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Samcer
Expert
Expert

VI Client on Vista

Hi Guys, today I get a brand new MS-Vista :-(( (ultimate edition Italian version) notebook.

I try to deploy a VM from a template using VI Client 2.01, but... after choosing to customize the guest os (which was a win OS) I get anœ"object error" dialog.

Well, I thought it was the sysprep file on V.C. Server, but my Virtual Infrastructure 3 is up and running since months.

I switch back to my old notebook (Win XP Pro SP2, Italian version) I get no problem while deploying the same VM.

Has anyone of you got the same error.

Thanks

Sam

samcer| http://about.me/samcer | http://www.vm-support.it/ | @samuelecerutti
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18 Replies
admin
Immortal
Immortal

Yep, I get the same error - Vista Ultimate English edition.

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cheeko
Expert
Expert

Vista Ultimate EN - Same problem here ...

Error Msg: "Object reference not set to an instance of an object."

'Customize using an existing customization specification' works ok.

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Steven_Rodenbur
Enthusiast
Enthusiast

Same problem here. VC2.0.1 and Vista Business Edition 32bit.

When i dual-boot back to XP SP2 and run the VI3 client from there, all is fine.

There must be an incompatibility between Vista and the VI client.

I've seen it on all our Vista boxes so far.

(All 32bit business editions by the way)

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acr
Champion
Champion

We couldnt get it on Vista Ultimate either..!!

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MR-T
Immortal
Immortal

I've got it working fine on Vista Business edition.

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acr
Champion
Champion

Thx, weve got business ed. we were going to give it a miss, but now i'll try it..

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Christopher_J__
Contributor
Contributor

Seems to run in Vista64 Enterprise for us...but SLOW SLOW SLOW! Takes forever for the screen to update the list of datastores and port groups. Pretty unusable really. Hmm...I wonder if I fired up a WinXP VM inside VMPlayer under Vista if it would actually run faster. LOL!

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jsparrow
Contributor
Contributor

We are having the same issue here. I am running Vista Enterprise. The odd thing is that I can connect to Guest Consoles on our 2.5.3 ESX Host, but cannot connect to a Console on a guest on our 3.0.1 ESX Host. If I switch to a Windows XP system running the VI client I can connect to both just fine.

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Jae_Ellers
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

One idea may be to test loading the .Net Framework 1.1sp1. I believe the .Net Framework in Vista is 2 and this could be causing these issues. I haven't touched Vista yet other than to use the beta in a workstation VM for a couple days.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- http://blog.mr-vm.com http://www.vmprofessional.com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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jsparrow
Contributor
Contributor

I tried the .net 1.1 and SP1 still get the same error when trying to connect to a console on a 3.0.1 host. "Error connecting: Cannot connect to host hostIPAddress: A connection attempt failed because the connected party did not properly respond after a period of time, or established connection failed because connected host has failed to respond"

This only occurs when connecting to a console on a VM on a 3.0.1 host from Vista Enterprise. Connecting to a Console on a 2.5.3 host is fine using Vista, and connecting to the guest consoles on either type of host is fine from XP.

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tgradig
Hot Shot
Hot Shot

Here is what I got out of the tech. Hope this helps. I reverted back to XP, but I would like to know if this works for the rest of you.

Regarding this issue, first let me say that windows vista has not been fully tested and is not currently supported for running VIC. My recommendation is to not run VIC on windows Vista at this current time. The problem here is due to the differences between windows 2000/xp/2003 vs windows vista. VI client is trying to look for time zone information inside registry, in a location that does not exist in windows vista. You can verify by:

On your win xp box, look under registry, local machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time Zones Now go to your windows vista, look under the registry and try to locate the same folder (it's not there).

There are 2 possible workarounds.

1. clone without customization. After cloning, make sure new VM is disconnected from network, start up the new VM, run sysprep to generate a new ssid and network information for the new windows. Please refer to Microsoft articles for how to use sysprep.

2. Note that if you choose to take try this second workaround, you must be willing to take full responsibility on what the changes may do to your windows vista. Simply go to your windows xp machine registry, look for local machine\Software\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion\Time Zones, and export the time zones folder to a .reg file. Copy that file to windows vista and import that into the registry. This works for me (but I only tested it briefly), again, you will have to decide whether you want to do this or not.

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admin
Immortal
Immortal

I tried the registry export-import trick, but it didn't work for me, I still can't use the guest customization wizard. Smiley Sad

I'm using Windows Vista Ultimate.

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mchpis
Contributor
Contributor

Tried the registry trick and it worked like a charm. Thank You very much!!

VIC 2.01 Build-32042

Vista Ultimate

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jsehlms
Contributor
Contributor

Excellent find.

The registry trick worked for me Smiley Happy

Thanks.

Jason VCP# 29919
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admin
Immortal
Immortal

Hmmmm wonder where I went wrong then, think I'll give it another go. Smiley Happy

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antonlux
Contributor
Contributor

I have Vista Ultimate on a Pc (3.2ghz, 4gb, and I have installed VMware on it, I do not have all the details as I am at work now but I will supply these later on.

The day after installation I started the PC and Windows started to load and then the screen went white blank, there was disk access but after 10 minutes I decided to switch off the power, I restarted the Pc and .... vista loaded ok. This has happened ever since. The first time the PC goes blank, then I restart it and everything is OK. Has anyone else had this problem? I have loaded Linux on the vm machine, but this should not cause any issues.

Thanks,

Antonio

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Jae_Ellers
Virtuoso
Virtuoso

The registry trick worked for me on VC 2.0.1 patch 2 client with Vista Ultimate 64.

-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- http://blog.mr-vm.com http://www.vmprofessional.com -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
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marioarce
Contributor
Contributor

See this thread for a possible registry fix:

http://communities.vmware.com/message/784365

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