VMware ESXi and vSphere Cluster Management

How to Find the UUID of a Virtual Machine in VMware Workstation Player

Learn how to find a VMware Workstation Player VM's SMBIOS UUID in a Windows guest using FirmwareTablesView, validate its format, and troubleshoot identity changes.

A virtual machine (VM) is a software-defined computer running under a hypervisor. VMware Workstation Player runs VMs on a desktop computer. This guide explains how to find the UUID that the VM exposes through its SMBIOS firmware information.

What a VM UUID Is

A UUID, or Universally Unique Identifier, is a 128-bit value used to distinguish one entity from another. The UUID discussed here is the system identity value reported through SMBIOS, the System Management BIOS data structures that expose firmware and hardware information to an operating system.

A UUID contains 128 bits, commonly represented as 32 hexadecimal characters. Hexadecimal is a base-16 numbering system using 0 through 9 and A through F. Tools may display the characters in groups separated by spaces or hyphens.

Why You May Need the UUID

  • Inventory: Associate a stable machine identity with a VM name, owner, or asset record.
  • Licensing: Provide the identifier required by software licensing or application-registration systems.
  • Troubleshooting: Identify the machine when a support process relies on firmware-reported identity.
  • Identity verification: Check whether a VM retained its identity after being copied, moved, migrated, or restored.

Prerequisites

  • The VMware Workstation Player VM must exist and be able to boot.
  • You need access to the Windows guest operating system desktop.
  • The VM should be running while you inspect its firmware-reported value.
  • This procedure uses Windows and the FirmwareTablesView firmware-table viewing utility.
  • You should know how to download and extract a ZIP file.

Obtain FirmwareTablesView

  1. Download the FirmwareTablesView utility from its publisher's official distribution source. Do not rely on an untrusted mirror.
  2. Review any browser, antivirus, or Windows security warning before opening the download. A small diagnostic utility may be unfamiliar to security software even when obtained from the publisher.
  3. Extract the downloaded ZIP archive to a local folder inside the Windows guest.
  4. Open the extracted folder and run FirmwareTablesView.exe.

The utility is portable, so it normally runs directly from the extracted folder. Follow your organization's software and security policies before executing downloaded programs.

Find the UUID in FirmwareTablesView

  1. Start the Windows guest in VMware Workstation Player and sign in.
  2. Launch FirmwareTablesView inside the guest.
  3. In the upper results pane, find the entry whose firmware provider is SMBIOS.
  4. Select the SMBIOS entry.
  5. Inspect the lower details pane. Locate the field containing the system UUID.
  6. Copy or record the UUID exactly as displayed.

For an inventory record, associate the recorded value with the VM name and the date checked. Keeping the original grouping makes it easier to compare your record with the viewer later.

Read and Validate the Displayed UUID

Valid UUID characters in this context are hexadecimal characters: 0–9 and A–F, in either uppercase or lowercase. Spaces and hyphens are presentation separators; they are not part of the underlying value.

Display style: Grouped with spaces

Illustrative format: 564D 268B D17C 5CFD 489A 69B0 09BC 717B

How to normalize: Remove spaces only when another product requires a continuous value.

Comparison guidance: Compare the hexadecimal characters in order.

Display style: Hyphenated groups

Illustrative format: 564D268B-D17C5CFD-489A69B0-09BC717B

How to normalize: Remove hyphens, and remove spaces if present.

Comparison guidance: Different grouping does not necessarily mean a different UUID.

Display style: Normalized

Illustrative format: 564D268BD17C5CFD489A69B009BC717B

How to normalize: No separators are present.

Comparison guidance: A conventional normalized representation contains 32 hexadecimal characters.

Preserve the original displayed grouping when documenting the value. If an application requires a no-separator form, create that form by removing only visual separators. For the illustrative value above, the normalized form contains 32 hexadecimal characters.

Example: Record a UUID for Inventory

  1. Start the Windows guest in VMware Workstation Player.
  2. Run FirmwareTablesView.
  3. Select the SMBIOS entry in the upper pane.
  4. Read the UUID from the lower details pane.
  5. Record the UUID beside the VM name in the inventory system.

UUID Persistence and VM Identity

When you open VM files in VMware products after moving or copying them, VMware may ask whether the virtual machine was copied or moved. This question matters because VM identity can be regenerated or preserved.

  • A copied-machine workflow can result in a newly generated virtual machine identity. This is generally appropriate when the result should be treated as a separate machine.
  • A moved-machine workflow is intended to preserve the existing identity when the same VM has been relocated.

Cloning, copying VM files, restoring backups, recreating a VM, or changing identity-related configuration can affect identifiers. If a fixed identity matters, record the SMBIOS UUID before the operation, choose the copied-versus-moved option intentionally, boot the guest afterward, and check the UUID again.

Example: Verify Identity After Moving a VM

  1. Record the UUID while the VM is in its original location.
  2. Move the VM files or change the host storage location.
  3. When VMware asks whether the VM was copied or moved, select the option that matches the intended identity behavior.
  4. Boot the guest and inspect the SMBIOS entry again in FirmwareTablesView.
  5. Compare the new value with the original record.

Do Not Confuse the SMBIOS UUID with Other Identifiers

A VM can have several identifiers. The SMBIOS-reported UUID is not automatically interchangeable with a MAC address, disk UUID, Windows machine identifier, or VMware inventory identifier.

Identifier: SMBIOS VM UUID

Where it is reported: Firmware tables exposed to the guest

Typical purpose: Firmware-based machine identification, inventory, licensing, and troubleshooting

Do not confuse with: A network adapter MAC address or disk identifier

Identifier: MAC address

Where it is reported: Virtual network adapter and guest operating system network configuration

Typical purpose: Network communication and network-based identification

Do not confuse with: The SMBIOS UUID

Identifier: Disk UUID or disk identifier

Where it is reported: Virtual disk metadata or the guest operating system

Typical purpose: Disk, partition, or filesystem identification

Do not confuse with: The VM's firmware identity

Identifier: Guest OS machine identifier

Where it is reported: Windows or another guest operating system

Typical purpose: Operating-system and application identity

Do not confuse with: The SMBIOS UUID

Identifier: VMware inventory or configuration identifier

Where it is reported: VMware management data or VM configuration files

Typical purpose: VMware-side administration and inventory

Do not confuse with: The value exposed by SMBIOS

Troubleshooting

No SMBIOS Entry Is Visible

  • Confirm that FirmwareTablesView is running inside the guest rather than on the host.
  • Reopen or refresh the utility and look specifically for SMBIOS in the firmware-provider information.
  • Restart the guest if necessary and check the firmware tables again.
  • If the entry remains unavailable, the guest environment may not be exposing the expected firmware information.

The Value Does Not Look Like a UUID

  • Make sure the SMBIOS record, rather than another firmware-table record, is selected.
  • Do not count spaces or hyphens as UUID characters.
  • Copy the complete value from the lower details pane.
  • Remove separators for validation and confirm that 32 hexadecimal characters remain.

The UUID Changed After Copying or Restoring a VM

  • The VM may have been treated as a copy and given a new identity.
  • The VM may have been cloned or recreated from its files.
  • A configuration or firmware-identity setting may have been regenerated.
  • Decide whether the duplicate should have a new identity. For future transfers, use the copied-versus-moved prompt intentionally and verify the UUID afterward.

An Application Rejects the UUID Format

  • Check whether the application expects 32 continuous hexadecimal characters without spaces or hyphens.
  • Check whether it requires a specific capitalization or grouping style.
  • Confirm that the application actually requests the SMBIOS UUID rather than a MAC address, disk identifier, guest OS identifier, or VMware-specific identifier.

Summary

To find a VMware Workstation Player VM's firmware-reported UUID, boot a Windows guest, run FirmwareTablesView inside that guest, select the SMBIOS firmware-provider entry, and read the UUID in the lower details pane. Record the value exactly as shown, normalize it only when required, and verify it again after copying, cloning, restoring, or moving the VM when identity persistence matters.