Error: "There is not enough space on the file system for the selected operation" when powering on a virtual machine

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

Virtual Machine Power-On Failure. The virtual machine fails to power on due to the following issues:

1. Virtual machine Consolidation Needed warnings are seen.
2. Insufficient Disk Space: There is not enough space available for the virtual disk.
3. Datastore running out of space.
4. Snapshot consolidation failures.     
5. Power-On Failure: The virtual machine could not be started.

 

Validation:

• Virtual machine consolidation needed messages are seen as below:

Click on vCenter >> (Inventory) Virtual Machine>>Summary

 

 

• You may see insufficient disk space errors as below on your virtual machine and snapshot consolidation failures.

Click on vCenter >> (Inventory) Virtual Machine>> Monitor >>Tasks

 

 

• Datastore running out of space.

Click on vCenter >> (Inventory)Datastore>Summary

 

• VM Power on failures are seen below errors.

Click on vCenter >> (Inventory) Virtual Machine>> Monitor >>Tasks

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

This issue can occur when the device backing the datastore gets full and there is no more space to expand or grow.

Resolution

Action Required: Expand Datastore or Manage Disk Space

To address this issue, you may follow one of the below actions:

1. Expand the Datastore: Request an expansion of the datastore to provide additional space.

2. Free Up Space: Alternatively, delete unnecessary files, migrate the virtual machine disk to another datastore with available space, or consolidate any existing snapshots.

 

Additional Information