Are you managing a or looking to automate a fix across multiple hosts ?
Elias felt a chill that had nothing to do with the server room's air conditioning. He reached for the mouse to kill the process, but the cursor stayed pinned to the center of the screen.
Note: Always take a backup copy of your .vmx file before editing it manually. Power off the virtual machine. virtual device serial0 will start disconnected
To completely remove the device via text configuration, change the present value to false: serial0.present = "FALSE" Use code with caution. Save the file and exit the editor.
To fix a disconnected state while keeping the port active, ensure the start-connected variable is set correctly alongside a valid file backing: Are you managing a or looking to automate
If you need the serial port to exist for software configuration purposes, but you don't need it connected to anything immediately, you can simply stop it from trying to connect at boot. the virtual machine. Open the VM settings. Select Serial Port 1 . Uncheck the option Connect at power on . Click OK . Solution 3: Reconfigure the Serial Port
Upgrading VMware Workstation, Fusion, or ESXi to a newer version often leaves behind outdated configuration entries. This is especially common when upgrading from Workstation 10 to 12 or from Fusion 12 to 13.5, where legacy features like ThinPrint or old serial port emulation settings are no longer supported. The upgrade process migrates the .vmx file, but deprecated options may remain, generating the warning with each startup. Note: Always take a backup copy of your
Select the or Serial Port device associated with serial0 . Click Remove and save the changes. Option 2: Edit the VMX Configuration File
The .vmx configuration file stores every setting for a VM, including all serial port definitions. Corruption or inconsistencies can result from an abrupt shutdown of VMware, an incomplete upgrade, or manual editing errors. Even a small syntax error can prevent the serial port from being properly enumerated. In some cases, the serial port configuration references a non‑existent physical device or uses incorrect parameters that VMware cannot resolve. Backing up the .vmx file before making any changes is an essential safety measure.
While it rarely prevents the guest operating system from loading entirely, it creates an disruptive startup pop-up and breaks features tied to serial connectivity—such as legacy printing subsystems or hardware debuggers. Root Causes of the Error
