OMNeT++ IDE Loses Veins Project After VM Restart (Using Instant Veins 5.2)

[12shuaibi]

Hello, I'm experiencing an issue with the Instant Veins 5.2 virtual machine.

I'm using the official instant-veins-5.2-i1.ova file, importing it into VMware Workstation. After importing, everything works fine—I can install and configure OMNeT++ and the Veins project successfully, and it compiles and runs without issues. However, every time I shut down and restart the virtual machine, the Veins project is missing from the OMNeT++ IDE, and I have to manually re-import it each time.

Detailed description of the issue:

I start the Instant Veins 5.2 virtual machine and import the Veins project into the OMNeT++ IDE.
The project imports successfully, compiles, and can be used normally.
After shutting down and restarting the VM, I open OMNeT++ IDE and find that the Veins project is missing from the workspace. I need to manually import it every time.
I'm wondering why the OMNeT++ IDE loses the imported Veins project every time I restart the virtual machine. Is there a way to keep the project imported, or am I missing any crucial steps in configuring the virtual machine or OMNeT++?

System environment:
Operating System: Windows 11
Virtual machine used: instant-veins-5.2-i1.ova
Virtual machine software: VMware Workstation XX
OMNeT++ version: 5.7
Veins version: 5.2
Any help or suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

[12shuaibi]

Virtual machine software: VMware Workstation Pro 17