Windows VM configured to use an LSILogic SCSI controller reports that the OS does not support the controller

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• When a Windows virtual machine is powered on, the Tasks and Events tab of the virtual machine on the vSphere Client displays this warning under Events:
  
  The guest operating system is <Windows OS> and you have one or more virtual SCSI devices installed in your virtual machine. <Windows OS> does not support the LSI Logic SCSI adapter that VMware ESX currently uses for its virtual SCSI devices. Select OK to continue, or Cancel to cancel.
  
  
• The virtual machine may fail to power on with a similar warning
• The virtual machine power on operation succeeds, but booting the virtual machine fails with a BSOD
• This warning message can also be found in the virtual machine's vmware.log file
• This issue occurs in Windows operating systems earlier than Windows Server 2003, such as Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP 32-bit

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when any of the SCSI controllers of these Windows virtual machines are configured as type LSILogic Parallel.

By default, the device drivers for LSILogic SCSI adapter are not built-in with these Windows operating systems, such as Windows 2000, Windows NT, and Windows XP 32-bit.

Resolution

You can ignore this message in the Events tab if the power on operation of the virtual machine is successful and all the virtual disks are visible inside the virtual machine.
If you are experiencing this issue during guest operating system installation, you must provide the driver for the LSILogic SCSI controller during the installation process.

Note: If you are installing a Windows operating system older than Windows Server 2003, except Windows XP 32bit, you can avoid installing the LSILogic SCSI controller drivers by converting the SCSI controller type to BusLogic Parallel. These operating systems, have built-in support for BusLogic SCSI controller drivers, but Windows XP 32bit does not have this built-in support. To change the SCSI controller type to BusLogic Parallel, follow the steps in Procedure 1.

You can download the LSILogic SCSI controller driver from the download center at the LSILogic Web site. Download the LSIMPT adapter driver for your guest operating system. The downloaded driver zip archive also contains a text file that lists the instructions on how to install the driver during the installation of the Windows operating system.

Use one of these procedures if:

• The power on operation of an already installed virtual machine is failing with a BSOD
• Some of the virtual disks that are accessed through SCSI controller of type LSILogic Parallel are not visible inside the virtual machine.
  

Procedure 1 - Change the SCSI controller type of the virtual machine to Bus Logic Parallel

Note: Use this procedure if you are not particular about using the LSILogic Parallel type SCSI controller within the virtual machine.

To change the SCSI controller type of the virtual machine to Bus Logic Parallel:

Note: Before proceeding, ensure that the virtual disks on the controller do not have any snapshots.

1. Ensure that the virtual machine is powered off.
2. Select the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
3. Select the SCSI controller field that is configured as LSILogic Parallel.
4. Click Change Type.
5. Select BusLogic Parallel and click OK.
6. Repeat Steps 3 through 5 for all SCSI controller fields that are configured as type LSILogic Parallel.
7. Power on the virtual machine.

Procedure 2 - Install the LSILogic Parallel drivers

Note: Use this procedure if you are particular about using the LSILogic Parallel type SCSI controller within the virtual machine.

To install the necessary drivers in the virtual machine when you want to use LSILogic Parallel:

1. If the virtual machine power on operation results in a BSOD, use Procedure 1 and convert the SCSI controller type of the boot virtual disk to Bus Logic Parallel.
2. Power on the virtual machine.
3. Download the LSILogic SCSI controller driver from the download center at the LSI Logic Web site. In addition, download the LSI20320-R SCSI adapter driver for your guest operating system.
   
   
4. Copy the downloaded driver files to the desktop or any other easily accessible location on the virtual machine.
5. Power off the virtual machine.
6. Add a new SCSI controller of type LSILogic Parallel to the virtual machine.
   
   To add a new SCSI controller of type LSILogic Parallel:
   
   
   1. Add a new hard disk of small size, say 1MB.
   2. For the Virtual Device Node selection in the wizard, select the controller that is different from the controller for the boot device.
      
      For example, if the boot virtual disk of the virtual machine is on controller 0 (when the Virtual Device Node for the boot virtual disk is one of SCSI (0:x)), then select SCSI (1:0) as the Virtual Device Node for the newly added hard disk.
      
      
   3. After the hard disk is added, it adds a New SCSI Controller entry corresponding to the Virtual Device Node selected in Step b.
   4. Change the SCSI controller type to LSILogic Parallel by selecting the new SCSI controller and clicking the Change Type button.
      
      
7. Power on the virtual machine.
8. Follow the Found New Hardware wizard or the Windows device manager inside the Windows guest and provide location of the LSILogic SCSI controller driver downloaded in Step 3. This installs the drivers for the LSILogic SCSI controller inside the guest operating system.
9. Power off the virtual machine.
10. Remove the hard disk that is added in Step 6 from the virtual machine.
11. Change the type of the remaining SCSI controller(s) to LSILogic Parallel.
12. Power on the virtual machine.

Additional Information

LSILogic SCSI コントローラを使用するように構成されている Windows 仮想マシンが、このコントローラはオペレーティング システムでサポートされていないと報告する
配置为使用 LSILogic SCSI 控制器的 Windows 虚拟机发出了操作系统不支持该控制器的报告