In this post, I describe how I fixed an issue whereby my Windows 7 virtual machine did not boot after I installed VMware Tools v12.4.5. Cause The issue was caused by driver signature enforcement and a lack of SHA-2 code signing support in my Windows 7 VM. According to this post from Broadcom (who now own VMware), some driver packages updated in VMware Tools version 11.1.0 are signed by Microsoft using SHA-2.  My Windows 7 VM was previously running VMware Tools v11.0.0. This issue could also occur on Windows Server 2008 R2. Resolution In order to be able to boot the virtual machine: 1. During the boot sequence, keep pressing the F8 key to enter Advanced Boot Options 2. Select Disable Driver Signature Enforcement This should allow the VM to boot but it is not a permanent fix. 3. To permanently fix the issue, once Windows has loaded, install the following updates: - SHA-2 code signing support update -  Servicing stack update The driver signature verification should now pass...

In this post, I describe how to delete the Evaluation License from VMware vSphere when you have added a Production License but you are still seeing the warning message "There are expired or expiring licenses in your inventory.": Cause The Evaluation License remains and can't be manually deleted, even if you've added a Production License, if the Evaluation License is still assigned to an asset. Resolution Check if your Production License is assigned: If it is not assigned, go to the Assets tab, select your Production License, then press ASSIGN LICENSE : Change the license assignment from the Evaluation License to your Production License: Go back to the Licenses tab, the Evaluation License is automatically removed and the warning message disappears after refreshing the page: Related Posts -  VMware vCenter Install Select Datastore Insufficient Disk Space - VMware ESXi Change Password Policy

In this post, I describe how you can change the VMware ESXi password policy. By default, a password with three different character classes is required.  I wanted to weaken this as I'm in a test environment and I want everything to have a simple password.  This post also describes how you can strengthen the password policy. Resolution To change the ESXi password policy: 1. Login to the ESXi administration user interface in the web browser. 2. Press Manage under Host 3. Search for Security.PasswordQualityControl  in Advanced settings 4. Edit the option to the value required (this article explains the syntax  https://linux.die.net/man/8/pam_passwdqc ) On my test environment, I changed mine to  min=7,7,7,7,7 which allows a weak password. This article contains more information on how you can enforce stronger passwords or use pass phrases:  https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-vSphere/7.0/com.vmware.vsphere.security.doc/GUID-DC96FFDB-F5F2-43EC-8C73-05ACDAE6BE43.ht...

In this post, I describe how to fix the error "Insufficient disk space. Minimum required: 25GB" which can occur when installing vCenter Server and selecting the datastore: Cause This error occurred for me when I tried to install vCenter Server on an ESXi host which I had created in VMware Workstation version 16.2.2 using the default disk size of 142GB. Despite seeming to be enough space for a tiny test install, this actually only leaves 14GB free for the datastore due to the 120GB taken up by VMFSL (ESXi System Partition): Resolution There are two ways to resolve this issue.  Either increase the size of the datastore or reinstall ESXi with a smaller VMFSL partition. Resolution 1: Increase Datastore Size To increase the datastore size, simply add another disk to the ESXi server, then increase datastore capacity through the ESX management UI (accessible through a web browser using the IP address of the ESXi host). Resolution 2: Install ESXi with a smaller VMFSL partition This V...

This post describes how to fix the error: This PC can't run Windows 11 This PC doesn't meet the minimum system requirements to install this version of Windows. For more information, visit https://aka.ms/WindowsSysReq This error can occur when installing Windows 11 on a virtual machine in VMware Workstation. Cause Windows 11 requires TPM as per the specification:  https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/windows-11-specifications Resolution There are two ways to resolve this issue, either bypass the TPM check or add TPM to the virtual machine : Bypass TPM Check To bypass the TPM check when doing a new, clean install of Windows 11: 1. Go back a step from the "This PC can't run Windows 11" message 2. Press Shift + F10 on the keyboard to open a Command Prompt 3. Type regedit to open the Registry Editor and go to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\Setup 4. Create a new Key named: LabConfig 5. Within 'LabConfig', create a new DWORD (32-bit) Value named: BypassTPMCheck A...

The VMware reporting tool XIA Configuration helps you keep track of VMware system settings across all your environments. Reports can be executed to retrieve data from hosts, virtual machines, hardware, network settings, security, and more. The following VMware reports are included with XIA Configuration: VMware Cluster Summary VMware Datastores Summary VMware Distributed Switch Summary VMware Host to Physical Host Item Mappings VMware Hosts Detailed Summary VMware Hosts Firewall Rules Summary VMware Hosts NTP Settings Summary VMware Hosts Security Summary VMware Hosts Service Summary VMware Hosts Summary VMware Security Roles VMware Virtual Machine Detailed Summary VMware Virtual Machine Hard Drive Summary VMware Virtual Machine Hardware Summary VMware Virtual Machine Network Adapter Summary VMware Virtual Machine Summary Reports can also be customised to meet your specific requirements by modifying the SQL code directly. Download Free 30-Day Trial ...

If you have a VMware environment and you're looking to save time with management and maintenance, take a look at the VMware inventory tool XIA Configuration Server. The software automatically builds a VMware inventory using its detection feature. This automatically detects vCenter installations on Windows machines which, in turn, are automatically detected by scanning Active Directory. The inventory data retrieved from vCenter or ESX systems includes: Virtual Machines Hosts Distributed Switches Resource Pools Clusters Datastores You can view the data in the XIA Configuration Server web interface where you can also compare items and save as PDF or XML. Download Free 30-Day Trial > Learn more >