Arch Linux

aaassta_

Member

Registered: 2025-04-04

Posts: 1

VMware Workstation vmmon Module Error on Kernel 6.13.8

Title: VMware Workstation

vmmon

Module Error on Kernel 6.13.8

Issue Summary
I installed VMware Workstation via

yay

on Arch Linux and faced issues with the

vmmon

module when trying to run a virtual machine.

---

System Information

• Kernel Version: 6.13.8-arch1-1

• VMware Workstation Version: 16.x (installed via AUR)

• Installation Method:

  yay -S vmware-workstation

---

What I Tried

1. Running VMware Workstation
When I attempt to run a VM, I receive the following error:

Could not open /dev/vmmon: No such file or directory.
Please make sure that the kernel module `vmmon` is loaded.

---

2. Attempting to Load VMware Modules Manually
I tried loading the modules with:

sudo modprobe -a vmw_vmci vmmon

But received the following error:

modprobe: WARNING: Module vmw_vmci not found in directory /lib/modules/6.13.8-arch1-1
modprobe: WARNING: Module vmmon not found in directory /lib/modules/6.13.8-arch1-1

---

3. Trying to Rebuild Modules from Source
I tried building the modules from the vmware-host-modules repository. However, during the

make

process, I encountered these errors:

*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
* Branch workstation-16.2.1 has been retired on 2022-04-04 and has not been
* receiving any updates since. Please switch to latest 16.x version available.
*
* Latest kernel version this branch is intended to work with is 5.17.
*-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
make -C vmmon-only 
make[1]: Entering directory '/home/oussama/vmware-host-modules/vmmon-only'
Using standalone build system.
In file included from ./autoconf/geninclude.c:20:
./include/compat_autoconf.h:38:13: fatal error: generated/autoconf.h: No such file or directory
   38 | #   include <generated/autoconf.h>
      |             ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
compilation terminated.
make[2]: Entering directory '/home/oussama/vmware-host-modules/vmmon-only/driver-6.13.8-arch1-1'
In file included from .././autoconf/geninclude.c:20:
.././include/compat_autoconf.h:38:13: fatal error: generated/autoconf.h: No such file or directory
   38 | #   include <generated/autoconf.h>
      |             ^~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
compilation terminated.
Dependencies for driverLog.c
cc1: error: code model kernel does not support PIC mode
make[2]: *** [.././Makefile.normal:125: driverLog.d] Error 1
make[2]: Leaving directory '/home/oussama/vmware-host-modules/vmmon-only/driver-6.13.8-arch1-1'
make[1]: *** [Makefile.normal:132: deps] Error 2
make[1]: Leaving directory '/home/oussama/vmware-host-modules/vmmon-only'
make: *** [Makefile:21: vmmon-only] Error 2

---

4. Updating Kernel & Headers
I updated both the kernel and headers to version

6.13.8

and made sure they are compatible:

sudo pacman -Syu linux linux-headers

The issue persists even after the update.

---

Questions

1. Is VMware Workstation 16.x compatible with kernel version

   6.13.8

   ?

2. Should I try using a newer version of VMware Workstation (17.x or later)?

3. Is there a known workaround or patch for this kernel version?

4. Would downgrading the kernel to an LTS version (

   5.15

   or similar) be recommended?

Any help would be appreciated. Thank you!