VMware vSphere FAQ Summary (I)

1. How to Enable Copy and Paste Between Guest OS and Remote Console?

To enable copy-paste functionality between your guest operating system and the remote console using vSphere Client, follow these steps:

In the Summary tab, click “Edit Settings.”

Navigate to “Options” > “Advanced” > “General” and click “Configuration Parameters.”

Click "Add Row" and enter the following:
Name: isolation.tools.copy.disable
Value: false
Name: isolation.tools.paste.disable
Value: false

Note: These settings override any configured in the VMware Tools control panel of the guest OS.

Click “OK” to save the changes and close the dialogs.

Restart the virtual machine to apply the changes.

2. Unable to Find Boot List After SCO System Migration?

If you cannot find the boot list after migrating a SCO system, try creating an emergency disk using a floppy drive. If that doesn’t work, import an existing virtual image into VMware, but be prepared to manually configure relevant applications.

3. Cannot Find Logical Partitions (LVM Volumes) After Linux Migration?

After migrating a Linux system, if you cannot find logical partitions (LVM volumes), consider adding an additional hard disk to the virtual machine, merging it with the existing setup, and then copying the data back into the newly added hard disk.

4. Cannot Find 10Gbps NIC During ESXi Installation?

If you encounter difficulty finding a 10Gbps NIC during ESXi installation, install the OEM-specific ESXi version provided by the respective hardware vendor.

5. VSS Original Volume Cannot Be Cloned During Migration?

If you cannot clone the VSS original volume during migration, check if there are any additional devices connected to the server, such as USB devices, and disconnect them if necessary.

6. “IP Already Allocated to Another Adapter” During Network Card Configuration After Windows Migration

If you encounter the error “IP Already Allocated to Another Adapter” while configuring the network card after migrating a Windows system, follow these steps:

Open a command prompt (cmd) and enter the following commands: copy code set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 devmgmt.msc
In the Device Manager, go to “View” and select “Show hidden devices.”
Expand “Network Adapters” and uninstall any transparently displayed network cards that are no longer present or associated with the migrated system (except for RAS Sync Adapter).
Restart the virtual machine and reconfigure the network settings as needed.

7. Asianux 3.0 Cannot Display Graphical Interface After Migration

If Asianux 3.0 fails to display the graphical interface after migration, follow these steps:

Back up the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file.
Edit the /etc/X11/xorg.conf file and locate the “Devices” section.
Change the “Driver” value in the “Devices” section to “vmware.”
Save the file and exit the editor.
Use the startx command to start the graphical interface.

8. Physical Machine Loses Internet Connectivity After Starting Migrated Domain Controller VM

If your physical machine loses internet connectivity after starting a migrated domain controller VM, check for issues with unicast and multicast settings on the network.

9. Cannot Control Full-Screen Mouse in VM within vCenter

If you cannot control the full-screen mouse within a VM in vCenter, consider upgrading your ESXi and vCenter Client software:

Upgrade ESXi 4.1 to ESXi 4.1 Update 1 or a later version.
Upgrade the vCenter Client to the version that corresponds to your updated ESXi version.

10. Migrated Win2003 System Experiences Blue Screen or Reboots Intermittently

If your migrated Windows 2003 system experiences blue screens or intermittent reboots, check the system logs for potential issues. One common cause could be antivirus software. Try uninstalling and reinstalling the antivirus software to resolve the issue.

11. Conditions for Using Fault Tolerance (FT) Functionality

To use VMware’s Fault Tolerance (FT) functionality, the following conditions must be met:

All ESXi hosts must be version 4.0 or higher with the same build version and must be part of the same VMware High Availability (HA) Cluster.
Servers must have CPUs from the same series, typically AMD Barcelona+ or Intel Penryn+ processors.
BIOS must have Virtualization Technology (VT) enabled and features like Hyperthreading and power management disabled.
Each VM configured for FT can only have 1 vCPU.
A dedicated Gigabit network (FT Logging Network) must be set up for FT traffic.
VMs must reside on shared storage accessible by all ESXi hosts participating in FT.
VM configuration files must be version 7 or above.
Guest OS should not enable Paravirtualization features that may conflict with FT.
VMs with FT enabled do not support automatic Distributed Resource Scheduler (DRS).
VMs with FT enabled do not support Snapshots.
VMs with FT enabled do not support Microsoft Clustering.
VMs with FT enabled do not support physical Raw Device Mapping (RDM).
It’s best practice to disconnect the virtual CD-ROM for VMs with FT enabled.
VMs with FT enabled do not support N-Port ID Virtualization (NPIV).
VMs with FT enabled do not support Device HotAdd/HotPlug.
Large VMs, depending on the host’s resources, may prevent the use of Fault Tolerance.

12. How to Confirm if the System SID Is Updated After Cloning

To confirm if the System Security Identifier (SID) is updated after cloning a Windows system, you can:

For Windows 2003/2008/2012/2016/2019 and Windows 7/8/10, log in using a local account and run the command whoami /user in Command Prompt or PowerShell. Look for the SID in the output.
For Windows XP, as it doesn’t have the whoami command, you can view the registry key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\ProfileList using a registry editor like regedit. The SID will be present in the subkeys of this key.

13. What Are the Files Associated with a Virtual Machine

The main files associated with a VMware virtual machine are:

.vmx – Virtual machine configuration file (e.g., vmname.vmx)
.vmxf – Additional virtual machine configuration file (e.g., vmname.vmxf)
.vmdk – Virtual disk file (e.g., vmname.vmdk)
-flat.vmdk – Pre-allocated virtual disk file (e.g., vmname-flat.vmdk)
.nvram – Virtual machine BIOS settings file (e.g., vmname.nvram or nvram)
.vmsd – Virtual machine snapshot metadata file (e.g., vmname.vmsd)
.vmsn – Virtual machine snapshot delta disk file (e.g., vmname.vmsn)
.vswp – Virtual machine swap file (e.g., vmname.vswp)
.vmss – Virtual machine suspended state file (e.g., vmname.vmss)
.log – Current virtual machine log file (e.g., vmware.log)
-#.log – Old virtual machine log entries (e.g., vmware-1.log, vmware-2.log, etc.)

Note: The file extensions and naming conventions may vary depending on the VMware product and version.

14. How to Change the Log Generation in vSphere Center

Solution:
Edit the “vpxd.cfg” file and add the following content:

<directory>D:\VMware\Logs</directory>
<maxFileSize>10485760</maxFileSize>
<maxFileNum>10</maxFileNum>

After saving, restart the vCenter Server for the changes to take effect.

15. ESXi Cannot Resolve Hostnames

Solution:

Log in to the ESXi host.
Edit /etc/hosts using vi or a text editor.
Enter each ESXi host in the cluster in the following format:

   IP Address           ESXi hostname
   192.168.10.10     esx01
   192.168.10.11     esx02
   ... ...  
   192.168.10.9      vCenter01

Repeat the editing on all ESXi hosts.
Log in to vCenter.
Edit the hosts file at /Windows/System32/drivers/etc/hosts with the corresponding ESXi host entries.

16. Network Card Not Usable After SCO Migration

Solution:
After migration, use netconfig to delete the original network card (do not delete the HW SCO TCP/IP Loopback driver). You’ll be prompted to reconfigure the kernel, and then restart. After restart, use netconfig to add the network card, which should be AMD PCNet-PCI Adapter Compatible.

Stay tuned for more VMware vSphere FAQ summaries coming soon!

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