Performing a disk check

Products

• VMware
• VMware Desktop Hypervisor
• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article describes how to perform a disk check. This is required to address problems encountered with an operating system as a result of file system errors. Problems can include data loss, virtual machine crashes, slow performance, virtual machine resume and suspend failures, and other unexpected behavior.

Symptoms:

• Virtual machine disconnects from local hard disk.
• You see the error:
  
  VMware Workstation unrecoverable error: (vcpu-0)
  Exception 0xc0000006 (disk error while paging) has occurred.
  
  
• Power on errors reporting virtual machine cannot locate the virtual disk.
• Virtual machine stops responding with a black screen.
• In the vmware.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>: vmx| scsi0:0: Command READ(10) took 2.115 seconds (ok)
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>: vmx| scsi0:0: Command WRITE(10) took 2.114 seconds (ok)</time></time>

Resolution

Determine if there are problems with your file system by performing a disk check. A disk check can be done by using a third party application or by using tools native to your operating system.

Disk check methods differs between operating systems. Refer to the section below that matches your operating system.

Windows

Note: The exact procedure differs between versions of Windows. If one procedure below does not work try the other. If neither method works, consult the manual for your version of Windows.

 

To perform a disk check from the user interface:

1. Double-click the My Computer icon (Windows XP) or Computer icon (Windows 7).
2. Right-click the entry for your local disk.
3. Click Properties.
4. Click the Tools tab.
5. Click Check Now.
6. Select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors.
7. Click Start.

To perform a disk check from the user interface (Windows 8 and 10):

1. Double-click This PC icon or My Computer icon.
2. Right-click on the drive to run the check.
3. Click Properties.
4. Select the Tools tab and click Check.
5. Click Scan drive to start scanning.

 

To perform a disk check from a command line (Windows XP):

1. Click Start > Run, type cmd, and click OK. The Command Prompt window opens. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (344061).
2. Type chkdsk c: /r and press Enter.
   
   Note: If the local disk being/ scanned is not c:, replace c: with its drive letter.

Note: A scan of the system drive requires that the operating system be rebooted.

To perform a disk check from a command line (Windows 7):

1. Click Start and type cmd or command in the search field.
2. Right click on cmd or Command Prompt and select Run as administrator.
3. Press Yes in the User Account Control. The Command Prompt window opens.

To perform a disk check from a command line (Windows 8 and 10):

1. Press Right click on Start.
2. Select Command Prompt (Admin) the command prompt windows open.

For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (344061).

 

Linux

Note: The exact procedure may differ between distributions of Linux. If these commands do not work, consult the manual for your distribution of Linux. These commands may also fail if you are not logged in as a user with root access.

1. Open a shell prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (344061).
2. Type touch /forcefsck and press Enter.
3. Type shutdown -r now and press Enter.
   
   Note: Issuing the shutdown command restarts your operating system.

Mac OS

To perform a disk check:

1. Navigate to: [Macintosh HD]/Applications/Utilities.
2. Open Disk Utility by double clicking it.
3. Click the entry for the disk or volume to check.
   
   Note: This is usually the disk which Macintosh HD is indented below. It is named with the size of your hard drive, and the manufacturer's name.
   
   
4. Click Verify Disk.
   
   Note: You can use this utility to verify the integrity of the startup volume, but not to repair any issues that may be discovered. If you need to repair the disk, use Safe Boot. For more information, see Using Safe Boot (330652).
   
   Note: You can also click on Verify Disk Permissions to confirm that there are no problems being experienced due to incorrect permissions. If you find that there are permission problems, they can be corrected by clicking on Repair Disk Permissions.

Additional Information