VMware Workstation Pro 26H1 is out with 64-bit support for Windows, new OS compatibility

Broadcom has released a new update for VMware Workstation Pro, popular virtualization software for Windows, Linux, and macOS. Version 26H1 is now available for download from the Broadcom Support Portal.

Main changes in the release include 64-bit binaries and components for Windows hosts, timestamps for virtual machines to make them easier to identify in the list, support for remote connections to ARM-based ESX hosts, and updated credential formats for easier identification of encrypted VMs.

VMware Workstation Pro also adds support for the following operating systems:

Broadcom also fixed security patches and a fix for incorrect links to technical documentations. Now, all help buttons and URLs across the app link to the correct articles instead of the documentation home page.

According to the release notes, the update has one known issue:

After upgrading VMware Workstation Pro on Windows hosts, ISO files remain in previous installation directory

When upgrading VMware Workstation on Windows from an earlier version, if the new installation path is different from the old one, ISO image files from the earlier installation are not automatically removed. These files remain in the old installation directory, for example, C:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware Workstation\windows.iso and continue to consume disk space.

Workaround: Perform one of the following tasks:

• Before upgrading, manually uninstall the earlier version of VMware Workstation and select the option to save product configuration.
• After upgrading, manually navigate to the old installation directory and delete the ISO image files and their containing folders.

While VMware Workstation Pro is available for free for non-commercial use, getting to the latest version is quite a challenge. You cannot update an existing installation, as Broadcom forces users to download installers from the Broadcom Support Portal, which requires creating an account.