Update that the issue is now fixed - I can now access VMWare Workstation via RDP. The issue was addressed by upgrading Windows 11 to 25H2 - it was previously at 22H2.
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Original Message:
Sent: Mar 10, 2026 01:11 PM
From: James Lin
Subject: Remote Desktop with 25H2
Our IT team locks down our environments pretty strictly - is it possible that there is a port that needs to be open to use VMWare Workstation remotely (beyond what is needed for RDP, which clearly functions)?
No.
To be clear, does running VMware Workstation from the same host locally (not over an RDP session) work fine? And this happens when starting the the UI over RDP, or does it also happen if the UI is already running and then you connect to the host over RDP?
Only other thought is whether there is any benefit to using Process Explorer to find where VMWare Workstation hangs?
Yes, using Process Explorer to generate a minidump from the vmware.exe process might be helpful. You can send it to me in a private message. If you could also send me a UI log, that would be great.
- Go to
%LOCALAPPDATA%\Temp\vmware-%USERNAME% and delete all existing vmware-ui-*.log files. - Run
vmware.exe, reproduce the problem, and send me the new vmware-ui-XXXXX.log file.
Original Message:
Sent: Mar 10, 2026 10:34 AM
From: A P
Subject: Remote Desktop with 25H2
Does the mouse cursor change to the "wait" (hourglass) cursor over all parts of the Workstation window? Even with no VMs running?
Thanks James - appreciate your response. There are no VMs created within the VMWare Workstation instance yet - it is a new install. Being unable to access the UI means I cannot import or create any VMs. The wait cursor shows over the entire window (except the title bar). I have a separate machine that does have VMs and which exhibits the same behavior, so there could be an environmental factor at play, if there is no intrinsic reason why RDP shouldn't work.
Our IT team locks down our environments pretty strictly - is it possible that there is a port that needs to be open to use VMWare Workstation remotely (beyond what is needed for RDP, which clearly functions)?
Only other thought is whether there is any benefit to using Process Explorer to find where VMWare Workstation hangs?
Original Message:
Sent: Mar 10, 2026 01:22 AM
From: James Lin
Subject: Remote Desktop with 25H2
That's quite weird; I run VMware Workstation over RDP all the time and have not noticed the issue you're encountering.
Does the mouse cursor change to the "wait" (hourglass) cursor over all parts of the Workstation window? Even with no VMs running?
Prior to implementing the fix specified in the other post (using schtasks.exe to get around the use of the interactive user) the VMWare Workstation task showed in Task Manager but the UI did not display at all, so the fix partially worked.
Was there a button for VMware Workstation in the taskbar? Did the host perhaps have more monitors (or a much larger monitor) than the Remote Desktop client? If so, possibly the VMware Workstation window was stuck offscreen.
Original Message:
Sent: Mar 06, 2026 08:53 AM
From: Alan Pollard
Subject: Remote Desktop with 25H2
Am running Windows 11 22H2 and have installed VMWare Workstation 25H2u1-25219725
I am having a similar issue as described in this thread, but the suggested solution does not work fully.
The core issue is that I am using Remote Desktop to access the Windows 11 machine which needs to run VMWare Workstation, and although the VMWare Workstation UI displays, it is unresponsive (mouse switches to timer icon when on the window).
Prior to implementing the fix specified in the other post (using schtasks.exe to get around the use of the interactive user) the VMWare Workstation task showed in Task Manager but the UI did not display at all, so the fix partially worked.
Wondering if anyone has any further recommendations?
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