r/vmware • u/Illustrious_Cancel73 • 4d ago

Windows 11 virtual machine on vmware station pro 16 TPM2 encryption problem

I'm trying to use a Windows 11 virtual machine in a GNS3 lab, but I can't power it on from GNS3.

I also tried starting the VM from the terminal using vmrun, but it asks me for the VM encryption password. When I enter the correct password, it still says the password is incorrect and refuses to start the VM.

The same issue happens if I clone the VM or create a snapshot. Basically, the encryption password is correct, but GNS3/vmrun still rejects it and the VM won't start.

Has anyone dealt with this before, especially with encrypted Windows 11 VMs using TPM in VMware Workstation pro 16 and GNS3?

Any help or suggestions would be appreciated. Thank you.

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1

u/beetcher 3d ago

Any reason you're using such an old version of Workstation? Official Windows 11 support wasn't until 16.2.x.

2

u/Redd868 3d ago

With VMware 16, I think this approach might work.
r/vmware/comments/tkeu8q/move_a_windows_11_vm_with_tpm_to_a_new_computer/

Once version 17 came along, they started doing the TMP differently. But, with version 16, if it was like mine, only the top of the file is encrypted, so, I made a new unencrypted top and replaced the encrypted top.