Am I doing something wrong or is VmWare Workstation 2025H2 an absolute trash?

[tay ozd]

Hello everyone,

I have been using VMware products every day, I mean every single day, nonstop, since my first employer introduced me to it at 2004. Until now I did not have any major problems with VMware. Both me and the companies I worked for were always happy with it for 20+ years. 

With all that being said, I have never seen any VMware product with such a s****y quality as VMware 2025H2. 

I installed the latest version only 5-6 hours ago. Below is the list of bugs I have found in the last five hours:

• The top command bar disappears when I am in full-screen mode. There is no way to bring it back unless I hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE and run the Task Manager. If I have two different guests running, then I have to hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE every time I want to switch between guest OSes.

• There is an integration problem with VMware tools and Debian 13 guest. You cannot make any changes to power/suspend options because ACPI integration between VMware and Linux/Gnome/KDE is not working. I tried everything I can think of and nothing worked so far.

• After 1-2 hours of continued use, VMware workstation starts utilizing 60% to 90% of the CPU. This does not go down no matter how much I wait. This means I have to restart the guest every 1-2 hours. In the past, I have had VMware player instance running for 2-3 weeks at a time and this never happened. I tried changing core count, max memory, etc... Nothing helps. 

• There is an extreme GUI performance problem with Debian 12 guest and Debian 13 guest. The screen is continuously stuttering. It is behaving the way Linux guests were behaving many years ago when we had a Linux guest but did not install VMware tools on the linux guest. It is almost as if the VMware tools are missing from the system. I checked, it is installed. I removed and reinstalled and nothing changed.

Windows 10 host, Debian 12 and Debian 13 guests. 

Am I doing something wrong or is VMware a trash now? 
Thanks in advance.

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[James Lin]

The top command bar disappears when I am in full-screen mode. There is no way to bring it back unless I hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE and run the Task Manager. If I have two different guests running, then I have to hit CTRL+ALT+DELETE every time I want to switch between guest OSes.

I can't reproduce this with on Windows 11 or on Windows 10 hosts.  Can you reproduce the problem and provide a UI log? (The UI log file location is show in the Help > About dialog.)

Are you using full screen mode on a single monitor or on multiple monitors?  What is your host DPI?  Do you happen to have focus-follows-mouse enabled?

There is an integration problem with VMware tools and Debian 13 guest. You cannot make any changes to power/suspend options because ACPI integration between VMware and Linux/Gnome/KDE is not working.

Can you clarify which options you're referring to?  Do you mean VM > Settings > Options > Power > Power controls?  If so, you should always be able to change those options (although if there's a problem with Tools or with ACPI, the soft power operations ("Shut Down Guest", "Suspend Guest", etc.) won't work properly).

After 1-2 hours of continued use, VMware workstation starts utilizing 60% to 90% of the CPU. This does not go down no matter how much I wait.

Exactly which process? vmware.exe?  vmware-vmx.exe?  mksSandbox.exe?

There is an extreme GUI performance problem with Debian 12 guest and Debian 13 guest. The screen is continuously stuttering.

Can you provide the VMX log files (the vmware.log file in the VM's directory)?  Is 3D acceleration enabled?

Could you try powering off or suspending your VM, adding:

mks.vk.syncPerEndFrame = "TRUE"
mks.dx12.syncPerEndFrame = "TRUE"

to your VM's .vmx file, powering it back on, and seeing if that helps?

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[XPLO1T]

I can't reproduce this with on Windows 11 or on Windows 10 hosts.  Can you reproduce the problem and provide a UI log? (The UI log file location is show in the Help > About dialog.)

Are you using full screen mode on a single monitor or on multiple monitors?  What is your host DPI?  Do you happen to have focus-follows-mouse enabled?

This is also happening to me. It occurs when entering full screen mode on a single mode after initial power up (whether triggered manually), or automatically via VMX file config enabling full screen on powerup.

Its almost like it automatically enters exclusive mode (how I can tell is because the 1px border disappears, which is another bug I have).

To bypass it, I have to a mix of:
1) Spamming the top of the screen to try trigger the menu bar to come down, sometimes I can pin it, sometimes I cant. 

2) Right clicking on WorkStation icon in Taskbar, and running as admin, the opening of a new Workstation window, kicks the VM out of full screen mode, sometimes allowing me to click "Exclusive Mode" which seemingly undoes the issues, but doesnt work all the time. Doesnt have any effect if not running as admin.

3) Pinning/unpinning the menu bar can sometimes exit it, but again, doesnt work all the time

4) Sometimes cycling monitor modes into a triple monitor setup will fix it, but again, doesnt work all the time (actually doesnt work most of the time). 

Havent been able to work out what triggers this, as honestly, about 10% of the time I can just boot up the VM like normal, and it doesnt even occur...

I did play around with disabling Vulkan presentation mode which may resolve it, but that causes other issues for me which are worse... 

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[kasper]

There is no such thing as VMWare 2025H2.   The latest version of VMWare workstation is 17.64.  You may be referring to Windows 11 2025H2.   You need to clarify your post.   I am guessing you went from Windows 10 host to Windows 11 2025H2?   Windows 11 2025H2 just came out.   It appears it does have some significant issues.   And if your host is going from 10 to 11 you need to look for the latest device drivers.   Hopefully you have done full backups which is the standard procedure when making such a change.   I recommend Clonezilla.   And if you wen from 10 to 11 on the host, I would recommend a fresh install.

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[James Lin]

kasper, the latest release of VMware Workstation is 25H2, which was released a couple of weeks ago. https://blogs.vmware.com/cloud-foundation/2025/10/14/vmware-workstation-fusion-25h2-embracing-calendar-versioning-and-new-features/

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[kasper]

I stand corrected.    Thank you.

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[kasper]

Thank you again.   I am freezing at 17.6.4.   I get the sense Broadcom is taking Workstation downhill.   Such great sadness.

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[jey mr]

Agreed, I encountered the same problem. The top control bar is unusable in full-screen mode. Copying and pasting files from the host desktop to the virtual machine fails. Switching back to 17.6.4 resolves the issue perfectly.

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[James Lin]

To those of you encountering problems with the full screen bar, can you please answer the questions I asked and provide the information I requested?

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[XPLO1T]

To those of you encountering problems with the full screen bar, can you please answer the questions I asked and provide the information I requested?

Hi @James Lin,

Sent you the logs privately, didn't want to post them here publicly. 

The files I shared show 4 issues:

1) When the VM goes into full screen mode, HDR (or something HDR like) seems to be enabled even though this setting is disabled in Windows, but only on the monitor that has VMWare running (in this instance my middle monitor) meaning everything on that monitor goes super bright. My other 2 monitors stay in the correct mode i.e. HDR off. 

2) When the VM boots up and you enter full screen mode (whether or not you are in single or triple monitor modes by cycling modes), the VM goes full screen, the 1px border dissapears, and you are unable to see/click on the Toolbar (even though the setting is enabled to display it). You have to release keyboard control, spam the top of the window to try kick it out of full screen mode, to show a corrupted drop down menu, to then try pin/unpin until whatever is broken fixes it self. Sometimes I can get it first go, sometimes I need to Ctrl+Alt+Delete, sometimes I need to launch a new VMWare Workstation window as "Admin" which seems to kick the vm out of full screen mode. eventually the setting sticks and I can run the VM like I used to.

3) I run Workstation on a separate virtual desktop (splitting work/personal life), when I enter full screen mode, and this bug triggers, switching back to virtual desktop 1 should leave my VM running on the 2nd virtual desktop, but unfortunately workstation is presenting itself infront of all other windows, including windows virtual desktops even on the virtual desktop it is not running on. See video attached which demonstrates the issues making everything unusable as its hidden behind vmware which cant be minimized.

4) 1px border around only the main display when in full screen mode (other displays in triple monitor mode are unaffected). This bug triggers ONLY when bugs 1-3 do not trigger, i.e. when everything is working normally. 

BTW: Cycling into a specific monitor mode should be a VMX option you can configure as it is so annoying to have to cycle monitor modes on every single bootup when wanting to run in triple monitor mode, which is my standard/default way of operating. 

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[James Lin]

Thanks.  To double-check my understanding, disabling Vulkan (by setting mks.enableVulkanPresentation = "FALSE") makes the problem with the full screen toolbar and virtual desktops go away?  And the full screen toolbar problem occurs only when a VM is powered on, correct?

4) 1px border around only the main display when in full screen mode (other displays in triple monitor mode are unaffected). This bug triggers ONLY when bugs 1-3 do not trigger, i.e. when everything is working normally. 

See https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/question/bug-visible-window-border-in-fullscreen-25h2

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[XPLO1T]

Thanks.  To double-check my understanding, disabling Vulkan (by setting mks.enableVulkanPresentation = "FALSE") makes the problem with the full screen toolbar and virtual desktops go away?

Correct. But it reintroduces poor performance and occasional display freezing for me which are worse (as I cant easily fix them), so disabling VulkanPresentation is not a viable solution for me, even temporarily. At least I can fix the issues being reported here temporarily with a bit of stuffing around. Once fixed, it stays fixed until the VM is powered down and we try again on next boot.

And the full screen toolbar problem occurs only when a VM is powered on, correct?

Only time I have noticed it is when the VM is powered on, correct.

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[XPLO1T]

Only time I have noticed it is when the VM is powered on, correct.

Further to my previous message, bugs #1-3 don't even occur during boot of the VM, only when the VM reaches the Windows logon screen. Presumably Vmware Tools launches in the background at this point, as that seems to be "when" the issues trigger.

@James Lin Have you had a chance to review the provided logs yet? Let me know if you require any more logs/video's/screenshots demonstrating the issues.

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[James Lin]

Yes, I received your logs.  Thanks!  We're still investigating.

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[tay ozd]

I am back to working at my house. I can't reproduce this no matter what I try.

I will reproduce this and upload logs when I am back to visiting my parents. 

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[XPLO1T]

I can't reproduce this with on Windows 11 or on Windows 10 hosts.  Can you reproduce the problem and provide a UI log? (The UI log file location is show in the Help > About dialog.)

Logs uploaded in PM.

Are you using full screen mode on a single monitor or on multiple monitors?  What is your host DPI?  Do you happen to have focus-follows-mouse enabled?

Multi monitor setup (3 x 4K Screens), but this triggers whether workstation is running on Single monitor or Triple monitor mode for me. Host Resolution: 3 x 3840x2160. Scale :150%. Refresh Rate: 240Hz. Display Port 2.1b (80Gpbs)

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[Fred.S]

I have experienced exactly what you described but didn't even make it to testing Linux.
Reverted to 17.6.4, because CPU use and visual artifacts (Win11 Host).

• The first Win11 VM automatically updated its tools so for the second I turned that to manual and ended up not being able to select or type in the VM. After starting the Tools install from the VM menu things got better.
• It was also not possible to tab out of a machine just starting or closing (not full screen). I have three desktops, two run instances of the VM IDE and it seems that some issues got better once another app was running on each desktop. 
• Before installing 25H2 I updated to the latest NVIDIA driver and tested that with 17.6.4 so not the driver, new artifacts.

No logs since I reverted to a system backup. 

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[kasper]

I am a bit confused.   The fix for Windows guest issues  is an entry in the VMX file for VULKAN a Linux thing?

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[Michael Banack]

Depending on the configuration, we might use the Vulkan graphics API on both Linux and Windows Hosts.

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[bubbleshadow]

I am also experiencing the issue of the top command bar disappearing when I enter full screen mode, in my case I am running an Ubuntu 25.10 guest OS. Nothing I do seems to make it work. The menu appears when first going to full screen, but then disappears when the guest OS resizes itself. If I mouse to the very top of the monitor at certain parts, I get a "hand" icon, which, if I blind click on something it can work to click on that part of the toolbar, but it's unreliable. No matter what I do I can't get the toolbar to actually display while in full screen mode. Including setting many options in preferences.ini, which have apparently no longer work, along with no option to set the toolbar to display at all times. I am going to downgrade and see if it works with a previous version.

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