Network errors when trying to boot the copied virtual machine

Products

• VMware
• VMware Desktop Hypervisor
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

After copying a virtual machine disk file and configuration file, you experience this symptom:

• Network errors or problems when trying to boot the copied virtual machine.

Resolution

This issue can occur when trying to use a copied virtual machine on the same network as the original.

There are two sources of the problem:

• The MAC address of the copied virtual machine conflicts with the original virtual machine on the network. For information, see Changing the Virtual Machine's MAC Address.
• The unique system ID (UUID) of the copied virtual machine conflicts with another virtual machine on the network. For information, see Changing the Virtual Machine's Unique System ID.

Changing the Virtual Machine's MAC Address

Each virtual machine is assigned its own MAC address by VMware ESX, Server or Workstation. When you copy a virtual machine's files, you create two or more virtual machines that have the same MAC address.

If you have two or more virtual machines with the same MAC address, you must change the MAC addresses of these virtual machines so that there are no duplicate addresses.

For instructions on how to change the MAC address for a virtual machine, see one of these articles:

• Hosted platforms: Changing the MAC address of a hosted virtual machine (507)
• ESX: Setting a static MAC address for a virtual NIC (219)

Follow the appropriate steps for your virtualization platform.

Changing the Virtual Machine's Unique System ID (UUID)

Each virtual machine, like each physical computer, requires a unique system ID on a network. This unique system ID is called a UUID.

In most cases, you can use a program such as SysPrep to change the unique system ID so that you can use a copy of a virtual machine on the same network as the original.

For more information on moving and sharing virtual machines, see Moving or copying a virtual machine within a VMware environment (1000936).

For additional information, see the VMware Product Documentation.