A virtual machine fails to power on and requests the location of .lck files

Products

• VMware Desktop Hypervisor

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Powering on a virtual machine fails.
• You are prompted to locate .lck files, but the virtual machine does not power on after supplying the path.

Resolution

This issue can occur when the filePath parameter specified in the virtual machine's configuration file (.vmx) specifies a non-existent path as the first parameter.

 

VMware uses the filePath parameter to find the .lck files that are created when the virtual machine is powered on to verify its file lock and that it can safely power on the virtual machine. The list is parsed in order; the first item is assumed to be the location of the .lck files.

 

To resolve this issue:

1. Power off the virtual machine and remove it from inventory.
2. Locate and edit the .vmx file for the virtual machine. For more information, see Locating a hosted virtual machine's files (1003880).
3. Find the line starting with fileSearchPath.
4. If the virtual machine is a stand-alone, remove line completely. If the virtual machine is a linked clone, edit the path list to make it valid. For example:
   
   filePath=". ; X:\Parent_Path"
   
   Note: Parent_Path is the path to the parent virtual machine of the linked clone. The filePath always starts with a period character, indicating the current directory. The .lck files are created in the current location.
5. Save the file and add the virtual machine to inventory.