p2v, redhat error can't find command ':'

[flipflip]

Hello,

I'm trying to do a p2v with vmconverter 6.2.0 from a Redhat 7.4 server. All goes well but at startup between the bios and grud I have the message:

error: can't find command ':'

I press the spacebar several times to get to the grub menu. Then the start of the vm is happening normally.

I'm using vCenter server 5.5.0 build 2183111

Where can this error come from?

[daiaiai]

Yeah. I face the same issue too  as your situation.

[patanassov]

This might be due to the (less than perfect) patching of the grub.cfg file.

Examine it, and if you find lines that look something like that:

if ...

     : # (removed by Converter ...

else

     : # (removed by Converter

fi

comment out the statement lines (if/else/fi) as well.

If that's not the case, please attach the helper log.

HTH,

Plamen

[Cukal42]

Solution from Plamen is spot on!

Thanks!

[bramj]

I'm currently in the process of starting a migration of 50+ machines to a new vmware cluster. Most of the machines are running centos 7 or rhel 7.

Since the problem still exists in the latest vCenter Converter (6.2.0 build-8466193), and I don't like to go through every server manually, Is there a way to correct this (less than perfect) behavior of the grub patching in the current version?

[POCEH]

You can use older Converter, should not be a problem with RHEL7. (If you experience such problem of course, you need to test)

There is no general solution for this - some *nix complains about empty statement i.e. just comment, others complains about empty operator i.e. colon..

[Snodre]

The problem is the leading colon which should not be there. Simply remove all lines containing the "removed by converter" comment or - if you want to keep the lines - the leading colon.

[Alex_Romeo]

Hi,

"...from a Redhat 7.4 server"

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.2.0.1 Release Notes

But the vcenter converts 6.2 installs only on Microsoft Windows operating system.

Platforms

You can install VMware Converter Standalone 6.2.x on the following platforms:

• Windows Vista SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
• Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
• Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
• Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2016 (64-bit)

Supported Guest Operating Systems

Converter Standalone 6.2.x supports the following guest operating systems:

• Windows Vista SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 SP2 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2008 R2 (64-bit)
• Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2012 (64-bit)
• Windows 8.1 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2012 R2 (64-bit)
• Windows 10 (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Windows Server 2016 (64-bit)
• CentOS 6.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• CentOS 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5 (64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 5.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 6.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Red Hat Enterprise Linux 7.0, 7.1, 7.2, 7.3, 7.4, 7.5 (64-bit)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 10.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• SUSE Linux Enterprise Server 11.x (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Ubuntu 12.04 LTS (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Ubuntu 14.04 LTS (32-bit and 64-bit)
• Ubuntu 16.04 LTS (32-bit and 64-bit)

CAUTION: During cloning of powered on Linux machines, Converter Standalone preserves the following source file systems on the destination: ext2, ext3, ext4, reiserfs, vfat, and xfs. All other source file systems are converted into ext3 or ext4 file systems on the destination virtual machine.

Alessandro Romeo

[lexusd]

Es correcto el comando que no encuentra son los " : " dos puntos que añade converter antes del comentario de # removed by converter, a mi me funciono eliminando los ":" antes del comentario de converter en el fichero /etc/grub2.cfg en centos 7