Editing the .vmx file of a VMware Workstation and VMware Player virtual machine

Products

VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to edit the .vmx (virtual machine configuration) file of your VMware Workstation and VMware Player virtual machine.

Note: Editing a .vmx file may be required to complete steps in a Knowledge Base article or at the request of VMware Support staff.

Environment

VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation Pro 14.x (for Linux)
VMware Player 3.x (Linux)
VMware Player 4.x (Linux)
VMware Player 2.x (Windows)
VMware Player 6.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 7.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation Player 12.x (Windows)
VMware Player 7.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation Player 12.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 10.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Windows)
VMware Player Pro 7.x (Linux)
VMware Player 5.x (Linux)
VMware Player 5.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 6.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 5.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation Player 14.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 8.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation Pro 15.x (Linux)
VMware Player Pro 7.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation Player 14.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 9.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 9.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 8.x (Windows)
VMware Player 3.x (Windows )
VMware Workstation 6.x (Windows)
VMware Player 2.x (Linux)
VMware Workstation 11.x (for Windows)
VMware Workstation 5.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 10.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 11.x (for Linux)
VMware Player 4.x (Windows)
VMware Workstation 7.x (Linux)
VMware Player 7.x (Linux)
VMware Player 6.x (Linux)

Resolution

Caution: Before you alter the virtual machine's files, VMware recommends copying the virtual machine's folder to a safe location (either on an external hard drive or anywhere else on the PC's hard drive) to backup the virtual machine. For more information, see Best practices when backing up a VMware Workstation virtual machine (2006202).

To edit the .vmx file:

Shut down the virtual machine.
Locate the virtual machine's files. For more information, see Locating a hosted virtual machine's files (1003880).
Open the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx) in a text editor.
Add or edit lines as needed. Lines are displayed in no particular order.
When finished, save the changes by using the save option in the text editor.
Exit the text editor.

Notes:

Changes made to the .vmx file do not take effect until the next time VMware Workstation or VMware Player is opened. If the application is currently open, quit it and re-open for the changes to take effect. Alternatively, double-click the .vmx file to apply the changes and open the virtual machine immediately.
Windows Operating systems hide file extensions by default. We recommend you enable file extensions to ensure the file that is being edited is proper. For more details, see Microsoft article Show or hide file name extensions

Additional Information

The .vmx file contains settings for your virtual machine's behavior. Some of these settings are accessible through the VM > Settings menu option, but some settings can be changed only in the file.Locating a hosted virtual machine's files
Best practices when backing up a VMware Workstation virtual machine
VMware Workstation および VMware Player 仮想マシンの .vmx ファイルの編集
编辑 VMware Workstation 和 VMware Player 虚拟机的 .vmx 文件