Many times I have faced issue while mounting ISO file to VM console and then it is goes stuck on CD/DVD connecting grey state, where I am not able to do much.



To fix this, I set CD/DVD drive mode to Passthrough IDE (Recommended).



Once the setting done, Close vsphere client completely and open it again.



On VM console try Connect to ISO p_w_picpath on local disk. This time it should successfully get connected.



Note: The passthrough device can only be used on one virtual machine at a time.
Reference VMWare KB
What is differance between Passthrough IDE and Emulate IDE?
Select the mode used for the connection.

  • Passthrough IDE (raw). Use mode only for remote client device access.

  • Emulate IDE. Use to access a host CD-ROM device.

The host CD-ROM device is accessed through emulation mode. Passthrough mode is not functional for local host CD-ROM access. You can write or burn a remote CD only through pass-through mode access, but in emulation mode you can only read a CD-ROM from a host CD-ROM device.