Knowledge Base

This error most likely occurs because the NMI Watchdog is turned on by default in SUSE LINUX 9.1. Other causes are described at www.vmware.com/support/kb/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=924.

There is a window of time in which a Non-Maskable Interrupt (NMI) may be triggered before it is disabled when the virtual machine powers on. If an NMI is triggered during the window, the VMware application reports bug number 2293 and terminates.

To disable the NMI Watchdog on the host, complete these steps:

1. Log on to the host as the root user.
2. Launch the YaST2 application.
3. In the left pane of the YaST window, select System.
4. In the right pane of the YaST window, select Boot loader configuration.
5. From the list in the right pane, select Boot Loader Type and make sure the value matches your boot loader (the value is GRUB by default).
6. Click Edit Configuration Files. This opens the GRUB configuration file.
7. Find the stanza or stanzas from which you intend to boot. (The default stanza is usually labeled Linux.)
8. Enter this text in the kernel options line:
   nmi_watchdog=0.
   If the kernel option nmi_watchdog=1 is already present, change it to nmi_watchdog=0.
9. Click OK to close the boot configuration editor.
10. Click Finish to install the new boot loader configuration.
11. Click Close to exit the YaST2 application.
12. Reboot the host operating system.