142 USB 3.1 Host Controller

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 17

Memory at ec500000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=32K]

Capabilities: [50] MSI: Enable- Count=1/8 Maskable- 64bit+

Capabilities: [68] MSI-X: Enable+ Count=8 Masked-

Capabilities: [78] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [80] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Virtual Channel

Capabilities: [200] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [280] #19

Capabilities: [300] Latency Tolerance Reporting

Kernel driver in use: xhci_hcd

03:00.0 Network controller: Qualcomm Atheros QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter (rev 31)

Subsystem: Dell QCA9377 802.11ac Wireless Network Adapter

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 134

Memory at ec200000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=2M]

Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [50] MSI: Enable+ Count=1/8 Maskable+ 64bit-

Capabilities: [70] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [148] Virtual Channel

Capabilities: [168] Device Serial Number 00-00-00-00-00-00-00-00

Capabilities: [178] Latency Tolerance Reporting

Capabilities: [180] L1 PM Substates

Kernel driver in use: ath10k_pci

Kernel modules: ath10k_pci

04:00.0 Ethernet controller: Qualcomm Atheros Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller (rev 10)

Subsystem: Dell Killer E2400 Gigabit Ethernet Controller

Flags: bus master, fast devsel, latency 0, IRQ 19

Memory at ec400000 (64-bit, non-prefetchable) [size=256K]

I/O ports at d000 [size=128]

Capabilities: [40] Power Management version 3

Capabilities: [58] Express Endpoint, MSI 00

Capabilities: [c0] MSI: Enable- Count=1/16 Maskable+ 64bit+

Capabilities: [d8] MSI-X: Enable+ Count=16 Masked-

Capabilities: [100] Advanced Error Reporting

Capabilities: [180] Device Serial Number ff-2a-09-a2-14-b3-1f-ff

Kernel driver in use: alx

Kernel modules: alx

[Darius Davis]

Some quick observations:

We've had problems in the past with Samsung SSDs freezing up for extended periods of time when Workstation is running.  Might be worth checking that you have the latest firmware installed on that drive.

The module list you posted looks like output from a kernel oops/panic... If so, are there any related oops/panic messages in the logs?  I could not find any in the support bundle.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[JeffH322]

dariusd​

Thanks so much for your response. Unfortunately, I am still having issues with VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 causing my Ubuntu Linux machine to freeze. It seems as though it happens when the utilization of a particular VM reaches a relatively high level. Things like installation of applications & Windows Updates, even shutting the VMs down cause the host to completely lock up to the point where the only option is to hold down the power button for several seconds to force the computer to shut down. This is a critical stability issue and I would love any additional help possible to determine the root cause and to resolve the issue.

One thing I forgot to mention - I used to run Windows 10 Pro on this same computer. I decided to make the jump to Ubuntu Linux to see how it would work for me. I used to run VMware Workstation Pro (starting with version 13 all the way through version 15.5 without any issues while I was running Windows 10 on this computer.

With respect to the points that you raised in your response:

1. "We've had problems in the past with Samsung SSDs freezing up for extended periods of time when Workstation is running.  Might be worth checking that you have the latest firmware installed on that drive."

The Samsung EVO 860 SSD drive was behind in terms of firmware revisions. After an incredibly frustrating process of building a bootable USB stick via Unetbootin (per Samsung's instructions), I was successful. I ended up using Rufus on a Windows box to create a USB boot stick that worked with the UEFI BIOS in my Dell XPS 8930.

The drive was running firmware revision RVT02B6Q and is currently on RVT04B6Q after using the Samsung Magician bootable ISO to apply the firmware update.

2. "The module list you posted looks like output from a kernel oops/panic... If so, are there any related oops/panic messages in the logs?  I could not find any in the support bundle."

Neither of the sets of details about modules/installed hardware was the result of a kernel oops/panic. I actually specified the commands that I used to provide the output.

The first list was the result of issuing:

sudo lsmod

The second list was the result of issuing:

sudo lspci -v

Did you happen to review the contents of the logs I made available via the Google Drive link?

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EYoGRKpqEFMcE_2A523ERXEdme84MPCa

NOTE: You should be able to access the folder without being prompted for authentication. Please let me know if you have any issues accessing the shared folder.

Thank you once again for your willingness to assist! I look forward to your response!

Best Regards,

-JeffH

[Darius Davis]

I did look through the vm-2020-04-05.8670.tgz which you shared, but did not see anything at all which could direct me towards a solution.  :smileysad:

Neither of the sets of details about modules/installed hardware was the result of a kernel oops/panic. I actually specified the commands that I used to provide the output.

I saw that you gave the commands... Although the output you posted might have been produced at the same moment that you ran lsmod, it absolutely is not the normal output from lsmod and almost certainly does indicate a problem with the kernel, and we really should focus on what is happening there, because under the circumstances, the kernel problem is rather likely to be related to a hardware or software problem responsible for your host hang.  Either that or you have the weirdest implementation of lsmod known to humankind.

Try running sudo lsmod again, and if you again see output commencing with the text "Modules linked in:" after a kernel timestamp in square brackets), run sudo dmesg > dmesg.txt afterwards and attach the resulting file here, and I'll take a look at it and see if I can figure out what is happening.  The dmesg dump should include a bunch more information on why the kernel decided it needed to dump the module list to the kernel log.

(For reference, the expected output of lsmod should look something like this:

$ sudo lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by

snd_seq                81920  0

snd_seq_device         16384  1 snd_seq

cdc_acm                32768  0

nls_utf8               16384  1

isofs                  49152  1

loop                   36864  2

uas                    28672  0

usb_storage            73728  1 uas

vmnet                  53248  13

ppdev                  20480  0

parport_pc             32768  0

parport                57344  2 parport_pc,ppdev

fuse                  122880  5

vmw_vsock_vmci_transport    32768  0

vsock                  40960  1 vmw_vsock_vmci_transport

vmw_vmci               81920  1 vmw_vsock_vmci_transport

...                      ... ... ...

...                      ... ... ... etc.

and the "Modules linked in:" message you saw is almost certainly coming from Linux kernel function print_modules, which is only called in response to a kernel panic/oops, a kernel out-of-memory condition, or a handful of other extreme situations in the OS kernel.  In other words, what you posted as output from lsmod definitely indicates a problem on your host... unless your lsmod command is truly weird.)

Thanks,

--

Darius

[JeffH322]

dariusd​

You are correct about the command output. I'm not sure why the output of lsmod looked the way it did. I ran it again - the output is down near the bottom of this update.

I also checked under /var/crash to see if there were any kernel panics. There are two crash files - none of them are related to VMware Workstation. Both were created during times when VMware Workstation wasn't even running.

_usr_lib_x86_64-linux-gnu_brisk-menu_brisk-menu.1000.crash

_usr_sbin_lightdm.0.crash

It looks like Samsung made enhancements in the EVO 860 to improve compatibility with Ubuntu Linux as the EVO 850 had issues. I am running a 1 TB EVO 860 so, in theory, it includes the enhancements. But I would think that upgrading the firmware (as I mentioned I did in my last update) would have addressed any stability issues that were present in earlier firmware releases.

I created an Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 bootable USB and used it to run smartctl and fsck.ext4. The smartctl output looks good. Running fsck.ext4 did find a couple of errors and was able to repair them.

In the response where I provided the support logs, I mentioned that VMware Tools did not show as running when I went to execute the support log collection. I was able to resolve that issue by removing VMware Tools, running 'sudo apt purge open-vm-tools open-vm-tools-desktop' then rebooting and reinstalling VMware Tools.

I have two traditional hard drives in the same computer. I copied the Windows 10 and Ubuntu VMs over to the Seagate 2TB disk and have been running them from there.

The host did freeze again last night and I got an "Error 11" message when I started the Ubuntu Desktop 18.04 VM. I thought I captured the pop-up window of the Error 11 message but I can't seem to find it. It should show up in the logs I've provided via Google Drive (see below).

This tells me that the issue isn't related to the SSD drive.

I just created a new set of support logs with the VMs running on the Seagate 2TB hard drive (as opposed to the Samsung EVO 860 1TB SSD) and uploaded them to the Google Drive link I shared the other day (again for your convenience). Filename: vm-2020-04-08.9842.tgz

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1EYoGRKpqEFMcE_2A523ERXEdme84MPCa

fsck.ext4

root@ubuntu:~# fsck.ext4 -f /dev/sda2

e2fsck 1.44.1 (24-Mar-2018)

Pass 1: Checking inodes, blocks, and sizes

Inode 26899879 extent tree (at level 2) could be narrower.  Fix<y>? yes

Inode 27656501 extent tree (at level 2) could be narrower.  Fix<y>? yes

Pass 1E: Optimizing extent trees

Pass 2: Checking directory structure

Pass 3: Checking directory connectivity

Pass 4: Checking reference counts

Pass 5: Checking group summary information

/dev/sda2: ***** FILE SYSTEM WAS MODIFIED *****

/dev/sda2: 811056/61022208 files (0.7% non-contiguous), 74512439/244059136 blocks

smartctl

root@ubuntu:~# smartctl --all /dev/sda

smartctl 6.6 2016-05-31 r4324 [x86_64-linux-5.3.0-28-generic] (local build)

Copyright (C) 2002-16, Bruce Allen, Christian Franke, www.smartmontools.org

=== START OF INFORMATION SECTION ===

Device Model:     Samsung SSD 860 EVO 1TB

Serial Number:    S3Z8NB0KC63085E

LU WWN Device Id: 5 002538 e40b44588

Firmware Version: RVT04B6Q

User Capacity:    1,000,204,886,016 bytes [1.00 TB]

Sector Size:      512 bytes logical/physical

Rotation Rate:    Solid State Device

Form Factor:      2.5 inches

Device is:        Not in smartctl database [for details use: -P showall]

ATA Version is:   Unknown(0x09fc), ACS-4 T13/BSR INCITS 529 revision 5

SATA Version is:  SATA 3.2, 6.0 Gb/s (current: 6.0 Gb/s)

Local Time is:    Wed Apr  8 16:36:31 2020 UTC

SMART support is: Available - device has SMART capability.

SMART support is: Enabled

=== START OF READ SMART DATA SECTION ===

SMART overall-health self-assessment test result: PASSED

General SMART Values:

Offline data collection status:  (0x00) Offline data collection activity

was never started.

Auto Offline Data Collection: Disabled.

Self-test execution status:      (   0) The previous self-test routine completed

without error or no self-test has ever

been run.

Total time to complete Offline

data collection: (    0) seconds.

Offline data collection

capabilities: (0x53) SMART execute Offline immediate.

Auto Offline data collection on/off support.

Suspend Offline collection upon new

command.

No Offline surface scan supported.

Self-test supported.

No Conveyance Self-test supported.

Selective Self-test supported.

SMART capabilities:            (0x0003) Saves SMART data before entering

power-saving mode.

Supports SMART auto save timer.

Error logging capability:        (0x01) Error logging supported.

General Purpose Logging supported.

Short self-test routine

recommended polling time: (   2) minutes.

Extended self-test routine

recommended polling time: (  85) minutes.

SCT capabilities:        (0x003d) SCT Status supported.

SCT Error Recovery Control supported.

SCT Feature Control supported.

SCT Data Table supported.

SMART Attributes Data Structure revision number: 1

Vendor Specific SMART Attributes with Thresholds:

ID# ATTRIBUTE_NAME          FLAG     VALUE WORST THRESH TYPE      UPDATED  WHEN_FAILED RAW_VALUE

  5 Reallocated_Sector_Ct   0x0033   100   100   010    Pre-fail  Always       -       0

  9 Power_On_Hours          0x0032   098   098   000    Old_age   Always       -       5662

12 Power_Cycle_Count       0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       84

177 Wear_Leveling_Count     0x0013   097   097   000    Pre-fail  Always       -       41

179 Used_Rsvd_Blk_Cnt_Tot   0x0013   100   100   010    Pre-fail  Always       -       0

181 Program_Fail_Cnt_Total  0x0032   100   100   010    Old_age   Always       -       0

182 Erase_Fail_Count_Total  0x0032   100   100   010    Old_age   Always       -       0

183 Runtime_Bad_Block       0x0013   100   100   010    Pre-fail  Always       -       0

187 Reported_Uncorrect      0x0032   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

190 Airflow_Temperature_Cel 0x0032   068   050   000    Old_age   Always       -       32

195 Hardware_ECC_Recovered  0x001a   200   200   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

199 UDMA_CRC_Error_Count    0x003e   100   100   000    Old_age   Always       -       0

235 Unknown_Attribute       0x0012   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       39

241 Total_LBAs_Written      0x0032   099   099   000    Old_age   Always       -       52433523381

SMART Error Log Version: 1

No Errors Logged

SMART Self-test log structure revision number 1

No self-tests have been logged.  [To run self-tests, use: smartctl -t]

SMART Selective self-test log data structure revision number 1

SPAN  MIN_LBA  MAX_LBA  CURRENT_TEST_STATUS

    1        0        0  Not_testing

    2        0        0  Not_testing

    3        0        0  Not_testing

    4        0        0  Not_testing

    5        0        0  Not_testing

Selective self-test flags (0x0):

  After scanning selected spans, do NOT read-scan remainder of disk.

If Selective self-test is pending on power-up, resume after 0 minute delay.

lsmod

root@castamere:/var/crash# lsmod

Module                  Size  Used by

rfcomm                 77824  16

vmnet                  49152  13

vmw_vsock_vmci_transport    32768  0

vsock                  36864  1 vmw_vsock_vmci_transport

vmw_vmci               69632  1 vmw_vsock_vmci_transport

vmmon                 106496  0

ip6table_filter        16384  1

ip6_tables             28672  1 ip6table_filter

cmac                   16384  1

bnep                   20480  2

iptable_filter         16384  1

arc4                   16384  2

binfmt_misc            20480  1

dell_wmi               16384  0

dell_smbios            24576  1 dell_wmi

nls_iso8859_1          16384  1

wmi_bmof               16384  0

intel_wmi_thunderbolt    16384  0

dell_wmi_descriptor    16384  2 dell_wmi,dell_smbios

sparse_keymap          16384  1 dell_wmi

8250_dw                16384  0

mxm_wmi                16384  0

intel_rapl             20480  0

x86_pkg_temp_thermal    16384  0

dcdbas                 16384  1 dell_smbios

intel_powerclamp       16384  0

coretemp               16384  0

kvm_intel             217088  0

snd_hda_codec_hdmi     49152  2

kvm                   610304  1 kvm_intel

irqbypass              16384  1 kvm

crct10dif_pclmul       16384  0

crc32_pclmul           16384  0

snd_hda_codec_realtek   106496  1

snd_hda_codec_generic    73728  1 snd_hda_codec_realtek

ghash_clmulni_intel    16384  0

pcbc                   16384  0

ath10k_pci             49152  0

aesni_intel           188416  2

ath10k_core           360448  1 ath10k_pci

aes_x86_64             20480  1 aesni_intel

ath                    28672  1 ath10k_core

crypto_simd            16384  1 aesni_intel

glue_helper            16384  1 aesni_intel

cryptd                 24576  3 crypto_simd,ghash_clmulni_intel,aesni_intel

snd_hda_intel          45056  4

mac80211              786432  1 ath10k_core

btusb                  45056  0

snd_hda_codec         126976  4 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec_realtek

btrtl                  16384  1 btusb

snd_usb_audio         204800  0

btbcm                  16384  1 btusb

snd_hda_core           81920  5 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek

snd_usbmidi_lib        32768  1 snd_usb_audio

btintel                16384  1 btusb

snd_hwdep              20480  2 snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec

bluetooth             548864  43 btrtl,btintel,btbcm,bnep,btusb,rfcomm

snd_seq_midi           16384  0

snd_seq_midi_event     16384  1 snd_seq_midi

snd_rawmidi            32768  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_usbmidi_lib

intel_cstate           20480  0

joydev                 24576  0

snd_pcm                98304  5 snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_core

input_leds             16384  0

ecdh_generic           24576  2 bluetooth

snd_seq                65536  2 snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_midi_event

cfg80211              634880  3 ath,mac80211,ath10k_core

snd_seq_device         16384  3 snd_seq,snd_seq_midi,snd_rawmidi

intel_rapl_perf        16384  0

snd_timer              32768  2 snd_seq,snd_pcm

mei_me                 40960  0

snd                    81920  21 snd_hda_codec_generic,snd_seq,snd_seq_device,snd_hda_codec_hdmi,snd_hwdep,snd_hda_intel,snd_usb_audio,snd_usbmidi_lib,snd_hda_codec,snd_hda_codec_realtek,snd_timer,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi

idma64                 20480  0

virt_dma               16384  1 idma64

soundcore              16384  1 snd

mei                    94208  1 mei_me

intel_lpss_pci         20480  0

shpchp                 36864  0

intel_lpss             16384  1 intel_lpss_pci

wmi                    24576  6 intel_wmi_thunderbolt,dell_wmi,wmi_bmof,dell_smbios,dell_wmi_descriptor,mxm_wmi

acpi_pad              180224  0

mac_hid                16384  0

nvidia_uvm            937984  0

sch_fq_codel           20480  7

parport_pc             32768  0

ppdev                  20480  0

lp                     20480  0

parport                49152  3 parport_pc,lp,ppdev

ip_tables              28672  1 iptable_filter

x_tables               40960  4 ip6table_filter,iptable_filter,ip6_tables,ip_tables

autofs4                40960  2

dm_mirror              24576  0

dm_region_hash         20480  1 dm_mirror

dm_log                 20480  2 dm_region_hash,dm_mirror

nvidia_drm             45056  4

nvidia_modeset       1110016  9 nvidia_drm

hid_generic            16384  0

nvidia              20385792  441 nvidia_uvm,nvidia_modeset

i915                 1622016  2

i2c_algo_bit           16384  1 i915

drm_kms_helper        172032  2 nvidia_drm,i915

syscopyarea            16384  1 drm_kms_helper

sysfillrect            16384  1 drm_kms_helper

sysimgblt              16384  1 drm_kms_helper

fb_sys_fops            16384  1 drm_kms_helper

usbhid                 49152  0

drm                   401408  9 drm_kms_helper,nvidia_drm,i915

alx                    49152  0

hid                   118784  2 usbhid,hid_generic

ahci                   40960  3

mdio                   16384  1 alx

ipmi_devintf           20480  0

libahci                32768  1 ahci

ipmi_msghandler        53248  2 ipmi_devintf,nvidia

video                  45056  2 dell_wmi,i915

[Darius Davis]

Thanks for the update.  Unfortunately the actual lsmod output itself is much less interesting than the oops output that we saw earlier... It would have been awesome if we could get our hands on the few log lines before/after the "Modules linked in:" message.

I did notice from the vmware.log included in the bundle that your VM is using a swap file on /tmp, which is back on your SSD.  I've never delved into the options for putting the swapfile in another location, but that might be something you could perhaps research and try out, just in case those accesses are giving your SSD some grief.  (I still don't know for sure if it's even an SSD problem... it was just the first thing which jumped into my head.)

If you have a clock on your desktop, does that stop running when your system locks up?  It might be worth leaving a terminal window open and visible on your desktop running "sudo dmesg -w" and see if anything worthwhile appears in that window when the system hangs.

--

Darius

[JeffH322]

dariusd​

I'm at a loss for what to do next. I re-read your email about the output from 'lsmod' not looking right on my computer, so I went and ran lsmod on a few other Ubuntu systems on my network - one a guest on VMware Workstation 15.5.2 on Windows 10 and a few others running as guests on ESXi 6.7.0 and 6.5.0. I can't really see anything noticeably different between them. Maybe I've just been staring at this for too long??? :-/

I decided to try a couple of things...

1. To eliminate any possibility of the issue being related to the Samsung EVO 860 SSD, I opened my computer, disconnected the SATA cables from the Samsung SSD and the 2x 2TB hard drives I use for additional storage, and connected a spare hard drive (Seagate Momentus XT 750GB Hybrid) such that it's the only hard drive in the computer.

2. I downloaded a fresh ISO image of Ubuntu Desktop 18.04.4 (64-bit) and installed it on the new hard drive, then installed all of the official Ubuntu updates. Then I installed VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 and brought up the same Windows and Linux guest VMs. I was about to celebrate a victory, then the computer froze.

4. Yesterday, I decided to see if perhaps the issue I'm having is related to Ubuntu 18.04.4, so I downloaded Fedora Workstation 30, performed a fresh installation on the Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB drive, applied all updates, then installed VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2. When I launched Workstation 15.5.2 the first time, I got a message about how the kernel modules needed to be compiled/installed, so I clicked 'Install' and got a message about VMware not being able to find the kernel-headers. I tried to find a version of the kernel headers that matched the version of the kernel, but there was a mismatch. I ended up just leaving the kernel-headers that were already there, installed the kernel-devel package, and allowed VMware Workstation to compile/install the kernel modules. When I brought my Windows and Linux VMs up, VMware complained that it couldn't enable 3D graphics acceleration. I realized I hadn't installed the Nvidia driver for my graphics card. It is NOT easy to install the Nvidia drivers on Fedora!!! I ended up following some instructions I found online to download the drivers and run the installation, but something didn't go right and I wasn't able to recover. Game over for Fedora Workstation 30.

4. Last night, I downloaded Fedora Workstation 29, performed a fresh installation on the Seagate Momentus XT 750 GB drive, applied all updates, then installed VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2 and brought up the same Windows and Linux guest VMs. I disabled 3D Graphics acceleration on the Windows and Linux guests so I didn't need to worry about installing the Nvidia driver. So far, things seem OK. I haven't experienced a crash - yet.

That said, I am not anywhere remotely as comfortable with Fedora as I am with Ubuntu and I want to go back to troubleshooting this with Ubuntu 18.0.4 which, as far as everything I've read shows, it is a fully supported host operating system for VMware Workstation Pro 15.5.2.

So what's your advice? What can I provide you with that would help you diagnose this?

[Darius Davis]

Regarding the lsmod output.  Maybe you have been staring at it too long... :smileywink:  My concern with lsmod was only with the formatting of its output, because it was shown in a way suggesting that the host kernel had encountered a serious problem.  The actual list of modules is a smidgen long and suggests you could review the host hardware to see what can be disabled/disconnected, but otherwise gives me no cause for concern.  There is little value in going through the list of modules in detail or comparing it with other hosts.  Unless you see it again in the format where it starts with "Modules linked in:", there is probably nothing further of interest there.

I'm at a bit of a loss with how to troubleshoot this problem too.  My suggestions at this point are all fairly generic... and might be time-consuming:

• Ensure that your virtual machine(s) are configured with Gather Debugging Information set to Full.  The rationale here is that the extra checks in that mode might spot something unusual and provide an error message instead of a host hang.
• Remove all unnecessary virtual hardware from your virtual machine(s) – Try removing the virtual sound card and keep 3D accelerated graphics support disabled.  (These don't need to be long-term changes... just for the sake of troubleshooting and ruling things in or out.)  If your virtual machine does not specifically need USB support, remove the virtual USB controller.  The rationale here is that the virtual machine could perhaps be provoking latent problems with host graphics/sound/USB hardware, and removing the corresponding virtual devices will minimize the risk of this occurring.
• Review your host hardware too... If you have motherboard devices you are not actively using, try disabling them in the host BIOS (e.g. additional built-in sound/network/Firewire controllers or parallel/serial ports).  Remove any attached peripherals which you don't actively need right now.  The rationale here is simply trying to reduce/minimize the number of factors at play on your host.
• I think it is highly unlikely that it would reveal a problem, but running something like MemTest86+ could be useful as a general host hardware diagnostic.
• If you have the time for this experiment, try powering on just one virtual machine using the Power On To Firmware option, and leave the guest sitting at the BIOS screen.  The virtual machine should be completely idle at that point in time – it will not be using any of the more complex virtual devices, and will be putting minimal load on the host although the virtualization engine will still be running.  If the host still hangs with the guest in that state (and no other virtual machines running), that would be a very interesting data point indeed.
• (Repeating one of my earlier requests:) If you have a clock on your desktop, does that stop running when your system locks up?  It might be worth leaving a terminal window open and visible on your desktop running "sudo dmesg -w" and see if anything worthwhile appears in that window when the system hangs.

Thanks,

--

Darius

[paultechguy]

I also have been dealing with VMware Workstation Pro 15 appearing to hang.  Every so often the cpu and disk spike for anywhere from 2-5 minutes.  After a bunch of investigation, for me, would you believe it turned out to be FireFox on Ubuntu 18.04?  Since I stopped using that and instead use Chrome, I've not experienced any of the high CPU and disk usage.

[JeffH322]

Well that's interesting! I typically do use Chrome but it's entirely possible that I also had Firefox running at the time that it occurred.

The issue appears to be a lot more than just high CPU utilization. The computer completely locks up and is unresponsive to the point where I have to hit the power switch and hold if for 5 seconds to force the computer to power off. Is that also what you experienced? How did you determine the CPU utilization was so high if you weren't able to run any command-line or GUI utilities?

I will try this in a bit and ensure that no Firefox processes are running at the time. I'll actually close all applications aside from VMware Workstation 15.5.2.

I have made one major change to my computer since I opened the case - I performed a fresh installation of Ubuntu Desktop 20.04 LTS. It's amazing!

The release notes for VMware Workstation say "X version and newer". I list it as "X" because I don't remember if the version started at 12.x/14.x/16.x, but it definitely included 16.04, 17.10, and 18.04, and also said "and newer" so that would include 19.10 and 20.04 based on my understanding of "and newer". :-)

Thanks for the tip paultechguy​!

[paultechguy]

Just a bit more detail here...

I experienced this on both Ubuntu 18.04 LTS and 20.04 LTS.  I also changed the VM hardware compatibility on both Ubuntu instances to Workstation v14.  And I removed hardware for Printer and USB.  None of this helped in the end.

I realized it was Firefox when I spotted it just disappear a few times in the background.

Good luck!

[Vincegre]

Just to let you know that I have a very similar and extremely boring problem here too in similar configuration ! Host: Ubuntu 18.04.4 LTS with Workstation 15 Pro 15.5.2 and Win 10 in virtual machine. I get a nearly complete freeze of computer when it happens: no more keyboard and mouse but screen still updates. As I have an NVidia card on that laptop I switched from NVidia to open-source drivers but no changes !

I noticed the freeze happens always during restore of a frozen virtual machine or when Windows reboots and change resolution so it looks to be linked with graphic drivers but not absolutely sure !

Any solutions at that really boring problem ? I switched from Virtualbox to VMWare for need of a better graphic virtualisation but if it means random crash of host, that's not acceptable ! Any answers from VMWare about that ??

[qhartman]

Have you seen this continue or have other problems? I'm seeing similar behavior, but I see it both in Chrome and FF. The whole VM will hang for a couple minutes, by CPU fan will spin way up, and then when it comes back, one of the tabs in either chrome or FF is dead.

[SantiagoLo]

Hi

I only had problems with virtual machines, and I had  same symtoms: VM freezed, CPU fan working at max rpm, etc.  When I ear that computer fun decrease rpm, machine was accesible for few time and the cycle start again.   Some times, for few time, I was able to work with other applications, but at the end, phisical machine was going freezed.  All problems finished when virtual machines was stopped

After change VMWare to use only phisical RAM, or increase swap storage, my computer looks stable and without problems

Cheers.

[Vincegre]

It's getting worse and worse here as Freezes are coming back and now Vmware pushed an update for Workstation that fails to install on my system so now I can't even use anymore Workstation ! Anyone else with same problem of update failing on Ubuntu 18.04 x64 ?

Side note: tech support is not really aware what to do and how to investigate it..... Thinking seriously to ask for full refund and return back at Virtualbox that has always worked well for me unless it's a little less efficient !

[Vincegre]

Giving up here and going back at Virtualbox, bored of VMWare unable to get its software working on an OS released more than two years ago, completely unacceptable ! Asked for full refund for non working software !

Good luck guys on that :smileywink:

[dragongc]

I don't know if it going to help or not, but I have a similar behaviour here:

- Ubuntu 18.04.4 (host) and Win10 with 3D graphic acceleration (guest).

- Both systems having latests official patches and upgrades. Only change - I use Nemo instead of Nautilus file manager.

- Hardware Core i5 5-6300U (Skylake), 32GB of RAM, 1TB SSD SAMSUNG 960 EVO (NVME), Intel integrated GPU

When running Win10, random freezes of the host's GUI here and there, especially when using some graphic intensive windows program.

I've got a similarly configured XFCE 18.04.4 guest too (only significant difference is 2GB [XFCE] vs 4GB [WIN10] of RAM). No issues there.

My only hope is:

- Upgrading the SSD FE

- Switching to Ubuntu 20.04 - when/if Workstation 15.5.x will support it.

Regards

[JeffH322]

Glad to know it's not just me! I don't know how this product makes it's way out of the QA process???!!! It's amazing to me that there are so many having this issue with such a mainstream release of Ubuntu that it's gone unresolved for so long.

I rebuilt my computer...again...this time running Ubuntu 20.04 LTS. Same issue as before!

Technically, the release notes state Ubuntu versions X/Y/Z "and newer". That tells me that 20.04 _IS_ supported. If VMware wants to claim that 20.04 LTS is not officially supported, then they need to modify the verbiage on the website.

And yes, it seems to happen the most when I go to reboot the VMs.

I did try using it without Firefox running as someone else suggested - that made no difference, unfortunately.

At this point, I think the only other option available is to pay $50 for the pay-per-incident support. Hopefully I get my money's worth. I'll be happy if it takes hours and hours to resolve - as I've burned an inordinate amount of my own time on troubleshooting to no avail.

I'm just not sure when I'll have the time to do that. If anyone else wants to take a stab at that process, you can go to the VMware Online Store and buy a pay-per-incident support for VMware Workstation:

Per Incident Support - Workstation Pro

[dragongc]

Hi JeffH332,

an updated on my side, as I have been observing this issue for last week.

Actions I've tried:

• I upgraded my SSD to the latest firmware
• I increased WIN10 guest RAM size from 4GB to 8GB

Not much change.

I observed two separate events, when total freeze happened and I had to reboot the host over last week:

• Fresh boot of Win10 guest, I opened "My computer", and try to reach one of the host folders  (it is mounted in win10 via shared folder function), as soon as I clicked the disk icon, the whole system hanged.
• On one screen I had Win10 guest running, I left that VM and move to the second screen where FF was . I tried to copy an URL, and again the whole system hanged

Other than that, high GPU intensive apps (like Teams or PowerPoint) freeze here there.

BTW, you mentioned an upgrade to 20.04. Did VW15 install without any issue ? Some people are reporting some problems with kernel drivers.

Regards

[paultechguy]

I am using Workstation Pro 15 (latest) with Ubuntu 20.04.  Using Desktop version and have not run into any freezes.  I'm not using Firefox.  All appears OK for now.

/paul

[Scott Vessey]

Ubuntu 19.04 is the latest supported host OS: VMware Knowledge Base

[JeffH322]

According to the "marketing" details on the VMware Workstation Pro product page (https://www.vmware.com/products/workstation-pro.html), under Tech Specs, the text says:

Host Operating Systems (64-bit)

• Ubuntu 15.04 and above
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6 & above
• CentOS 7.0 and above
• Oracle Linux 7.0 and above
• openSUSE Leap 42.2 and above
• SUSE Linux 13 and above
• Windows 7 and above
• Windows Server 2008 and above

[Scott Vessey]

That’s why I posted the KB article for the reference of those following this thread.

[Vincegre]

For info, I have talked with VMWare support and got a long exchange of emails since few days, I have supplied them logs generated by the Logs tool in Workstation Pro Player and they are now investigating on it and told me I should get some news soon hopefully !

Will keep posted here follow-up of it.

Here I have problems only with Windows 10 guest systems, all Unix/Linux guests have no problem at all (I know, Windows is always the problem :smileywink:

[JeffH322]

Vincegre​ thanks for this! Please let us know what you find out.

[Vincegre]

Investigation still in process with VMWare customer service :smileywink: They asked me additional details about circonstances when it happens !

[Vincegre]

Continuing investigations with VMWare support, I discovered that changing from 4 cores processor to 2 cores for the guest machine got freeze to completely disappear ! My machine is now setup 1 processor 2 cores and no more freeze :smileywink:

[JeffH322]

Yep - I totally get it. Their marketing is misleading.

[darkmanX32]

Hello,

Just for info:

I also have Ubuntu 18.04.4 (Mate) with ¸Workstation Pro 15.5.1:

The guest is Windows 7 and Windows 10.

When I'm using Windows 7 I have no problem, but when I use Windows 10 it freezes sometimes, the most common freezes when windows 10 in going to shutdown while windows 7 is running in background.

On my laptop I have:

- integrated graphic card

- disabled 3D acceleration

Regards

[Vincegre]

I don't know if it can help other people but for me I had the freeze problem only when I started my Win10 VM from VMWare Player. When I start it from Workstation, I had no freeze so far since few days I use Workstation instead of Player program to start it :smileywink:

[JeffH322]

My issue is with VMware Workstation Pro, not with VMware Player. I've never even tried with Player but it sounds like the issue you're experiencing is the opposite of mine if your machine locks up with VMware Player but not with Workstation.

Is this with version 15.5.2? Or another version?

[SantiagoLo]

Hi everyone

I have seen this problem with VMWare worwstation 15.5.2 trial on my machine with Ubuntu 20.04.  This solutions works for me:

     - run vmware as root

     - go to Edit/Preferences/Memory

     - on additional memory, select fit virtual machine into reserved host RAM

Another method I tried succesfully, was expanding swap space adding a new bigger file (original file had 2Gb size)

I hope this help you

Cheers!

[calc76]

I'm still seeing this problem, and it is not tied to any specific hardware, SSD/HDD, different Linux distributions, web browsers, huge pages disabled, etc. And it still happens on Workstation Pro 16.1.1

I have had it happen on multiple different systems over the past several years with nothing common between them except for running Workstation Pro when it happens.

The one consistent symptom is that when it is triggered by Workstation Pro the host's kernel thread [kcompactd0] sits at 100% usage and however many cores are configured for the VM are also sitting at 100% utilization, but inside the VM guest it generally doesn't show much cpu usage. eg top on the host shows ~ 200% cpu usage for vmware-vmx when 2 cores are configured.

The system I'm currently seeing it on has 64GB ram, and when it happens only ~ 20GB is shown as being used via MemTotal - MemAvailable (/proc/meminfo).