Troubleshooting file, volume, and disk access problems during conversion with VMware Converter

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• A conversion fails between 2% and 96%
• You cannot perform a conversion
• You see entries similar to:
  
  The file or directory is corrupted and unreadable (1392)
  
  Image processing task has failed with PlatformError fault: 1392
  
  Image processing task has failed with PlatformError fault: 23
  
  Image processing task has failed with PlatformError fault: 1
  
  [Pcopy] error Can not write stream data: The process cannot access the file because it is being used by another process (32)
  
  Error copying destination file
  
  sector could not be read
  
  Error calling CloneTree: The file exists (80)
  
  Pcopy_CloneTree failed with err=80

Environment

VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.5.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 6.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 5.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.3.x
VMware Converter 3.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.2.x

Resolution

During the cloning phase of conversion, data is read from the source server and transferred to the destination. In some cases application processes running on the source server can interfere with VMware Converter's ability to read files from the source disk or volume.

To ensure that VMware Converter read all files:

1. Log in to the source server as with the local Administrator account to rule out possible problems due to permission restrictions.
2. Use the msconfig utility to reduce the number of running processes which may interfere with file access.
   
   1. Open a command prompt. For more information, see Opening a command or shell prompt (1003892).
   2. Type msconfig and press Enter.
   3. Select Diagnostic Startup.
   4. Click Services. Select Hide all Microsoft Services.
   5. Select VMware Converter Service.
   6. Restart the server.
      
      Note: To restore the settings, open the msconfig utility and select Normal Startup.
      
      
3. Some file access issues can sometimes be caused by file system or disk problems.
   
   To determine if these may be causing issues:
   
   
   1. Open a command prompt and run this command:
      
      chkdsk <drive_letter:> /r
      
      Note: If you are prompted to schedule the disk check, press y and restart the server.
      
      
4. Microsoft Active Directory, Exchange, SQL, and Oracle Database servers may experience complications during a conversion with VMware Converter due to the way file locking is handled on those server platforms. VMware recommends trying to turn these services off prior to conversion to ensure the most successful conversion possible as mentioned in Step 2.

Additional Information

For more information related to troubleshooting cloning problems, see Troubleshooting issues when VMware Converter fails during conversion (1006292) Opening a command or shell prompt
Troubleshooting issues when vCenter Converter fails during conversion