If you have performed a fresh installation of Linux Mint (or other Ubuntu/Debian-based systems) within VMware Workstation Pro, you might encounter a bug where the terminal refuses to open. Clicking the icon causes it to spin without launching, and the "Open in Terminal" context menu context menu also fails. While changing language settings is a common suggestion, it often does not resolve the issue.
The most reliable fix involves creating a fresh user account, as the issue often stems from a corrupt user profile during the VM installation. To do this without a working terminal, we must enter the root shell via GRUB.
Restart the Virtual Machine. As it boots, hold the Shift key to pause the boot process and enter the GRUB menu.
Use the arrow keys to select Advanced options for Linux Mint. Then, select the entry ending in (recovery mode).
Once the recovery menu loads, you will see several options. Select Drop to root shell prompt to get command-line access.
Use the adduser command to create a new user (e.g., "test"). You will be prompted to set a password and confirm user details.
adduser test
To ensure this new user has administrative rights, add them to the sudo group.
adduser test sudo
(Note: The video transcript refers to "Sudo um test", implying the command used was likely `usermod` or `adduser`, which achieves the same result of granting admin rights).
Type reboot to restart the system.
At the login screen, select the newly created user (e.g., "test") and enter the password you just set.
Click the terminal icon. It should now open immediately, confirming that the issue was specific to the initial user profile created during installation.