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ahahum
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VM is frozen - can't kill it with several different methods!

Greetings!

I have an Ubuntu Server VM running on 1 of my ESX 4.0 boxes that I can't do anything with. It shows that it is running, but I am not able to turn it off, reset it, snapshots, backup with VDR - anything! When I try to perform an action on it, it says "Another task is already in progress." I've looked through the events of the VM and there are no hung tasks.

Here are the steps I've tried.

1. vmware-cmd <VM config file path & name> stop hard

2. vm-support -X <VMID> - this doesn't work because if I run this without the VMID it doesn't even list the server I'm trying to kill in there.

3. kill -9 PID - this doesn't work because it says there is no such process.

This is a fresh install of ESX, not an upgrade.

Does anyone have any other suggestions on how I can get this VM out of it's frozen state?

Thanks in advance!

Adam

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jayolsen
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Have you tried from the service console doing a "service mgmt-vmware restart" then trying with the client again?

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admin
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Start with:

Troubleshooting a virtual machine that has stopped responding

Rick Blythe

Social Media Specialist

VMware Inc.

ahahum
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Thanks for the info, Rick. I ran through all that and I was not able to resolve my issue. It seems the machine is stuck in a "powered on" status, but it is not actually on and I can't get it to turn on or off. When I try to access the console, it says "Unable to connect to the MKS: Error connecting to <path to .vmx> because the vmx is not started.

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jayolsen
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Have you tried from the service console doing a "service mgmt-vmware restart" then trying with the client again?

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ahahum
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I have not tried doing that and I'm still new enough at this that I didn't try it on my own.

Thanks! That did the trick! I will keep that one in the back of my mind for the future.

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jayolsen
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glad it worked, might want to check this kb out also in case you find yourself on a 3.5U1 host.

see #16

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jintoa
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RE: 2. vm-support -X

<VMID> - this doesn't work because if I run this without the VMID

it doesn't even list the server I'm trying to kill in there.

Ans: first you need to run

vm-support -x

This will list the running VMs and the WID, use the WID to run the command below. Substitute the <WID> with the WID of the specific VM.

vm-support -X <WID>

Signature: Disclaimer: My postings are my own and don’t necessarily represent VMware’s positions, strategies or opinions. If you found this information useful, please consider awarding points for "Correct" or "Helpful". Thanx!
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