How do I kill a VMware virtual machine that won t die

Question

I ve got a virtual machine running on a server that I can t stop or reboot - I can t log onto it anymore and I can t stop it using the VMware server console   There are other VM s running so rebooting the host is out of the question  Is there any other way of forcing one machine to stop

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

see the following from VMware s webpage  Powering off a virtual machine on an ESXi host  1014165  Symptoms  You are experiencing these issues   You cannot power off an ESXi hosted virtual machine  A virtual machine is not responsive and cannot be stopped or killed    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1014165   Using the ESXi 5 x esxcli command to power off a virtual machine  The esxcli command can be used locally or remotely to power off a virtual machine running on ESXi 5 x  For more information  see the esxcli vm Commands section of the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference   Open a console session where the esxcli tool is available  either in the ESXi Shell  the vSphere Management Assistant  vMA   or the location where the vSphere Command-Line Interface  vCLI  is installed   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vm process list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vm process kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber  Notes  Three power-off methods are available  Soft is the most graceful  hard performs an immediate shutdown  and force should be used as a last resort  Alternate power off command syntax is  esxcli vm process kill -t  soft hard force  -w WorldNumber  Repeat Step 2 and validate that the virtual machine is no longer running    For ESXi 4 1   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vms vm list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vms vm kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber

User · Answer

For VmWare fusion  hold the alt key while you click  restart virtual machine    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1006215

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

Similar  but using WMIC command line to obtain the process ID and path   WMIC  OUTPUT C  ProcessList txt PROCESS get Caption Commandline Processid   This will create a text file with each process and its parameters   You can search in the file for your VM File Path  and get the correct Process ID to end task with   Thanks to http   windowsxp mvps org listproc htm for the correct command line parameters

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

Similar  but using WMIC command line to obtain the process ID and path   WMIC  OUTPUT C  ProcessList txt PROCESS get Caption Commandline Processid   This will create a text file with each process and its parameters   You can search in the file for your VM File Path  and get the correct Process ID to end task with   Thanks to http   windowsxp mvps org listproc htm for the correct command line parameters

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

In some cases you may not be able to suspend  or for that matter take any of the  Power  actions on the VM  You may also already have multiple VMs up and running  Use this process to identify the correct PID to kill   On Windows 7 - Open Task Manager - Look for processes with the name   vmware-vmx exe   note the PIDs   Switch to the Performance tab and start the  Resource Monitor   Expand the  Disk Activity  panel  Sort the  File  column  Look for the appropriate vmdk file for the VM you want to kill  The  Image  column will have the  vmware-vmx  process listed  Note the PID   Switch back to the  Processes  tab and kill the PID

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

For VmWare fusion  hold the alt key while you click  restart virtual machine    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1006215

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

In some cases you may not be able to suspend  or for that matter take any of the  Power  actions on the VM  You may also already have multiple VMs up and running  Use this process to identify the correct PID to kill   On Windows 7 - Open Task Manager - Look for processes with the name   vmware-vmx exe   note the PIDs   Switch to the Performance tab and start the  Resource Monitor   Expand the  Disk Activity  panel  Sort the  File  column  Look for the appropriate vmdk file for the VM you want to kill  The  Image  column will have the  vmware-vmx  process listed  Note the PID   Switch back to the  Processes  tab and kill the PID

User · Answer

For ESXi 5  you ll first want to enable ssh via the vSphere console and then login and use the following command to find the process ID  ps -c   grep -i  machine name    You can then find the process ID and end the process using kill

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

For ESXi 5  you ll first want to enable ssh via the vSphere console and then login and use the following command to find the process ID  ps -c   grep -i  machine name    You can then find the process ID and end the process using kill

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

For ESXi 5  you ll first want to enable ssh via the vSphere console and then login and use the following command to find the process ID  ps -c   grep -i  machine name    You can then find the process ID and end the process using kill

User · Answer

see the following from VMware s webpage  Powering off a virtual machine on an ESXi host  1014165  Symptoms  You are experiencing these issues   You cannot power off an ESXi hosted virtual machine  A virtual machine is not responsive and cannot be stopped or killed    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1014165   Using the ESXi 5 x esxcli command to power off a virtual machine  The esxcli command can be used locally or remotely to power off a virtual machine running on ESXi 5 x  For more information  see the esxcli vm Commands section of the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference   Open a console session where the esxcli tool is available  either in the ESXi Shell  the vSphere Management Assistant  vMA   or the location where the vSphere Command-Line Interface  vCLI  is installed   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vm process list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vm process kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber  Notes  Three power-off methods are available  Soft is the most graceful  hard performs an immediate shutdown  and force should be used as a last resort  Alternate power off command syntax is  esxcli vm process kill -t  soft hard force  -w WorldNumber  Repeat Step 2 and validate that the virtual machine is no longer running    For ESXi 4 1   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vms vm list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vms vm kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

see the following from VMware s webpage  Powering off a virtual machine on an ESXi host  1014165  Symptoms  You are experiencing these issues   You cannot power off an ESXi hosted virtual machine  A virtual machine is not responsive and cannot be stopped or killed    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1014165   Using the ESXi 5 x esxcli command to power off a virtual machine  The esxcli command can be used locally or remotely to power off a virtual machine running on ESXi 5 x  For more information  see the esxcli vm Commands section of the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference   Open a console session where the esxcli tool is available  either in the ESXi Shell  the vSphere Management Assistant  vMA   or the location where the vSphere Command-Line Interface  vCLI  is installed   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vm process list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vm process kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber  Notes  Three power-off methods are available  Soft is the most graceful  hard performs an immediate shutdown  and force should be used as a last resort  Alternate power off command syntax is  esxcli vm process kill -t  soft hard force  -w WorldNumber  Repeat Step 2 and validate that the virtual machine is no longer running    For ESXi 4 1   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vms vm list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vms vm kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

In some cases you may not be able to suspend  or for that matter take any of the  Power  actions on the VM  You may also already have multiple VMs up and running  Use this process to identify the correct PID to kill   On Windows 7 - Open Task Manager - Look for processes with the name   vmware-vmx exe   note the PIDs   Switch to the Performance tab and start the  Resource Monitor   Expand the  Disk Activity  panel  Sort the  File  column  Look for the appropriate vmdk file for the VM you want to kill  The  Image  column will have the  vmware-vmx  process listed  Note the PID   Switch back to the  Processes  tab and kill the PID

User · Answer

For VmWare fusion  hold the alt key while you click  restart virtual machine    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1006215

User · Answer

Similar  but using WMIC command line to obtain the process ID and path   WMIC  OUTPUT C  ProcessList txt PROCESS get Caption Commandline Processid   This will create a text file with each process and its parameters   You can search in the file for your VM File Path  and get the correct Process ID to end task with   Thanks to http   windowsxp mvps org listproc htm for the correct command line parameters

User · Answer

Similar  but using WMIC command line to obtain the process ID and path   WMIC  OUTPUT C  ProcessList txt PROCESS get Caption Commandline Processid   This will create a text file with each process and its parameters   You can search in the file for your VM File Path  and get the correct Process ID to end task with   Thanks to http   windowsxp mvps org listproc htm for the correct command line parameters

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

If you re on linux then you can grab the guest processes with   ps axuw   grep vmware-vmx   As  Dubas pointed out  you should be able to pick out the errant process by the path name to the VMD

User · Answer

see the following from VMware s webpage  Powering off a virtual machine on an ESXi host  1014165  Symptoms  You are experiencing these issues   You cannot power off an ESXi hosted virtual machine  A virtual machine is not responsive and cannot be stopped or killed    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1014165   Using the ESXi 5 x esxcli command to power off a virtual machine  The esxcli command can be used locally or remotely to power off a virtual machine running on ESXi 5 x  For more information  see the esxcli vm Commands section of the vSphere Command-Line Interface Reference   Open a console session where the esxcli tool is available  either in the ESXi Shell  the vSphere Management Assistant  vMA   or the location where the vSphere Command-Line Interface  vCLI  is installed   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vm process list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vm process kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber  Notes  Three power-off methods are available  Soft is the most graceful  hard performs an immediate shutdown  and force should be used as a last resort  Alternate power off command syntax is  esxcli vm process kill -t  soft hard force  -w WorldNumber  Repeat Step 2 and validate that the virtual machine is no longer running    For ESXi 4 1   Get a list of running virtual machines  identified by World ID  UUID  Display Name  and path to the  vmx configuration file  using this command   esxcli vms vm list  Power off one of the virtual machines from the list using this command   esxcli vms vm kill --type  soft hard force  --world-id WorldNumber

User · Answer

In some cases you may not be able to suspend  or for that matter take any of the  Power  actions on the VM  You may also already have multiple VMs up and running  Use this process to identify the correct PID to kill   On Windows 7 - Open Task Manager - Look for processes with the name   vmware-vmx exe   note the PIDs   Switch to the Performance tab and start the  Resource Monitor   Expand the  Disk Activity  panel  Sort the  File  column  Look for the appropriate vmdk file for the VM you want to kill  The  Image  column will have the  vmware-vmx  process listed  Note the PID   Switch back to the  Processes  tab and kill the PID

User · Answer

For VmWare fusion  hold the alt key while you click  restart virtual machine    http   kb vmware com selfservice microsites search do language en US amp cmd displayKC amp externalId 1006215

User · Answer

Here s what I did based on     a   Espo  s comments and b  the fact that I only had Windows Task Manager to play with      I logged onto the host machine  opened Task Manager and used the view menu to add the PID column to the Processes tab   I wrote down  yes  with paper and a pen  the PID s for each and every instance of the vmware-wmx exe process that was running on the box    Using the VMWare console  I suspended the errant virtual machine   When I resumed it  I could then identify the vmware-vmx process that corresponded to my machine and could kill it   There doesn t seem to have been any ill effects so far

User · Answer

If you are using Windows  the virtual machine should have it s own process that is visible in task manager  Use sysinternals Process Explorer to find the right one and then kill it from there

User · Answer

For ESXi 5  you ll first want to enable ssh via the vSphere console and then login and use the following command to find the process ID  ps -c   grep -i  machine name    You can then find the process ID and end the process using kill

[vmware] How do I kill a VMware virtual machine that won't die?

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