No video for guest VMs with ESXi 5 on Workstation 8

[VirtuallyMikeB]

Good day!

When powering on any VM within ESXi 5 nested inside Workstation 8, I get no video whatsover.  There's no POST, BIOS, if an ISO is loaded, there's no video in the console to show it's loading the ISO, etc.

Here's my setup:

<> HP Pavilion dv7 LS048EA laptop

     * Intel Core i7-2630QM @ 2.00 GHz (quad-core, HT-enabled)

     * 16 GB RAM

     * Intel 320 series SSD 160 GB

     * Windows 7 Ultimate SP1 64-bit

     * Of course, VT is enabled in the BIOS. I've disabled, rebooted, and re-enabled

     * My laptop BIOS is the second latest version F.1A.  F.1B is the latest, but the release notes say there was simply a fix to an intermittent issue where a system locked when Intel Anti-Theft Technology (AT) has been enabled

<> Workstation 8.0.0 build-471780

     * My laptop cannot access the Internet so I cannot update to Workstation 8.0.2, but the release notes for 8.0.1 and 8.0.2 don't mention anything that would seem to fix my issue anyways.

     * I've also uninstalled and re-installed Workstation.

I install ESXi 5.0.0 build-469512 inside Workstation.

     * I give it 4 GB vRAM and 2 vCPUs

     * I enable "Virtualize Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI."  I've also used each option under Virtualization Engine > Preferred Mode > (Automatic, Binary Translation, Intel VT-x or AMD-V, Intel VT-x/EPT or AMD-V/RVI)

     * Under Virtual Machine Settings > Options, I have Guest operating system set to VMware ESXi 5 (since the first installation)

     * I've used both local storage and a NetApp simulator (not that these should make much of a difference)

I've also found the issue with ESXi 4.1.

The "no video" issue occurs with both 32-bit and 64-bit guests within the nested ESXi 5.

Initial thoughts?  I'll post logs as soon as I can get them transferred to a machine with access to the inter-webs...

Cheers,

Mike Brown

http://VirtuallyMikeBrown.com

http://twitter.com/#!/VirtuallyMikeB

http://LinkedIn.com/in/michaelbbrown

[VirtuallyMikeB]

Good day,

I've attached logs for 32-bit and 64-bit guest VMs I tried running inside an ESXi 5 VM running inside Workstation 8.  I've also attached a log file for the ESXi VM.

Looking forward to hearing what y'all have to say.

Cheers,

Mike

http://VirtuallyMikeBrown.com

https://twitter.com/#!/VirtuallyMikeB

http://LinkedIn.com/in/michaelbbrown

[a_p_]

Just to understand the issue. Do the nested VM's boot to their OS (if you were able to install/convert any yet), i.e. are you able to ping them or remotely access them? You may also check whether your local firewall blocks the necessary ports (e.g. port 902).

André

[VirtuallyMikeB]

Hi Andre,

Thanks for replying.  I get no video at all - whether an OS is installed or not.  For example, if I create a new VM inside a virtualized ESXi host, I can't even see the VMware BIOS image, let alone anything else.

In another example, I created a VM inside Workstation 8.  All VMs running inside Workstation do great - no issues anywhere.  I can see all the video of the test VM, I can log in to it, even ping to and from it.  When I upload the test VM from Workstation 8 to the virtualized ESXi host and power it on via the vSphere Client (you can't upload a powered on VM). I get no video whatsoever.  I don't see the VMware BIOS screen, no OS boot process, nothing.  Just to test, I tried to ping the VM because perhaps it's just a video problem and the VM actually does boot to the OS.  I could not ping the VM.  I assume this means it doens't even boot when running on a virtualized ESXi host.

As a side note, all test VMs running inside the virtualized ESXi host are running Hardware Version 8 (and for what it's worth, so are the VMs inside Workstation 8).

Interestingly, the same test VM I uploaded from Workstation 8 to the virtualized ESXi host has no video when powered on and viewed from Workstation 8 itself.  I wasn't aware of this feature, but it's good to note.  This makes it *not* a firewall problem (the Windows 7 firewall is completely turned off anyways, and the Windows Firewall service is stopped, too).  Any VM I try actually doens't run inside a virtualized ESXi host.  The VMware BIOS doesn't even appear.

This makes it seem as if it's not a video problem at all, but a problem running three levels of virtualization.  I know it can be done, but what gives?  Why won't VMs run in my virtualized ESXi host?

Cheers,

Mike

Message was edited by: VirtuallyMikeB

[VirtuallyMikeB]

Hi Andre,

Thanks for your help, but I've forgone any more troubleshooting so I could get back to work.  I nuked the laptop, reinstalled, rebuilt the nested setup and everything's working fine.  I suspect malware of some kind, but the world may never know!

Cheers!

Mike

[VirtuallyMikeB]

I didn't find the cause of the problem, but I suspect malware. A complete rebuild/reinstall of Windows 7 on the laptop and nested virtualization environment did solve the problem, though.