If you cannot delete the device because you might need it later, you can tell VMware to ignore its connection state during the boot sequence. This eliminates the startup warning popup. Open your virtual machine's . Select the Serial Port from the hardware list. On the right-hand panel, locate the Device status section. Uncheck the box next to Connect at power on . Uncheck Connected if it is currently selected. Click OK to apply changes.
For advanced users or situations where the GUI does not show the device (common in Fusion or Workstation updates), you can manually remove the entries from the .vmx file. virtual device serial0 will start disconnected
The VM is configured to use a physical serial port (e.g., COM1 on the host) that does not exist or is unavailable. If you cannot delete the device because you
If the device isn't visible in the GUI or the message persists, you can manually remove the offending lines from your VM's configuration file: Open your VM's folder and locate the .vmx file. Open it with a text editor (like Notepad or TextEdit). Find and delete the following lines: serial0.fileType = "thinprint" serial0.fileName = "thinprint" serial0.present = "TRUE" Save and close the file, then restart your VM. Troubleshooting Physical Port Conflicts Select the Serial Port from the hardware list
If the issue persists after these generic fixes, inspect the .vmx file for configuration errors:
Solution 1: Removing the Legacy Printer Device (Workstation & Fusion)