Powering on a virtual machine fails with the error: Failed to extend swap file from 0 KB to xxxx KB

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Cannot power on a virtual machine
• Powering on a virtual machine fails
• You see the error:

         An unexpected error was received from the ESX host while powering on VM VM_name.
         Could not power on VM : Reason
         Failed to power on VM.
         Failed to extend swap file from 0 KB to size KB.

         For example:

• An unexpected error was received from the ESX host while powering on VM vm-124.
  Failed to power on VM.
  Could not power on VM : No space left on device.
  Failed to extend swap file from 0 KB to 1048576 KB

 

• An unexpected error was received from the ESX host while powering on VM vm-49.
  Failed to power on VM.
  Could not power on VM : Invalid metadata.
  Failed to extend swap file from 0 KB to 2097152 KB.

 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

This issue occurs if the ESX host is unable to create the swap file required to power on the virtual machine. This is most likely due to a storage problem on the datastore where the swap file is located.

Resolution

• To work around this issue when you see the Invalid metadata error, try one of these options:
  
  
  • Configure the ESX host to create the swap file on another datastore. For more information, see Storing a virtual machine swap file in a location other than the default (1004082).
  • Create a memory reservation with the same size as the memory assigned to the virtual machine. This prevents the creation of a swap file.

Note: These work arounds allow you to power on the virtual machine. However, you still need to investigate the underlying storage issue.

• To workaround this issue when you see the No space left on device error, try one of these options:
  
  
  • Configure the ESX host to create the swap file on another datastore. For more information, see Storing a virtual machine swap file in a location other than the default (1004082).
  • Create a memory reservation with the same size as the memory assigned to the virtual machine. This prevents the creation of a swap file. 
  • Increase the size of the datastore on which the virtual machine is located. For more information, see the Increase a VMFS Datastore section in the 

    Increase Capacity of vSphere VMFS Datastore

Notes:

• This article is updated regularly with other reasons that may cause this issue. Check this article for updates.
• If you see a different reason for the failure, open a support request with Broadcom support. For more information, see Creating and managing Broadcom support cases.

Additional Information

仮想マシンのパワー オンが次のエラーで失敗する：スワップ ファイルを 0 KB から xxxx KB に拡張できませんでした