Tag Archives: VMware

ESX3.5i on bootable USB key

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  1. Download ESX Server 3.5i Installable ISO
  2. Extract INSTALL.TGZ from the root directory of the ISO image using an IZArc
  3. Extract /usr/lib/vmware/installer/VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd.bz2 from INSTALL.TGZ using IZArc
  4. Extract VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd from VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd.bz2 using IZArc
  5. Attach the USB flash drive and make sure you no longer need the data on it
  6. Use WinImage to transfer VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd to the USB flash drive
    1. Disk->Restore Virtual Hard Disk image on physical drive…
    2. Select the USB flash drive (Warning: If you select the wrong disk you will lose data!)
    3. Select the image file VMware-VMvisor-big-3.5.0-67921.i386.dd
    4. Confirm the warning message
    5. Wait for the transfer to complete
  7. Unplug the USB flash drive (Warning: If you forget to unplug the flash drive from the PC you might lose the data on your hard drives the next time you boot!)
  8. Attach the USB flash drive to the machine you want to boot (Warning: If ESX Server 3i recognizes local drives, you might lose the data on it, so make sure you don´t need it anymore or unplug all hard drives!)
  9. Turn the machine on and make sure the USB flash drive is selected as boot device
  10. Watch ESX Server 3i boot
  11. Configure
  12. Enjoy!

Viewing Ghost Hardware after P2V

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After converting a physical machine to a virtual machine, you need to remove the “old” hardware. Sometimes this hardware is not shown in the device manager. To do this you will need to follow the Microsoft KB article 241257 or 269155.

Abstract:
Device Manager displays only non-Plug and Play devices, drivers, and printers when you click the Show hidden devices command on the View menu to enable it. Devices that are installed but are not currently connected to the computer (such as a Universal Serial Bus (USB) device or “ghosted” devices) are not displayed in Device Manager, even when you use the Show hidden devices command.

To work around this behavior and display phantom devices when you use the Show hidden devices command:

  1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and then click Command Prompt.
  2. At the command prompt, type the following lines, pressing ENTER after each line
    set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1
    cd\%SystemRoot%\System32
    start devmgmt.msc

    where %SystemRoot% is the folder in which Windows 2000 is installed.

  3. Troubleshoot the devices and drivers in Device Manager, as required.NOTE: You must first select show hidden devices on the Device Manager View menu before you can see devices that are no longer present in the system.
  4. When you are done troubleshooting, quit Device Manager, and then close the Command Prompt window. Closing the window clears the variable you set in step 2 and prevents ghosted devices from being displayed when you use the Show hidden devices command.

NOTE: When you quit Device Manager and close the Command Prompt window, the set devmgr_show_nonpresent_devices=1 variable is turned off so you cannot see the phantom devices.

Changing the IP address, default gateway, and hostname of the Service Console in ESX 3.0.x

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This article provides steps to change the Service Console IP address, gateway address, and hostname on an ESX 3.x host.

Changing settings from the physical or remote console connection
 
Changing the IP for the Service Console must be done from the physical console or through a remote console session. If you make changes through a network connection such as SSH, network connectivity to the Service Console disconnects because the Service Console’s network interface changes.  
  1. Run the following command to set the IP address:

    [root@server root]# esxcfg-vswif -i <a.b.c.d> -n <w.x.y.z> vswif0, where <a.b.c.d> is the IP address and <w.x.y.z> is the subnet mask

    Note: In this example, vswif0 is the Service Console adapter that is the interface to which you are applying the IP address change.

  2. Open the /etc/hosts file with a text editor and modify it so that it reflects the correct IP address and hostname. 
  3. To change the default gateway address and the hostname, edit the /etc/sysconfig/network file and change the GATEWAY and HOSTNAME parameters to the proper values. 
  4. For the changes to take place, reboot the host or restart the network service with the command: 

    [root@server root]# service network restart 

    Note: This command breaks any current network connections to the Service Console. 

Changing the hostname without rebooting

To dynamically change the hostname, run the command: 
 
[root@server root]# hostname newname

Note: This command creates a temporary hostname change. This change is lost when the system is rebooted.

 
Changing the DNS server settings
 
To change the DNS server settings, update the nameserver IPs and search domain the /etc/resolv.conf file.
 
Changing settings in VMware Infrastructure Client
 
To change the hostname, domain, DNS servers, and default gateway in VMware Infrastructure (VI) Client: 
  1. Highlight the ESX host and click the Configuration tab.
  2. Click DNS and Routing.
  3. Click Properties.
  4. To change the hostname, domain, and DNS servers, click the DNS Configuration tab and enter the appropriate values.

    Note: Disable VMware High Availability if you do not want virtual machines to failover during the hostname IP change.

  5. To change the default gateway, click the Routing tab and enter the appropriate value.
  6. Update the etc/opt/vmware/vpxa/vpxa.cfg file to reflect the new settings.
  7. Reboot the ESX host for the changes to take place. 

VMware KB Article: 4309499

VMware Server.msi is not permitted due to an error in software restriction policy processing. The object cannot be trusted.

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You try to install a Vmware Server 2, and get an error claiming that software restriction policies prohibit this installation.

In the eventvwr (application log) you find an entry like this :

The installation of C:\DOCUME~1\ADMINI~1\LOCALS~1\Temp\1\{AF08C71F-F822-4416-87A9-2BBF5A8A5F12}~setup\VMware Server.msi is not permitted due to an error in software restriction policy processing. The object cannot be trusted.

Solution : KB9253326

http://support.microsoft.com/kb/925336