VMware Workstation - CachyOS Nuke & Reinstall

When to use

After a kernel update causes version mismatch errors like:

Version mismatch with vmmon module: expecting X, got Y.

1. Stop services and unload modules

sudo systemctl stop vmware-networks vmware-usbarbitrator
sudo modprobe -r vmmon vmnet

2. Remove existing installation

yay -Rns vmware-workstation
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/vmware
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/vmware-installer
sudo rm -rf /usr/lib/vmware-ovftool
sudo rm -rf /etc/vmware
sudo rm -rf /etc/vmware-installer
sudo rm -rf /etc/conf.d/vmware
sudo rm -rf /usr/bin/vmware*
sudo rm -rf /usr/bin/vmrun
sudo rm -rf /usr/bin/vmrest

3. Reinstall from AUR

yay -S vmware-workstation --rebuild

• Pick A for clean build when prompted.

4. Sign modules for Secure Boot

sudo /usr/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build/scripts/sign-file sha256 ~/MOK.priv ~/MOK.der $(modinfo -n vmmon)
sudo /usr/lib/modules/$(uname -r)/build/scripts/sign-file sha256 ~/MOK.priv ~/MOK.der $(modinfo -n vmnet)

5. Load modules and start services

sudo modprobe vmmon
sudo modprobe vmnet
sudo systemctl start vmware-networks
sudo systemctl status vmware-networks

6. Verify

vmware

Troubleshooting

[AppLoader] libdir is not initialized

Add missing config line:

echo 'libdir = "/usr/lib/vmware"' | sudo tee -a /etc/vmware/config

MOK key not enrolled yet (first time only)

openssl req -new -x509 -newkey rsa:2048 -keyout ~/MOK.priv -outform DER -out ~/MOK.der -nodes -days 36500 -subj "/CN=VMware Module Signing/"
sudo mokutil --import ~/MOK.der
# Reboot and confirm enrollment in MOK manager

Finding the sign-file path

find /usr/lib/modules/$(uname -r) -name sign-file