VMWare VpxClient.exe has an issue with Data Execution Prevention (DEP), which results in quite a lot of the functionality of the client being unavailable.
Symptoms:
- Unable to access the console
- Error message "Unable to get the window handle for the 'AxQuickMksAxCtl' control. Windowless ActiveX controls are not supported".
- Error message "Object not set to an instance of an object".
Turning off DEP for this application using the system control panel application does not work, it fails with the error "This program must run with data execution protection(DEP) enabled. You cannot turn off DEP for this program."
VMWare recommend turning off DEP globally using BCDEdit.exe
. Clearly this is undesirable.
I have found the solution, and I am posting it here to help others.