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.
