ISBRendererComm: Lost connection to mksSandbox (3796)

[RoyalXXX]

Describe the bug

The virtual machine was working perfectly for me, without any issues at all. However, after I updated the Intel® Arc™ & Iris® Xe Graphics – Windows driver from version 32.0.101.5768 to version 32.0.101.6874 (WHQL Certified), I started receiving the following error when launching the virtual machine:

ISBRendererComm: Lost connection to mksSandbox (3796)

If I disable Accelerate 3D graphics in the virtual machine settings, the VM starts without the error. However, performance is extremely poor, which is expected since graphics acceleration is disabled. Simply unchecking this option is not a viable solution—it makes working in the virtual machine practically impossible.

I’m attaching a log file that contains detailed information about the error.

vmware.log
mksSandbox.log

System info:
Windows 11 24H2 26100.4061
VMware® Workstation 17 Pro
17.6.3 build-24583834

Reproduction steps

1. update the Intel® Arc™ & Iris® Xe Graphics – Windows driver from version 32.0.101.5768 to version 32.0.101.6874 (WHQL Certified)
2. Power on the virtual machine

Expected behavior

The virtual machine was working without any errors before the graphics driver update, with graphics acceleration functioning properly and overall performance being good.

Additional context

Unfortunately, I cannot downgrade the graphics driver, as I updated it for a reason — I had a program that didn’t work at all with the previous version. That’s why it’s very important to find a solution that allows the virtual machine to work with the latest stable version of the graphics driver.

[RoyalXXX]

After analyzing mksSandbox.log I realized that VMware is trying to use Vulkan, but an error occurs, causing the program itself to crash. I added one line in the vmx file to prevent the use of Vulkan:

mks.enableVulkanRenderer = "FALSE"

Now, judging from the new log, VMWare selects DX12 and the problem is now solved, everything works again. My graphics support Vulkan 1.4.312, but apparently VMware doesn't work with that version.

[Kobi-Blade]

This issue should remain open, as VMware is defaulting to the Vulkan renderer without providing a UI option to change it.

I have successfully reproduced the problem across 13 AMD based systems running the latest drivers, indicating that it is not limited to Intel hardware.

While I have not yet been able to test on NVIDIA systems, I suspect the issue may persist there as well.