Active Directory virtual machine boots continuously in safe mode after a reboot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

After upgrading to ESX 4.1 and upgrading to the latest version of VMware Tools in a Domain Controller virtual machine, you may experience these symptoms:

• The virtual machine only boots in Safe Mode after a reboot.
• When you boot the virtual machine, you see this message:
  
  The system is booting in safe mode. Directory Repair Services
  
  
• If you press F8 during bootup, only two options are available: Safe Mode and Repair Mode.
• Uninstalling VMware Tools manually from Safe Mode and rebooting the virtual machine does not resolve the issue.

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.0.x

Cause

This issue is likely triggered by an error/event in Active Directory. To confirm, check the Active Directory events.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, deselect the Safe boot option in the guest operating system.

To deselect the Safe boot option:

1. Run the System Configuration Utility on the guest operating system to check the boot settings. Click Start > Run, type msconfig.exe, and press Enter.
2. Click the Boot tab.
3. Deselect Safe boot.
4. Click OK.
5. Reboot the guest operating system.