If you forgot the password for a Windows or Linux account inside a VMware Workstation virtual machine, recover it through the guest operating system’s supported process—not through Workstation. First identify which password prompt you are seeing, check for keyboard-entry problems, and then use the appropriate OS or identity-administrator recovery route. A VM encryption prompt is a separate issue and is not fixed by resetting a guest account password.
First identify which password Workstation is asking for
Workstation runs the virtual machine; Windows or Linux inside that VM manages its user accounts and passwords. Broadcom explains this separation in its account-management guidance for ESXi 8.x: VMware tools do not provide a way to break into a guest or reset its internal user password. Although that article names ESXi, the distinction is useful in Workstation too: the guest OS owns its own authentication.
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- Guest account sign-in: Windows or Linux has started and displays its normal user login screen. Follow the recovery process for that operating system and account type.
- VM encryption prompt: Workstation requests an encryption password before the VM can be opened or started. A Windows or Linux account reset will not unlock an encrypted VM.
Note the guest OS and version, whether the account is local or centrally managed, and the exact prompt before choosing a recovery route.
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A password can be rejected even when you remember it correctly. Broadcom’s incorrect-password troubleshooting article is written for vSphere 8.x, but its low-risk checks can also help with a Workstation guest:
- Check whether Caps Lock is on.
- Confirm that the guest is using the expected keyboard language and layout.
- If the login field offers a password-visibility control, use it to check what you typed.
- If physical keys may be faulty, try the guest OS’s on-screen keyboard.
If these checks do not resolve the sign-in problem, use the guest OS’s recovery route rather than repeatedly guessing.
Choose the recovery route for the guest and account
| What you have | Next step |
|---|---|
| Local Windows account | Use the supported account-recovery process for your Windows edition and version. |
| Local Linux account | Use the recovery process supported by your Linux distribution and configuration. |
| Domain or other centrally managed account | Contact the identity or directory-service administrator to check account status and policy. |
| Recovery cannot be completed | Consider restoring the VM from a recent backup, following the backup system’s restore procedure. |
There is no single safe reset recipe that applies to every Windows and Linux guest. The available steps can depend on the OS version, account type, and configuration, including encryption. Broadcom’s account-management guidance directs users to the guest OS vendor for guest-password recovery and advises checking with the responsible administrator for directory-managed accounts.
Restore from backup only if account recovery is not workable
If supported account recovery is unavailable or unsuccessful, a recent VM backup may provide a fallback. A restore returns the VM to the state captured at that restore point, so changes made afterward may not be present. Use your backup system’s documented procedure and confirm which restore point contains the state you need.
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Broadcom documented a specific encryption-state issue after updating to VMware Workstation Pro 17.5.1. In that case, affected VMs could appear encrypted, with vmx.ecryptionType = "partial" and vtpm.present = "TRUE" in the VMX file. The article’s workaround is to shut down the VM, export it with OVF Tool, and import it again into Workstation; see Broadcom’s Workstation 17.5.1 encryption article. This applies to that documented encryption-state problem, not to a forgotten local Windows or Linux password. Do not use it as a general password-reset method.
Reinstalling Workstation will not reset a guest account
Downloading or reinstalling the desktop hypervisor does not change credentials stored inside a guest OS. Broadcom’s download guidance says a registered Support Portal account is required; basic-user profiles are subject to export-compliance screening before free downloads are made available. It also describes 25H2 as the calendar-style naming convention for Workstation and Fusion. These access details are relevant only if you need the software itself, not as a way to recover a VM account.
Workstation Pro became free after registering for an account and downloading it on May 6, 2024, according to Broadcom’s licensing guidance, updated May 20, 2026. That licensing change does not alter how guest operating systems manage their passwords.
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