{"id":1091,"date":"2026-10-26T20:05:06","date_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:05:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/?p=1091"},"modified":"2026-10-26T20:05:06","modified_gmt":"2026-10-26T18:05:06","slug":"i-get-these-errors-when-trying-to-start-a-vmware-workstation-26-virtual-machine-on-ubuntu-26-04","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/?p=1091","title":{"rendered":"I get these errors when trying to start a VMware Workstation 26 virtual machine on Ubuntu 26.04:"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You get the below errors:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Could not open \/dev\/vmmon: No such file or directory.<br>Please make sure that the kernel module &#8216;vmmon&#8217; is loaded.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Failed to initialize monitor device.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Unable to change virtual machine power state: Transport (VMDB) error -14: Pipe connection has been broken.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To solve the issue, try one of the below steps: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 1: Check Secure Boot<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Run:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>mokutil --sb-state<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the output is:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>SecureBoot enabled<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then Secure Boot might be preventing VMware&#8217;s kernel modules from loading.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>For testing<\/strong>, you can temporarily disable Secure Boot in your ASUS BIOS:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol start=\"1\" class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Restart your computer and press <strong>Delete<\/strong> to enter BIOS.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Press <strong>F7<\/strong> to enter Advanced Mode.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Navigate to <strong>Boot ? Secure Boot<\/strong>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Change the Secure Boot configuration to disable Secure Boot (the available options depend on BIOS version).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Save changes using <strong>F10<\/strong> and restart.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Be aware that disabling Secure Boot reduces boot-chain protection. If you also use Windows with BitLocker, make sure you have your recovery key before changing the setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You can keep Secure Boot enabled by signing the VMware kernel modules instead, which I&#8217;ll explain if necessary.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 2: Rebuild VMware kernel modules<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Before changing anything else, try rebuilding the VMware modules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Install the required packages:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code><code>sudo apt update\nsudo apt install build-essential linux-headers-$(uname -r) mokutil<\/code><\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Then rebuild the modules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo vmware-modconfig --console --install-all<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This should compile two kernel modules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><code>vmmon<\/code> \u2014 VMware virtual machine monitor.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><code>vmnet<\/code> \u2014 VMware virtual networking.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VMware requires these modules to match your running Linux kernel. <a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.broadcom.com\/external\/article\/315648?utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Support Portal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If compilation succeeds, try loading them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo modprobe vmmon\nsudo modprobe vmnet<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Verify:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>lsmod | grep -E 'vmmon|vmnet'<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You should see both modules listed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Also check:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>ls -l \/dev\/vmmon<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If <code>\/dev\/vmmon<\/code> exists, try starting your virtual machine again.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Step 3: If Secure Boot is enabled<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If the modules compile successfully but fail to load because of Secure Boot, you can sign them instead of disabling Secure Boot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Broadcom documents this procedure for VMware Workstation. <a href=\"https:\/\/knowledge.broadcom.com\/external\/article?legacyId=2146460&amp;utm_source=chatgpt.com\">Support Portal<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">First, create a signing key:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>mkdir -p ~\/vmware-mok\ncd ~\/vmware-mok\n\nopenssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 \\\n  -keyout MOK.priv \\\n  -outform DER \\\n  -out MOK.der \\\n  -nodes \\\n  -days 36500 \\\n  -subj \"\/CN=VMware\/\"\n  \nchmod 600 MOK.priv<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Sign both modules:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo \/usr\/src\/linux-headers-$(uname -r)\/scripts\/sign-file \\\n  sha256 MOK.priv MOK.der \"$(modinfo -n vmmon)\"\n\nsudo \/usr\/src\/linux-headers-$(uname -r)\/scripts\/sign-file \\\n  sha256 MOK.priv MOK.der \"$(modinfo -n vmnet)\"<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Import the certificate:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo mokutil --import MOK.der<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You will be prompted to create a temporary password.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Reboot your computer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo reboot<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During startup, the MOK Manager should appear.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Select <strong>Enroll MOK ? Continue ? Yes<\/strong>, enter your temporary password, and reboot.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After Ubuntu starts:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<pre class=\"wp-block-code\"><code>sudo modprobe vmmon\nsudo modprobe vmnet<\/code><\/pre>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">VMware should now be able to start virtual machines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><strong>Important:<\/strong> You may need to sign the modules again after VMware or kernel updates.<br><br>After a future Ubuntu kernel update, VMware may rebuild its <code>vmmon<\/code> and <code>vmnet<\/code> modules. You might need to sign them again using the same MOK key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Keep your <code>~\/vmware-mok<\/code> directory safe for that reason.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>You get the below errors: To solve the issue, try one of the below steps: Step 1: Check Secure Boot Run: If the output is: Then Secure Boot might be preventing VMware&#8217;s kernel modules from loading. For testing, you can temporarily disable Secure Boot in your ASUS BIOS: Be aware that disabling Secure Boot reduces [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1091","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1091"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1092,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1091\/revisions\/1092"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1091"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1091"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/jakobsens.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1091"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}