HCX OSAM Migration Failure: “BEGIN not found” During Windows Stage-2 Fixup
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HCX OSAM Migration Failure: “BEGIN not found” During Windows Stage-2 Fixup

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Article ID: 311833

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Updated On:

Products

VMware HCX

Issue/Introduction

An OS-Assisted Migration (OSAM) job fails on the second stage of the Windows fixup process, displaying the error in the HCX Manager UI

Failed to perform fix-up operation on migrated VM.

Failed to run SOAP request ListFilesInGuest

A general system error occurred: vix error codes = (1, 0).

Logs from the migrated VM (under C:\temp\Fixup) show repeated entries indicating "BEGIN not found," causing the second stage fixup to restart indefinitely. The first stage completes successfully, but the second stage does not progress, as shown below

==============================================================================================
2023-07-27T04:58:00.569+1000WARNVerify failed for second stage fixup
2023-07-27T04:58:00.569+1000INFOFile: C:\temp\fixup\BEGIN not found. Retrying after 10 seconds ...
[...]
2023-07-27T05:02:50.815+1000INFOFile: C:\temp\fixup\BEGIN not found. Retrying after 10 seconds ...
2023-07-27T05:03:00.821+1000INFORebooting VM as fixup stage not complete
2023-07-27T05:05:25.389+1000INFOProgress file opened successfully
2023-07-27T05:05:25.413+1000INFOVMware tools is already installed
2023-07-27T05:05:25.500+1000WARNFixup result file: C:\temp\fixup\result.json does not exist
2023-07-27T05:05:25.500+1000WARNVerify failed for second stage fixup
==============================================================================================

The first stage (installation of VMware Tools and creation of the vmwuser account) completes, but the second stage fixup continuously retries and never finishes.

==============================================================================================
2023-07-11T08:18:04+10:00Started online fixup
2023-07-11T08:18:04+10:00Fixup stage 1 started
2023-07-11T08:18:04+10:00Fixup stage 1: VMware tools installation started
2023-07-11T09:31:22+10:00Fixup stage 1: VMware tools installation completed successfully
2023-07-11T09:31:22+10:00Fixup stage 1: Adding debug user started
2023-07-11T09:31:22+10:00First stage fixup: VMware user activated successfully
2023-07-11T09:31:22+10:00First stage fixup: process completed
2023-07-11T09:33:44+10:00Started online fixup
2023-07-11T09:33:44+10:00Second stage fixup: process started
2023-07-11T09:41:08+10:00Started online fixup
2023-07-11T09:41:08+10:00Second stage fixup: process started
[...]
==============================================================================================

Environment

VMware HCX

HCX OSAM

Cause

During OSAM Windows migrations, the second stage of fixup relies on files placed under C:\temp\Fixup\—including the BEGIN file—to progress. When the first stage takes too long to install VMware Tools, the HCX Manager may time out and stop monitoring the process. Although the environment completes Stage-1 successfully, the HCX Manager believes the fixup operation has failed due to the prolonged installation. As a result, Stage-2 remains stuck in a loop of searching for BEGIN and repeatedly restarting.

Resolution

Check Environment and VM Configuration

  • Disable or pause encryption on the source Windows VM (e.g., BitLocker or third-party tools) before starting the migration.
  • Suspend or exclude antivirus scans to prevent any interference with the OSAM fixup process.
  • Review or disable strict user access controls (UAC) or group policies that could prevent the vmwuser account from being created or assigned necessary permissions.
  • Reboot the source VM before retrying the migration to clear any transient issues or pending configurations.
  • Retry the OSAM migration to see if the same failure recurs.

Confirm VMware Tools Installation

  • If the migration completes but the second stage fixup remains incomplete, verify whether VMware Tools was successfully installed on the destination VM.
  • In cases of VMware Tools errors, attempt a manual VMware Tools installation on the target VM to confirm there are no compatibility or environmental issues.

Validate Network Adapter Configuration

If the VM is present on the destination without a network adapter, manually add and configure a NIC once VMware Tools is installed and functioning correctly.

Gather Logs and Contact Broadcom Support

If issues persist or repeat, collect the following logs to assist with advanced troubleshooting:

  • vCenter logs from the environment hosting the destination VM
  • HCX logs from both the source (Connector) and target (Cloud) HCX Managers
  • Sentinel logs from the source-side VM (and from the destination-side VM if a partial migration succeeded)

Contact Broadcom Support with the collected logs for further investigation and guidance.

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