A Requested Power Operation is Already in Progress

In this tutorial, we are going to discuss an error that is appearing when we execute the "Guest OS Shutdown or Restart" command directly from the VMware Workstation. The below popup message has appeared when we execute any power-related command.

Generally, if any virtual machine has hanged or stuck in some situation then we are going to force restart or shutdown it to get back to the normal position. But the "Restart" or "Shutdown" command is failed with the below message.

"A requested power operation is already in progress".

In this tutorial, we are going to fix that. In the VMware Workstation, for every virtual machine that is currently running, one "vmware-vmx.exe" process is generated for each of them on the "Task Manager". If any virtual machine has gone to an unstable state or hanged, then we can stop it by killing the "vmware-vmx.exe" process for that respective virtual machine. In an unstable situation or hanging position, sometimes it is not possible to shutdown or restart the guest operating system or the virtual machine. It is the only way to get rid of this situation by killing the "vmware-vmx.exe" process for that virtual machine.

To do that, just open the "Task Manager" and kill the "vmware-vmx.exe" process for that virtual machine.

But, there is one thing to consider, if we have multiple virtual machines then we will have multiple "vmware-vmx.exe" processes also. How can we recognize which "vmware-vmx.exe" process is working for which virtual machine? By killing the wrong process, there is a chance to stop any running and working virtual machine. So, be careful about the "vmware-vmx.exe" selection process.

Here is one tip to select the right "vmware-vmx.exe" process. In the "Task Manager", the "vmware-vmx.exe" process will maintain the same serial number as the virtual machine has been created on the "VMware Workstation" program. Suppose, we have three virtual machines. The first machine name is "Windows" and the second machine name is "Linux" and finally, the third machine name is "MAC".

We know that one "vmware-vmx.exe" process will be generated for each and every virtual machine. In that case, it will generate three "vmware-vmx.exe" processes. The first "vmware-vmx.exe" process will work for the "Windows" virtual machine, the second "vmware-vmx.exe" process will work for the "Linux" virtual machine and finally, the third "vmware-vmx.exe" process will work for the "MAC" virtual machine. The "Task Manager" will maintain the same serial number for the "vmware-vmx.exe" processes as the virtual machine is created in the "VMware Workstation" program.

That's it. To shut down an unresponsive or hanged virtual machine, we have to kill the "vmware-vmx.exe" process for that respective virtual machine. In this way, we can get rid of this situation.