Upgrade to 17.6.3 causes BSOD: hcmon.sys, cannot roll back

[rjCousineau]

Hello, I need help.  I've upgraded to Workstation Pro 17.6.3 (Win 11, 24H2), but the installation caused BSOD with Stop code: THEAD EXCEPTION NOT HANDLED for driver hcmon.sys. 

Now, I cannot start a VM anymore because msg "VMWare Authorization Service isn't running".   When I try to start that service I get "Error 1075: The dependency service does not exist or has been marked for deletion.".  Even though the dependencies are running.

I've attempted to install 17.6.2, and even rollback to 17.5.2, but the installation process always crashes the kernel with the same exception.

I've tried removing hcmon.sys from C:\Windows\system32\drivers, reboot, install.  But the crash repeats.

I've analyzed the crash dump, but nothing useful is returned:

Crash Analysis: SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (0x7E)

This blue screen (BSOD) error was caused by an access violation (0xC0000005) in hcmon.sys.
The crash occurred while attempting to read from an invalid memory address (0x00000028).

I've verified I have all my drivers are updated, and "sfc /scannow" found no corruption.

I had Hyper-V enabled, I've disabled it, and disabled the feature, but the crash continues.

I've tried disabling all anti-virus software, and even tried unplugging all USB devices.   I tried safe mode but installation will not allow to run in safe mode.

I've also tried a different user profile.

At this point, I'm considering a complete windows re-install.   

I'm 12hours into debugging this issue.  A lot of pain for updating VMWare Workstation Pro to the latest version. 

Any help is always appreciated 😀

minidump.txt attached

[Dhairya Tomar]

rjCousineauRequesting you to try below steps and update if the issue still persists-

1. Clean Uninstall Workstation Pro.

2. Please stop related services if any by "sc stop serviceName" in cmd with administrative with priviledge

sc stop VMUSBArbService

sc stop hcmon

sc stop vmusb

3. Remove drivers:

del C:\Windows\System32\drivers\hcmon.sys

del C:\Windows\System32\drivers\vmusb.sys

remove hcmon, vmusb from here C:\Windows\System32\DRVSTORE

4. Remove registry related to WS Pro:

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\VMware, Inc." /f

reg delete "HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Wow6432Node\VMware, Inc." /f

5.

     a.Stop 'VMware USB Arbitration service' from services.msc if running.

     b.Delete below registry entries for

         i."VMUSBArbService from "Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\VMUSBArbService"

         ii."Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Services\vmusb"

     c.Delete same entries from CurrentControlSet001 if any.

6. Delete usb folders from "C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VMware\USB"

7. Delete hcmon and vmusb from  C:\Program Files\Common Files\VMware\Drivers\hcmon & C:\Program Files\Common

        Files\VMware\Drivers\vmusb

8. Reboot your system and install WS Pro.

[rjCousineau]

Dhairya Tomar, this doesn't work.  After following your instructions, reboot, and install WS Pro, still get BSOD with same hcmon.sys error.  Minidump looks the same.

[Dhairya Tomar]

rjCousineau Request to try the resolution mentioned in this thread-  https://community.broadcom.com/vmware-cloud-foundation/discussion/bsod-when-installing-vmware-workstation-pro-1752-on-windows-11#bm796a8740-f7ca-4080-a010-019123d48e35 where similar issue was happening and upon disabling Splashtop Remote Services service, issue got resolved