Hi,
We have a standalone ESXi 7.0 running on PowerEdge R730xd server. The system and data store all are in the same UEFI RAID 5 partition (Local drive).
We had building maintenance to require to shut down all the servers but when we tried to power this server back on it won't boot. It pass the POST process and then the next screen was entire black screen with the "VMware Hypervisor Recovery" showing on top of the screen (See attached image). Called VMware support but they are really not much help at all. Anyone knows how can we get the VMs back to up and running as it is our critical applications. Also, called our hardware vendor support but no hardware issue found and the server was not halt during POST process.
One option was told to download the ESXi .7.0 ISO and choose upgrade with remain the datastore option, that way it will get the ESXi booting up and get the VMs up and running. But when I called VMware support again, they said I have to download the exact same version and build to do the upgrade. Otherwise, it will delete all my VMs if I download different build version. I only remember it was version 7.0 I installed back in April last year. But not certain what build version it was at that time. Anyone knows this method would get my VMs back or there is other option I could try? Is it true I have to get the exact same build to avoid VMs being deleted?
Hello.
I assume that it is critical to get the VMs back up and running, so the fastest would be:
Install VMware vSphere 7.0 preferably with the hardware manufacturer's ISO image on a USB key (8GB or more). Below is a link
https://vmarena.com/how-to-create-bootable-vsphere-6-7-installer-usb-flash-drive/
Be very careful when selecting the disk where VMware will be installed because it will show you all the available storage. Choosing the USB Key.
Continue with the normal installation procedure (use the previous parameters from the ESXi Host) and finally when the server is restarted choose the boot from the USB.
VMware vSphere started from the USB should have access to all datastores, but if only the USB is visible, you should perform a HBA and Datastore scan.
When accessing the data store containing the VMs you will have to enter each VMs folder and register each one to finally turn it on.
Until here it is not touched the previous Installation of VMware vSPhere of the local internal disks of the server. The idea would be to take out a full Backup of all the VMs and of there to see like solving the problem in the local disks.
At any time you can shut down the VMs and reboot the server from the internal disks to try any other recovery method including a full reinstall of VMware vSphere but making sure you have a full backup of the VMs.
Remove the USB Key from the server (power off) when you no longer need it
Hello.
Sorry for the confusion the correct link is:
Installing ESXi on a supported USB flash drive or SD flash card (2004784)
https://kb.vmware.com/s/article/2004784
How to resolve "VMware Hypervisor Recovery" ESXi 7 update 2 install or upgrade
https://youtu.be/vMVtl2CqBCM
