Troubleshooting a failed vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure Client installation

Products

VMware vCenter Server VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to troubleshoot a failed vSphere/VI Client installation.

Symptoms:

You cannot install the vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Client.
Installing the vSphere/VI Client fails.
The vSphere/VI Client installation fails to complete.
You may see one or more of these errors during the vSphere/VI Client installation:
- Error 1603
- The Microsoft Visual J# 2.0 second edition installer returned error code 4113
- Microsoft Visual J# 2.0 Second edition installer returned error code '2147942406'
  Error creating process <install /q /l>. Reason: The handle is invalid.
- Plugin Installer Error: Unable to connect to the remote server.
- Login Failed
- Setup failed to launch <path of the VMware-VIClient executable file>
- Setup has detected that the Microsoft .NET Framework 2.0 pre-requisite is not installed on this system. Please install this pre-requisite and try again.

Environment

VMware VirtualCenter 2.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.0.x
VMware ESX 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Embedded
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Embedded

Resolution

Validate that each troubleshooting step below is true for your environment. Each step will provide instructions or a link to a document, in order to eliminate possible causes and take corrective action as necessary. The steps are ordered in the most appropriate sequence to isolate the issue and identify the proper resolution. Please do not skip a step.

Ensure you run the installer as Administrator.
Verify that the minimum system requirements for installing the vSphere/VI Client are met. For more information, see Minimum system requirements for installing the vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure Client (1037552).
Verify that you are installing the client on a supported operating system. For more information, see the vSphere Compatibility Matrix.
Ensure that you have not lost connectivity to your ESX/ESXi host or your vCenter Server. For more information, see Diagnosing the vSphere Client when it fails to connect to an ESX/ESXi host or vCenter Server (1003870).
Verify that you have an active internet connection to support the client installation. If you do not have a viable Internet connection, see vSphere Client installation might fail with Error 1603 if you do not have an active internet connection (1010723).

Note: If your problem still exists after you perform the steps in this article:
- Collect the VMware support information. For more information, see Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Fusion (1003894).
- File a support request with VMware Support and quote this Knowledge Base article ID (1037551) in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request.

Additional Information

Starting with vSphere 5.1, the vSphere Infrastructure Client is deprecated and is replaced with the vSphere Web Client.

You can get more troubleshooting information from these logs:

Pre-Windows 2008 – C:\Documents and Settings\Local Settings\Temp
Windows 2008 and Windows 7 – C:\Users\user>\AppData\Local\Temp vminst.log vim-vic-msi.log

Diagnosing the vSphere Client when it fails to connect to an ESX/ESXi host or vCenter Server
Collecting diagnostic information for VMware Fusion
vSphere Client installation might fail with Error 1603 if you do not have an active internet connection
Minimum system requirements for installing the vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure Client
vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure Client のインストールに失敗したときのトラブルシューティング
对失败的 vSphere/Virtual Infrastructure Client 安装进行故障排除