Unable to upgrade from 3.0.2 to 3.5

[idicos]

Hi there.

While trying to upgrade an ESX 3.0.2 installation which is running flawlessly with several VMs for half a year now we get an error.

Upgrade should be done using the supported method via boot CD and upgrade option. Right after selecting keyboard and mouse the following error message is shown:

"The partition table on device sda is unreadable..."

This is exactly the message which is also referenced in the vi3_35_25_upgrade_guide.pdf.

There it says:

"The installer does not recognize your existing ESX Server installation, and the disk

partitioning or file system needs repair before any upgrade can occur."

We only have two local storage volumes in the server (sda, sdb). Both on the same fully supported SAS-HBA. No SAN is connected!

As stated before, the system boots normally into ESX 3.0.2 and all VMs run perfectly.

Is this a bug or is the partition table really corrupted? How can this be fixed (without loosing the VMFS on the same device of course).

Thank you in advance and best regards,

Michael

[BrianGem]

I came across this same issue when upgrading to ESX 3.5. Since you have no SAN connected, you can be sure that this is referring to your local drives. Therefore you must ensure that you have good backups prior to upgrading. However I do not believe the process will overwrite your VMFS file systems, for in the partitioning options on subsequent screens the system will by default tell you "You have chosen to remove all partitions except VMFS file systems on the following drive: sda: megaRAID LD 0 RAID5 139G This will remove all non-VMFS partitions including vendor provided system management partitions. Are you sure you want to do this?"

In my case I have a SAN, so I did not have to worry about the local VMFS, but always make sure you have a good backup just in case.

[AndreTheGiant]

Usally to do ESX upgrade I have used the upgrade pack that you download on the ESX, extract and the do a update insede the ESX (rembert to put in maintenance mode).

I've upgrade from 3.0.2 to 3.5, 3.5U1, U2, U3 all the time with no problems.

Then to upgrade to U4 you can simple use Update Manager.

But the best solution (if possible) is alway do reinstall of ESX.

Andre

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[Rohail2004]

what is the best way to upgrade ESX 3.02 to 3.5 if you have VM's running locally on a hard drive? will update cause any issue?

[AndreTheGiant]

what is the best way to upgrade ESX 3.02 to 3.5 if you have VM's running locally on a hard drive? will update cause any issue?

ESX update must be in maintenance mode (aka with VM not running).

If you use installation CD you can simple do an upgrade (instead of an install).

If you use an update pack you can simple do with a single reboot (the final one) and probably in less time.

Andre

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[AndreTheGiant]

Update packs are available in:

http://www.vmware.com/download/vi/drivers_tools.html