Virtual Device Serial0 Will Start Disconnected |link| Jun 2026

If you don't use serial ports, delete the device. If you might use them later, leave it disconnected – your VM will run perfectly either way.

Setting up a virtual serial console allows text-based redirection for Linux servers or network appliances.

If your environment requires an active virtual serial port (for instance, to route traffic to a physical serial device over an IP network, or to output to a pipe), you must correct the backing path rather than deleting the device. virtual device serial0 will start disconnected

<!-- Libvirt example --> <serial type='pty'> <source path='/dev/pts/foo'/> <target port='0'/> <connect start='connected'/> </serial>

serial0.present = "TRUE" serial0.fileType = "device" serial0.fileName = "COM1" serial0.startConnected = "TRUE" Use code with caution. If you don't use serial ports, delete the device

The "virtual device serial0 will start disconnected" alert is a benign warning rather than a critical system failure. It serves as a reminder that your virtual environment is requesting hardware capabilities that your physical host cannot provision.

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you aren’t alone. While it sounds like a critical hardware failure, it is usually just a configuration "ghost" left behind by old software or missing physical ports. What Does This Error Actually Mean? If your environment requires an active virtual serial

Usually, the "Virtual device serial0 will start disconnected" message has on the performance of your VM. The operating system just boots up without the virtual hardware mapped.

A common cause is the "Virtual Printing" feature. If this feature is globally disabled on your host system but enabled in the VM settings, VMware attempts to use serial0 for the printer connection and fails, triggering the message.