Ironically enough, this error could indeed be caused by memory problems or other things like permission issues, but that’s the exception and not the rule. This error can occur on all platforms, but in recent times, users have mostly faced it on macOS Big Sur and Monterey. As such, we’ll deal with that first.
How to Fix “Not Enough Physical Memory Issue” on VMware?
On Mac
MacOS 11 (Big Sur) only supports VMware Fusion 12.x and later, while macOS 12 (Monterey) only supports Fusion 12.2.x and later. If you’re running any other macOS or Fusion version, we recommend checking this table on the VMware knowledgebase that lists the supported host operating systems. If you’re a Fusion Pro user and are hesitant about getting a new license, it may be worth trying out Fusion Player, as it’s free for non-commercial use.
On Linux
Although uncommon now, there was a similar incompatibility issue with Ubuntu and Arch a few years ago. Back then, the latest kernel versions were versions 4.13/14, and the VMware Workstation version was 14. So, if you’re running any of these old versions on your system, updating is the easiest way to resolve the error. For instance, on Debian-based distros, you can update the Linux kernel with the following commands:sudo apt-get updatesudo apt-get dist-upgrade If you want to switch to a different VMware version instead, we have a dedicated article on installing VMware on Linux if you require it. Alternatively, you can also use the following script to patch the issue without updating:
On Windows
On Windows, the best way to fix this error is to run VMware as administrator. Aside from this, you can try modifying the config file. Here’s how you can do this: On Windows 8.1 specifically, the KB2995388 update introduced this error in VMware Workstation 10, 11 beta, and VMware Player 6. This isn’t as relevant now, but for anyone still running these old versions, uninstalling the update or switching to a different VMware version should resolve the error. Here are the steps to uninstall said update:
General Fixes For Not Enough Physical Memory Error
In addition to the platform-specific fixes we’ve mentioned above, there are a few general fixes applicable to all of them. For starters, it’s possible that the host OS actually doesn’t have enough memory to power on the guest. As such, you could close unnecessary applications to try and free some memory for the VM. Alternatively, you could also reduce the amount of RAM allocated to the VM. If the guest OS is an antique, like Windows 95, for instance, this could be especially effective. This is because older operating systems often have top-end limits on the hardware that they can handle. Finally, you could also try configuring the virtual memory swap setting. Here’s how you can do this:
