Performing hardware diagnostics

Products

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

Issue/Introduction

This article provides steps to determine if there are any hardware problems on the physical host. You may want to use this article if you are experiencing issues with the guest operating system or the host computer where a VMware product is installed.

Note: This article does not address hardware problems unique to ESXi hosts.

Symptoms:

A guest or host operating system:

• Fails
• Stops responding and displays a blue screen with a stop code
• Experiences a core dump
• Experiences a kernel panic
• Stops responding
• Keeps rebooting for no apparent reason

Resolution

To ensure that host hardware is healthy:

Note: If you perform a corrective action in any of the following steps, determine if the problems initially encountered are still being experienced.

1. Ensure that all of the components are seated and attached correctly.
   
   Note: The computer must be powered down and its case removed. Proper maintenance procedures based on the manual provided by the hardware vendor mustbe followed.
   
   
2. Verify that none of the components have been overclocked. Overclocking is the process of forcing a computer component to run at a higher clock rate than it was designed for by its manufacturer. Overclocking improves performance but may result in instability. VMware does not recommend overclocking.
   
   
3. Run a diagnostic utility that was provided by the hardware vendor.
   
   
4. Run a third party diagnostic utility.
   
   Notes:
   • This is required if the computer is a clone system or a computer where a diagnostic utility was not provided by the hardware vendor.
   • VMware does endorse or recommend any particular third party utility, nor does it take responsibility for anything that may not occur as a result of its use.
   • This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Any inclusion or exclusion of a particular third party utility from this list is not an implicit or explicit indication of VMware's recommendation or lack of recommendation for that utility.
     
     

     CheckIt Diagnostics	http://www.smithmicro.com/default.tpl?group=product_full&sku=CKDWINEE
     EVEREST	http://www.lavalys.com/
     Sandra	http://www.sisoftware.net/

     
     
     
     Note: The preceding links were correct as of April 21, 2016. If you find a link is broken, provide a feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.
     
     Note: For information about problems related specifically to memory, see Validating host memory (1004012).