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Just today when I started Ubuntu 18.04 (Linux Kernel 4.15.0-51) in VMware Workstation Player 14 (14.1.7) the boot freezes just before the login prompt. The mouse cursor is visible and the Ubuntu logo at the bottom center is just being rendered as is visible in the attached screenshot. (Depending on the exact moment of the freeze the Ubuntu logo appears more or less bright.)

I am able to boot if I enter recovery mode and simply resume the boot. However, I am not able to set the display resolution to the hosts' nor is the host's display device detected.

To resolve the issue I reinstalled the VMware tools as well as the open-vm-tools. I also tried to extend the "Unit" section of /etc/systemd/system/multi-user.target.wants/open-vm-tools.service with Requires/After=graphical.target to no effect. Lastly, I attempted to check the filesystem which failed:

/lib/recovery-mode/recovery-menu: line 80: /etc/default/rcS: No such file or directory
fsck from util-linux 2.31.1
/dev/sda1 mounted.
e2fsck: Cannot continue, aborting.

Finished, please press ENTER

Boot freeze on purple screen before login prompt:

Boot freeze on purple screen before login prompt

Dave
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    What happens if you press F12? – Simon Sudler Jun 12 '19 at 07:00
  • Nothing happens. It appears the system is completely stuck. Though I can shut down the guest properly. – Dave Jun 12 '19 at 07:02
  • When you in the grub boot loader, press c on the default Ubuntu target. There is a line linux ... vmlinuz... quite splash. remove this quite splash and boot the modified configuration. Make a screenshot of the output and add to your question. – Simon Sudler Jun 12 '19 at 07:19
  • I removed the "quite" at the end of the line (there was no "splash"). While I see a lot more output before the purple screen, the result is the same. – Dave Jun 12 '19 at 07:25
  • Can you post that output? It might help to identify the issue... – Simon Sudler Jun 12 '19 at 08:03
  • Is there a way to hide the purple screen or read the log after a recovery/resume boot? Otherwise, I am only able to get glimpses at the output. – Dave Jun 12 '19 at 08:07

2 Answers2

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I had the same problem after an update today. Solution was to disable wayland:

Unable to login to account in ubuntu 18.04 vmware workstation 15, after update

tsp
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I have this exact issue and it seemed like it has something to do with the graphics drivers. To temporarily fix it, I removed 3D acceleration from VMWare settings.

Go to VM->Settings->Display and uncheck Accelerate 3D graphics.

The Ubuntu VM now boots in normal mode and the screen resolution can be switched.

Now to fix 3D acceleration, you need to disable Wayland. Open up a terminal:

sudo nano /etc/gdm3/custom.conf

Uncomment the line

#WaylandEnable=false

to

WaylandEnable=false

This disables Wayland and enables you to turn on 3D acceleration again.

singen
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  • 3D acceleration did not have an effect in my case. Disabling Wayland (as root in recovery mode), as @tsp and you suggest did word. – Dave Jun 12 '19 at 10:24