Reducing disk volume size using VMware Converter fails

Products

• VMware

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Reducing disk volume size using VMware Converter fails
• File-level clones using VMware Converter fail
• When performing a conversion and reducing the disk volume size of one or more hard disks from the source machine the progress of cloning the data from the disks fails
• Converter fails at 3%-92% complete
• You see the error:
  
  conversion failed
  
• The VMware Converter log contains the entries:
• • Cannot read from source volume
  • 'App' 6520 error] [fileLevelCloningTaskImpl,267] Pcopy_CloneTree failed with err=3"
    
• The VMware log contains the error:
  
  fileLevelCloningTaskImpl

Environment

VMware Converter 3.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.1.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.3.x
VMware vCenter Converter 4.0.x
VMware vCenter Converter Standalone 4.0.x

Resolution

When reducing the disk volume size, the cloning operation switches from a Block level clone to a File level clone operation, meaning each individual file on the filesystem is copied over to the virtual machines hard drive rather than a block by block image of the drive.

This can cause issues if the filesystem on the source machine is not in good health (for example, if it is severely fragmented, the physical drive has unrecorded bad sectors, or system files are damaged or missing in the index tables of the NTFS file system).

To prevent this issue:

• Before you reduce the disk volume size during a conversion, first perform a checkdisk (chkdsk) routine on the drives you are converting. If you are converting a Windows-based operating system, open a command prompt and run the following command to launch a system file checker that report any files that are corrupt in the system:
  
  sfc /scannow
  
  Replace or repair any damaged or missing files.
  
• Complete a full defragment procedure on the hard disks being converted.
  
  To ensure all files can be read, moved and rebuilt as needed within the file system, schedule the checkdisk routine and defragment procedure to run at boot time rather than during operation of your Windows operating system.