When booting an ESXi host, you may encounter the following error message:
Error loading /epsec_mu.v00 Compressed MD5: 2eedadc558e36a086543f18e9e423fd9 Decompressed MD5: 000000000000000000000000000 Fatal error: 6 (Buffer too small).
This error causes the ESXi host to fail during boot-up, preventing the system from starting properly.
VMware vSphere Esxi 6.x
VMware vSphere Esxi 7.x
VMware vSphere Esxi 8.x
The Fatal error: 6 (Buffer too small) indicates corruption in the boot bank. This corruption can occur due to various reasons, such as:
If reverting to the previous boot state doesn’t resolve the issue, the next step is to reinstall ESXi. Follow these steps: