Unable to Enter a Virtual Machine's BIOS Configuration from the VI Client

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When booting or hard-resetting a virtual machine through a remote console in the VI Client, the power-on self-test (POST) screen is not displayed, thereby preventing access to BIOS configuration for the virtual machine.

This problem occurs because the MKS connection is dropped and then reestablished when hard-resetting a virtual machine from VirtualCenter. Reconnecting MKS takes 5 to 10 seconds on average. By the time the connection is reestablished, the MBR is already loaded and executed. Therefore, there is no way to enter the BIOS and fix the boot order when using the Reset power option.

Environment

VMware ESX Server 3.0.x
VMware ESX Server 2.0.x
VMware ESX Server 2.1.x
VMware ESX Server 2.5.x
VMware ESX Server 3.5.x

Resolution

Workaround:

Use Ctrl+Alt+Delete (or Ctrl+Alt+Insert on Windows) to soft-reset the virtual machine, or restart the guest operating system by right-clicking on the virtual machine and selecting Restart Guest. This will not disconnect the standard I/O devices, such as mouse/keyboard/screen (MKS), or remote devices. The BIOS screen is displayed, and the boot order can be changed.

For virtual machines created on ESX Server 3.5, you can change the settings under Advanced > Boot Options in the Options tab of the Virtual Machine Properties dialog box to delay the boot sequence so that the MKS connection has time to be reestablished.