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fenioo
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[Solved] Failed to convert Win 2k3 to VM - Unable to reconfigure the target virtual machine

Hi,

I`m trying to convert Win 2K3 SE SP2 to VM with VMware vCenter Converter Standalone (ver. 4.0.1), but the conversion process allways stops at 95% of whole operation, and there is only information: "FAILED: Unable to reconfigure the target virtual machine" Error screenshot.

The host is based on VMware ESXi 4.0.

I`ve found information, that changing SCSI controller type before starting conversion process should help, but It did not, and I`ve been trying all of SCSI type I could choose.

I have no idea, what else can I change to make it work, but maybe Logs

will be helpful for someone...

Oh, and maybe the information about partition structure is important.

There is a little partition, EISA Configuration (I don`k know what it is). Maybe it is the rason of fails?

Thanks for any clues.

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Blackthorn3366
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Conversions can sometimes be a little tricky, the last screen before you hit finish to start the conversion process, where you adjust the SCSI controller, there are options for Installing VMWare tools, make sure it is selected, also resize the HD to a whole number, example 12.9GB, go to 13GB. The reconfigure of the target machine is the installation of VMWare tools.

D

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fenioo
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Thanks for the reply, Blackthorn3366.

I've changed all the settings that you advise, but it didn`t help.

In the second try, I've changed the SCSI controller type to IDE, but It didn't help, and the reconfiguration process failed has again.

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Blackthorn3366
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You have browsed the Datastore and delete old attempts at conversion correct? There will be old folders there need to be deleted. Are you running the conversion tool from the win2k3 machine or on another server?

D

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ikroumov
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Hello Fenioo,

The snapshot with the partitions is where to look for the problem. I had this issue before. When you run the conversion, specifically proceed with MANUAL conversion and UNCHECK the very first partition that is labled as EISA. This partition doesn't have any disk letter and it is being used from the old hardware to keep some system information. Run the P2V converter from wherever you want (from the host itself, or from the VM Center) but UNCKECK this partition and you will be just fine.

Thanks

Ivaylo Krumov

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fenioo
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Guys, thanks for a reply!

@Blackthorn3366: everytime I`m attepting to convert this unlucky host, I give it an unique name... But I will delete the old directories anyway.

And... yes, I`m running the conversion tool - VMware vCenter Converter Standalone (ver. 4.0.1) - from the machine I`m trying to convert.

I had converted another win 2003 server machine in the same way, with tool running on it, and It worked.

@ikroumov: I allways uncheck the first EISA partition, before start conversion. (I`ve been trying conversion with this partition included, too) Smiley Sad

Maybe I should create an image of this system using some other tool, like Northon Ghost, or something like this, and then convert created image using VMware tool?

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ikroumov
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Remove everything that is not absolutely necessary to be on the machine. antivirus, SEM (System Enterprise Monitoring), unnecessary applications. Make sure you have the machine uptodate. Ensure your virtual center server and that target machine are both on the same VLAN. Run the converter with an account that has full rights on the vCenter server's console and is (if possible Domain admin). Would be extremely helpfule if your ESX hosts are on the same VLAN as the vCenter server and the target machine. I will be glad to help you as much as I can, because I have had this issue several times and that is the procedure I have used every time I had to run the conversion.

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Blackthorn3366
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You have most likely try this, but I would by pass the VCenter and do a conversion directly to the ESX server, putting the root username and password in, this will eliminate any permission based issues

D

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fenioo
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Ikroumov, I`m really glad reading your posts.

All of guidelines, that you wrote, have been checked. I`m running the conversion tool under an administrator account, The system is uptodate, I don't have any vlans yet, so there is no problem with this.. and there is no antivirus installed.

I`ve read an article that MS Visio may cause problems with conversion. There is no Visio installed on this machine, but maybe there is some other similar application?

On the host, that I`m trying to convert there are installed:

- Firebird database server

- MySQL database server

- Progress database server

- MSSQL 2005 Express Edition server

Maybe I sould stop all of this services before start conversion?

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ikroumov
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This is a good point but I don't think it will work because the root account is not allowed to login remotely via SSH or any other way. This is "BY DESIGH RIGHT OUT OF THE BOX". That is the reason you need your vCenter account with full admin rights on the vCenter. The server VM Center will be used as relay (men in the middle) between the target machine and the potential ESX host. Also you have the VM Center Server and the ESX hosts, not ESXi 4. I don't think it is worthy to loose this functionality when you have it.

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fenioo
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Blackthorn3366, I`ve been converting this machine just like that, all the time.

I didnt know that there is other way... maybe I should try other way to convert?

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Blackthorn3366
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The other way is to use the IP Address of the ESXi Node and not the Vcenter. Do not worry about lossing functionality, this is just for the conversion process.

You will need to know the root password on the ESXi Node, Username is root ,,,,If this does not work I would attempt a CD boot conversion, which is available as an ISO you brun to a CD on the VMware website. You just boot the Server to the CD and run the conversion from there.

If SSH does need to be enabled, Here are the steps

cd /etc/ssh

nano sshd_config

arrow down to the line that says PermitRootLogin

replace the word ‘no’ with ‘yes’

Ctrl-X

Type Y for Yes

Enter

At the prompt type service sshd restart to make the change active

D

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ikroumov
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Try this:

1. Remove vConverter from the target box

2. Make sure the target box, vCenter and the ESX hosts are on the same VLAN

3. Reboot the target machine and when it comes up again, install the converter on that machine.

4. Make sure you have enough space on the storage where the machine will be stored

5. Run the converter with an account that has admin credentials on the target machine and has VM Center full administrators rights on the environment (that includes the vCenter server itself)

6. Proceed with MANUAL conversion and exclude that small partition that has no letter

6.1 you may try to convert only the OS partition first and then add second drives to the VM where the data from the other partitions will reside

6.2 you may try to bring all the partitions at the same time

7. allow enough time for the conversion to finish

8. Tell the converter to proceed with the conversion "as it is" no shrinking, no expanding, no thin conversion.

9. monitor how the VM's VMDK file grows (it should grow normal)

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fenioo
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Guys I`m a beginner with virtualization, and I know that this may be silly, but... I dont understand what the vCenter is.

There is situation that I have:

1. There are two physical machines.

- First one (Machine A), with Win 2003 installed,

- and the second (Machine B), with VMware ESXi 4.0 (is this the vCenter?), that I have downloaded from vmware website, and burned on a CD.

2. This two machines are connected with one switch, and there are no vlans created.

3. I`m launching Converter Standalone Clinet application on Machine A, and I choose Convert option: this local machine

In the next I give:

- IP address of Machine B

- login: root

- password: password for root of Machine B

Then I choose only one partition and check option "Install VMware tools".

Maybe I`m doing something wrong.. but as I said I`m beginner, so please forgive If I`m asking about silly things.

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ikroumov
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Firs of all , let me make a statement that should be very clear.

There are no silly questions, there are no stupid askings, there are people who may understand the topic but cannot explain it in a cristal clear way and people who do not understand the topic but trying to explain it pretending they do understand it by using fency terminology and big words!!!

So let's get back on the topic. You mentioned that you don't know what vCenter server is. This is the management of the VM Ware virtualization environment. This is the server that controlls the game. Think about it like it is the brain of the environment while the ESX hosts are the engine.

Also you said that you have ESXi 4, I am not sure whether you can use the vConverter to do P2V conversion because It needs the "man in the middle - the brain (vCenter server)" It was not very clear at the beginning what engine you are running your environment on. Now when it is clear you have ESXi 4, I cannot confirm you can use the vConverter. I hope you can use the back door way to work around. Use Ghost or Acronis True Image to make an image of the physical server. Then create a VM on the ESX server with a virtual disk equals or bigger (if you can bigger would be better) than the physical disk of the target machine. The next step is to restore the image you made earlier. I have not done it this way, and cannot confirm how well it works.

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Blackthorn3366
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fenioo,

It sounds like you have a very simple setup, normally in a

true ESX environment you would have the following: ESX4.0 Running on a server, another server or

VM with Windows server installed running a piece of software called vSpere

(Virtual Center) This piece of software is the manager for the ESX Server. It gives you additional options including a

built-in convertor (Guided Consolidation).

In the case of vSphere it acts as a “[ikroumov|http://communities.vmware.com/people/ikroumov;jsessionid=CB7B621FAF3853815350A4EE4129CA66|Click to view ikroumov's profile]” put it a “men in the

middle”or other BIG words a “middle man”.

You would then connect to the vSphere (Virtual Center) using a vSphere

Client. From here you would manage the

ESX environment.

From what I have gathered, you have ESXi 4.0 running on a server,

and you are most likely using the vSphere client on your desktop to connect to

the ESXi Server. You login with the root

username and password. So there is no

vSphere (Virtual Center installed) It is

an extra cost, you would have a license for this product. Since you are using ESXi 4.0 (which is free),

I will assume no vSphere (virtual center).

You can do a conversion to ESXi 4.0 using the Standalone

convertor. I would recommend the

following Process: Open Convertor,

choose local machine, use your root username and password for the ESXi 4.0

server, edit you options, adapter, etc, Install vmware tools, uncheck the first

EISA partition and do not power on after conversion. Odds are it is hanging up on the power up

process after the conversion. Once you

conversion is completed, then power on the VM, by connecting to the ESXi 4.0

server using the vSphere Client.

Sounds Good?

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fenioo
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Thank you very much for your explanation! Now my knowledge about virtualization is a little bit reicher.

I don`t have a Virtual Center, and as I read at vmware webpage, it is not available for me, unless I buy it.

I`ll try Arconis to create an image of my W2k3 server, and then convert it to createVM. I hope it will work.

@Blackthorn3366: I have been trying the process described by you. I ran standalone converter with IP adress, and root login of ESXi 4.0 server, but It allways stops at 95%. I can power on this VM, under vSphere Client (connected to ESXi server, not to Virtual Center) but after the now system boots it immediately reboot (I can see, in the console tab in vSphere that there is a blue screen for a few seconds).

I was trying to convert it again, but It allways fails.

I have another question,

You said that I have a very simple setup without Virtual Center. I`m going to run only 2 virtual machines on mi ESXi server... Do you think I shouldn`t migrate to virtual environment with only the ESXi server and without vcenter? Is there any risks using my configuration? I understand, that vCenter is for management, but it is not necessary, am I right?

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ikroumov
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Good morning Fenioo,

I am saying Good morning , because it is 4:15 and I just woke up, as usual.

As the conversation goes, you already know what vCenter is. The vCenter management server is not free and it requires a license. I do not pretend to be a GURU but let me give you another solution that will work for you at least 95% percent. VM Ware is the leader in the virtualization technologies, but there are some other BIG DOGS in the game. One of them is Microsoft with their Hyper-V 2008 R2 server. This is their product that compeets with ESX. Some people will say, throw it away, this is Microsoft it is junk. I can tell you from my experience that it runs rock solid. There are two consoles to which you can use to manage Hyper-V. The first one, with much more features is MSSCVMM (Microsoft System Center Virtual Machine Manager) which is part of System Center suite. It is not free, but you can downloaded from Microsoft with 365 days trial period. The second one is Hyper-V console that Windows 7 / Windows 2008 Server has. It is free.

The the other very very very good product that I would bring to your attention is XenServer from Citrix. It is FREE, it is linux based, It hase management console FOR FREE!!!! It HAS MOST OF THE FEATURES THAT VM Ware includes in their ESX 4.0 and cVenter environment. It doesn't require central database. It hase role based security and so forth. Also, the good part is the fact that Microsoft and Citrix have been PREFERED PLATINUM PARTNERS for quite long time and the virtual machines that you create on Hyper-V, you will be able to run them on XenServer with XenConsole FOR FREE as well the XenServer's virtual machines will be running on Hyper-V. Citrix has their own XenConverter which is the competition of VM Ware converter. We have been running all three environment for test and in production without issues.

Thanks

Ivaylo

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fenioo
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Dear ikroumov,

I don`k know what habits do you have in your country, but in the place that I`m currently working, we usually sleep at 4:15 Smiley Wink

I don`t know neither, what time is it in your place, so I don`t know how to greet

you... Ayway I`m really glad to see you again Smiley Wink

But let`s back to the topic of our conversation.

I had heard about Citrix ans Microsoft solutions. I choose VMware, because I thought that it is the leader in virtualization, so It is a good idea to learn about it, but I can`t say anything about other servers. Maybe my choose was bad?

Anyway, do You think that the setup that I have in my company is not good and safe enought? And I shouldn`t migrate to the virtualization without vCenter, or all the tools that I have are enough to create stable environment?

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ikroumov
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Unfortunately I have to use the most common and most hated answer: "It depends.." I know that is the most common answer because I personally hate it. Whether your solution which you have chosen is right or not right, it depends on the resource capacity, financial budget, business managememnt, project accuracy, business goals, technical knowledge etc... As many other people I do not like paying money Smiley Happy) I am sure you don't like it too Smiley Happy). For us, in production we run VM Ware Enterprise license environment. In our DR (Disaster recovery) we have chosen to lean on XenServers and Citrix. There is an internal lab where we run Hyper-V. The right solution and the right technology is the one that accomplishes the business goals of the project, financially satisfies the budget resources and gives the optimal performance so the resources will be better utilized and the utility bills will be cutted down. Beside these technical and business requirements and expectations, it is priceless to have knowledge on all the leading solutions, tools and technologies.

Yesterday I sent you a message as a private message here. I don't know whether you received.

With respect

Ivaylo

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