TeamViewer on Converted VM

I installed an SSD into my home ESXi host and wanted to migrate my Windows Home Server onto the SSD. As the SSD was quite small, I had to use VMware Converter to “Convert” the VM to another VM with a reduced disk size.

Afterwards, TeamViewer would not connect if I wasn’t logged into the machine (either via the console or RDP). Every time I tried to connect I got a “WaitforConnectFailed” error. Uninstalling and reinstalling TeamViewer was of no help.

As part of the VM conversion process, VMware Converter strips out the network card and installs a new one. This meant that TeamViewer was somehow binding to the old “hidden” network card which would obviously not connect. Using the instructions in the following article (the instructions work with all versions of Windows from XP upwards), I removed the non-present NIC and voilá, it now works as it should. A fairly unique situation, but one I thought was worth documenting.