When installing Windows 2008 R2 in a virtual machine, Windows setup fails to detect the hard disks

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• When installing Windows 2008 R2 in a virtual machine on ESX/ESXi, the Windows setup fails to detect hard disks in the virtual machine
• You see the error:
  
  Windows setup could not find any hard disks
  
  
• Windows 2008 R2 is configured to boot from the LSI Logic SAS controller

Environment

VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue may occur if a compatible disk controller driver is not detected by the Windows installer.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, check the SCSI controller type that you have selected. For example, an LSI Logic SAS generates an error, whereas an LSI Logic Parallel choice works properly.

For information on changing the SCSI controller, see Changing the virtual SCSI controller of a virtual machine (1002149).

After reconfiguring the SCSI controller, power on the virtual machine and then retry the installation.

Notes:

• If the guest operating system is not Windows 2008, use the New Virtual Machine wizard to create the virtual machine. The wizard displays the controller type recommended by VMware for the guest operating system.
• This error may also occur due to a corrupted Windows 2008 R2 ISO. VMware recommends you to use a java based download manager to download the ISO.

Additional Information

Changing the virtual SCSI controller of a virtual machine
Configuring disks to use VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) adapters
仮想マシンに Windows 2008 R2 をインストールするときに、Windows セットアップでハード ディスクを検出できない
在虚拟机中安装 Windows 2008 R2 时，Windows 安装未检测到硬盘