I am not claiming that this method will fix all errors attributed to this, but after spending a few days on this and reading all the posts out here with no real solution it can't hurt to share.
Setup:
Windows 2008 R2 Server
VMWare Server 2.0.2
The Issue:
VMWare Host Agent service stops and this error is logged in windows event log when adding a existing virtual machine created in VMWare workstation to VMWare Server 2.0s Inventory.
Log Name: Application
Source: vmauthd
Date: 8/4/2011 5:32:28 PM
Event ID: 100
Task Category: None
Level: Error
Keywords: Classic
User: N/A
Computer: PAI-SRV-VMHOST3.perryman.local
Description:
Cannot connect to VMX: E:\Virtual Machines\PAI-SRV-DC02\PAI-SRV-DC02.vmx
Steps to Reproduce:
1. Create a machine with printer in VMWare Workstation (default setup).
2. Attempt to move machine to VMWare Server 2.x Host
Solution:
Edit the "VirtualMachineName.vmx" with notepad and remove the following line:
serial0.fileType = "thinprint"
IF your machine is a Windows 2008 Server R2, you must change the next line also (NOT DELETE), or your machine WILL NOT START:
guestOS = "longhorn-64"
How we got to it:
Create a new machine and compare line by line the working machines .vmx against the existing machine that we were trying to copy.
Removing one line at a time that wasn't in the working machines .vmx and trying to Add to Inventory.
Like I said, I am not claiming that this is a fix all solution, but it worked for every case I have tried.
Good luck.
Richard Perryman
Programmer