VMware is a nice software for making and running virtual machines on your computer. It allows you to run multiple guest operating systems (virtual machines) at the same time on a single host. Many people use VMware to run other operating systems like Linux etc on their Windows operating systems. VMware has many versions available like the Vmware player, which is free and VMware workstation, which is a paid version with additional features. Many users have been receiving an error on Vmware which says "Vmware internal error" while trying to start a virtual machine in VMware which is usually caused by VMware Windows authorization service failing to start.

Vmware Internal Error

Let us start with the causes of the error in detail and then we will be mentioning the solutions that you can implement to fix the issue.

What causes the Vmware Internal Error?

The VMware internal error is usually caused by the VMware authorization service not running properly in Windows but it can be caused by some other reasons as well depending on the scenario. Below are some of the reasons for this error to occur in Windows.

  • Vmware authorization service failing to start: As said earlier, the main reason for this error is that the VMware authorization service fails to start in Windows. If the authorization service does not run properly in Windows, then this error will likely occur.
  • No administration rights for VMware Authorization service: If the VMware authorization service does not run with Administrative privileges in Windows, then you may be getting this error because of that. The Vmware authorization service needs to be run with Administrative privileges for Vmware to work and launch virtual machines so if the service is running on your machine but not with administrative privileges, then you will get this error.
  • Aggressive Antivirus software: If you have antivirus software installed on your computer and it's set to an aggressive mode i.e very strict security etc then your antivirus software may be blocking the Vmware's ability to run virtual machines. Some antivirus or antimalware software might even not allow you to run virtual machines on your system so an antivirus or antimalware software can also be the cause of this issue.
  • Corrupt VMware workstation or player: If your VMware workstation has been corrupted then you may be facing this error due to that. A quick remedy for this is to reinstall Vmware.
  • Fix-game.exe virus: There is a known virus that blocks Vmwarea's ability to run virtual machines. This virus is known as fix-game.exe and you can see it in Task Manager if it's running. This virus blocks Vmware from running virtual machines.

There are some solutions that you can try to fix this error. As the solutions depend on the cause of the problem/error so each solution might not give the results but you can try all and hopefully, one or the other will work for you.

Solution 1: Run Vmware Authorization service with Administrative Privileges

The first solution you can try is to run the VMware authorization service in Windows with administrative privileges. For this, you will have to make sure that you are logged in as an administrator. After that, do the following:

  1. Type services.msc in Run box. (To open the run box, press Windows key + R).
  2. Then, search for the Vmware Authorization service in the list of services.
  3. Double-click on the service and click on Start.
  4. Also, make sure that the Startup type is set to Automatic.
    Starting the VMware Service
  5. Now check your virtual machine again in Vmware. Hopefully, it will work properly now if the error was caused by VMware authorization service not running properly.

Solution 2: Reinstall Vmware with the Repair Option

For some users, the issue has been resolved by reinstalling VMware using the Repair option in the Control Panel. To reinstall Vmware by repairing it, you need to do the following:

  1. Go to Control Panel → Apps and Features → search for Vmware in the listed programs and right-click on it and click Repair.
    Control Panel Program List
  2. If your VMware was corrupted or anything like that and the error was caused due to it, then repairing Vmware would most probably solve the problem for you.

Solution 3: Start VMware with Administrative Privileges

The VMware authorization process is used because it allows a non-administrator to create virtual machines. Now, if you start VMware with Administrative privileges, then you won't need that service to be running to create a virtual machine as you are the administrator yourself in that case. So if by following solution 1 does not get rid of the error for you then you should try starting Vmware with Administrative privileges.

To do that you just need to open Vmware workstation or VMware player with administrative privileges. You can run an app in Windows using Administrative privileges by right-clicking on it and clicking the option "Run as Administrator".

Solution 4: Stop and Restart all VMware Services

If for some reason, your problem does not get solved by trying all of the solutions above, you can stop and restart all of the VMware services and see if it fixes your problem.

  1. To do that, open cmd with Administrative privileges. (To do that, search for cmd in Start Menu and right-click on the icon and click "Run as Administrator").
    Running Command Prompt with Administrative Privileges
  2. Then you need to execute the following commands:
NET STOP "VMware Authorization Service"
NET STOP "VMware DHCP Service"
NET STOP "VMware NAT Service"
NET STOP "VMware USB Arbitration Service"
taskkill /im vmware-tray.exe /f
taskkill /im vmware-tray.exe /f

This will stop all the services related to Vmware running on your Windows machine.

The next thing to do is to start these services again. Run these commands in the command prompt (cmd).

NET START "VMware Authorization Service"
NET START "VMware DHCP Service"
NET START "VMware NAT Service"
NET START "VMware USB Arbitration Service"
START C:\Progra~2\VMware\VMWARE~1\vmware-tray.exe
START C:\Progra~2\VMware\VMWARE~1\vmware-tray.exe

Now see if Vmware still gives you this error while trying to launch a virtual machine. If the error was due to a service required by VMware not running properly, then stopping and starting them again would hopefully fix the problem.

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Kevin is a dynamic and self-motivated information technology professional, with a Thorough knowledge of all facets pertaining to network infrastructure design, implementation and administration. Superior record of delivering simultaneous large-scale mission critical projects on time and under budget.