VMware VM suspend automatically; Keeps pausing

If you are a VMware user, you may have noticed that the machine might get suspended or paused automatically. This isn’t very pleasant, especially when you have something running in the background. In this post, we are going to see what you can do if the VMware VM suspends automatically or keeps pausing on a Windows computer.

Auto-suspend in VMware

VMware Workstation Hypervisor has a default feature called Auto-Suspend that suspends virtual machines when they are inactive for some time. While this is meant to save resources by freezing the VM’s state without shutting it down, it can be frustrating when you’re trying to continue your work and need to manually resume the virtual machine by clicking the “Resume this virtual machine” button.

This feature is enabled by default in VMware Workstation Player and Fusion, making it convenient for resource management but potentially disruptive for uninterrupted use. Users may find this automatic suspension feature helpful for conserving system performance, but it can interrupt workflows if not adjusted to their preferences.

VMware VM suspend automatically or keeps pausing

If your VMware Virtual Machine suspends automatically or keeps pausing on a Windows computer, follow the solutions mentioned below.

1] Check when computer sleeps

Check if the auto-suspend feature is enabled or not. There are two ways to verify. If you have a Windows guest OS, you can follow the steps mentioned below.

1. Open Control Panel.
2. Now, change the View by to Large icons and click on Power Options.
3. You now have to click on Change when the computer sleeps.
4. Then, set the Put the computer to sleep option to Never.
5. Finally, click on Save changes.

Every guest operating system will have a similar option to make sure that the system never sleeps.

However, the second option to check the state of the auto-suspend feature is to check the Preferences file.

2] Check the Preferences file

The preferences file determines how your virtual machine is configured. A VMX file is the configuration file for a virtual machine in VMware. It contains all the settings and details about the virtual machine’s hardware, such as memory size, number of CPUs, disk drives, and network adapters. It also includes options for the guest operating system, boot order, and other configurations like shared folders or remote access. Essentially, the VMX file acts as a blueprint for how the virtual machine operates.

We will edit that file to disable the auto-suspend. To do so, first, we need to find where the file is. Open VMware Workstation, right-click on the machine, and select Open VM directory. Right-click on the virtual machine’s VMX and select Open with > Notepad. You then have to add the line suspend.disabled = “TRUE” at the end of the file. Once done, save and exit from there.

Alternatively, open PowerShell as an administrator and then run the following command.

Add-Content "VMX File Path\VirtualMachineName.vmx" 'suspend.disabled = "TRUE"'

Get-Content "VMX File Path\VirtualMachineName.vmx" | Select-String "suspend"

This will do the job for you.

3] Change the virtual machine’s configuration

When you configure a virtual machine, it’s essential to give it enough resources to run. If you fail to do so, the virtual machine might run out of resources and will start pausing or hanging. That’s why, in this solution, we are going to look at your VM’s configuration and see if there is any room for improvement.

1. Open VMware Workstation.
2. Select the virtual machine that’s having issues and click on Edit virtual machine settings.
3. Go to the Memory tab and use the slider to increase it a bit.
4. Now, go to the Processor tab and increase the Number of processors and Number of cores per processor.
5. Click on the Hard Disk tab and increase the disk space.
6. These are the most important aspects of a machine; once configured, click on Ok.

Finally, start your machine and see if your issue is resolved.

4] Create another virtual machine

If there are some issues with your virtual machine, we can create a new one using our existing files. This is pretty simple to do, but you should only do it if all the other solutions failed. Follow the steps mentioned below to create a new VM using an older one.

1. Launch VMware Workstation and click on File > New Virtual Machine.
2. Select Custom > Next.
3. Now, edit your hardware configuration and click on Next.
4. You need to select I will install the operating system later and click on Next.
5. Now, configure other options, such as VM environment, processor, memory, and path, but once you are on the Select a Disk screen, choose Use an existing virtual disk, and click Next.
6. Go to the location of your existing .vmdk file and select it.
7. Finally, go through the summary and finalize your VM creation.

We hope that you are able to resolve the issue with the help of these solutions.

Read: The virtual machine appears to be in use VMware error

Why does my VM keep suspending itself?

Your virtual machine may keep suspending itself due to VMware’s default Auto-Suspend feature, which activates when the VM remains idle for a certain period. This feature is designed to conserve system resources by freezing the VM’s state without shutting it down. While useful for performance management, it can interrupt workflows if you’re running background tasks. Additionally, insufficiently allocated VM resources might cause pausing or hanging during operation.

Read: How to access and use BIOS in VMware Workstation

Why does my VM keep pausing?

One of the main reasons why your VM keeps pausing could be the lack of system resources. A lot of times, when VMs run out of space, they just pause, so, in that case, we need to increase the hard disk’s size, along with other resources such as Processor and Memory. Once done, you need to check if the issue is resolved.

Also Read: Enable AutoStart of VMs on VMware ESXi and Workstation.