How to Fix Module VPMC Power On Failure in VMware Workstation

Upon transferring a virtual machine to new hardware or launching a newly established virtual machine, users may face an issue that displays the error: Module ‘VPMC’ Power on failed on VMware Workstation. In this article, we will delve into the VPMC module and provide solutions to address this error.

VMware Workstation does not support virtualized performance counters on this host.

Module ‘VPMC’ power on failed.

Failed to start the virtual machine.

Understanding the ‘VPMC’ Power On Failed Error in VMware Workstation

The term VPMC refers to Virtual CPU Performance Monitoring Counters, which play a critical role in tracking and assessing the performance of virtual CPUs in a virtual machine (VM). If you encounter the Module ‘VPMC’ Power on failed error in VMware Workstation, consider the following solutions to resolve the issue.

1. Disable the CPU performance counters.
2. Turn off Hardware Virtualization.
3. Re-import the virtual machine image.
4. Disable Hyper-V.

Let’s explore these solutions more comprehensively.

1] Disabling CPU Performance Counters

CPU Performance Monitoring Counters (PMCs) aid software in tracking and analyzing the processor’s efficiency. These counters are frequently utilized by profiling software tools. To disable the CPU Performance Counter, you can adjust the VM settings via the VMware Workstation interface or edit the VM configuration file, known as the .vmx file, by changing VPMC to False.

To modify the virtual machine properties in VMware Workstation and turn off CPU performance counters, follow these steps:

1. Launch VMware Workstation, right-click on the virtual machine and select Power > Power off.
2. Right-click the virtual machine again and choose Settings.
3. Navigate to the Hardware tab.
4. In the Processors section, access the Virtualization engine and uncheck the option labeled Virtualize CPU performance counters.
5. Click the Ok button to save your changes.
6. Finally, power on the virtual machine to see if the issue is resolved.

If you want to address this issue by altering the. VMX file for a deployed virtual machine, go to the directory containing your virtual machine. Typically, this is located in the home directory, as illustrated in: C:\Users\yusuf\OneDrive\Documents\Virtual Machines\Debian 12.x 64-bit. Right-click on the VMX file, and insert or adjust the line: vpmc.enable = “FALSE” .

2] Turn Off Hardware Virtualization

Sometimes, disabling CPU Performance Monitoring Counters can lead to another error stating that the virtual machine failed to start due to unsupported nested virtualization, resulting in the Module ‘HV’ power on failure. To resolve this issue, it’s necessary to disable hardware or nested virtualization settings in the virtual machine’s configuration.

Follow these steps to disable hardware virtualization:

1. Start VMware Workstation and ensure your virtual machine is powered off.
2. Right-click on the VM and select Settings from the menu.
3. Navigating to Hardware > Processors tab.
4. Uncheck the option for Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI in the Virtualization engine section.
5. Confirm your changes by clicking Ok.

Then, attempt to power on the virtual machine to check if the issue is resolved.

3] Re-import the Virtual Machine Image

The previous solutions act as workarounds since ideally, CPU Performance Monitoring Counters should function without issue. If disabling them causes feature loss (like with Qemu appliances), the problem might be related to the virtual machine being active when the image was created or moved. Powering off the VM and adjusting the. vmx file may help; some users have rebuilt the VM after ensuring VMware was completely closed during the. vmx file edit. You can also apply your VM image to a newly created virtual machine.

4] Disable Hyper-V

Hyper-V is a Windows Hypervisor utility utilized for creating virtual machines via Hyper-V Manager. However, for using VMware Workstation, it’s advisable to disable Hyper-V. Here’s how you can do it:

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Switch the View by option to Large icons.
3. Click on Programs and Features > Turn Windows features on or off.
4. Find Hyper-V in the list and disable it.
5. Confirm the changes by clicking Ok.

Afterward, create your virtual machine again to check if the problem is resolved.

By following the strategies outlined in this article, you should be able to rectify the issue effectively.

Resolving ‘Module VPMC Power on Failed’ Error

You can fix the VPMC Power on failed error by deactivating the Virtualize CPU performance counters option, provided your virtual image doesn’t support this feature. However, we suggest considering all the solutions discussed in this article, as resolving one issue may inadvertently lead to another.

Setting Up Auto Power On for VMware Workstation Virtual Machine

To enable your VM to power on automatically, navigate to the virtual machines section within the VMware Host Client inventory, right-click the desired virtual machine, and select Autostart. Proceed with Configure to set default startup timing and order for your virtual machines, including options like Start delay, Stop delay, Stop action, and Wait for heartbeat. Finally, remember to click Save.

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