Error: fsck fails during vCenter server virtual machine startup

Products

• VMware vCenter Server 7.0
• VMware vCenter Server 8.0

Issue/Introduction

• When fsck runs during startup on a VMware vCenter Virtual Machine (VM), an error is encountered that prevents the system from fully booting. The system startup halts, and an error message indicates that a manual file system check (fsck) is required on the VMware Photon OS environment.

Environment

VMware vCenter Server

Cause

This issue is primarily caused by unexpected reboots or the temporary unavailability of storage. This disruption results in file system inconsistencies on the VMware Photon OS hosting the vCenter Server, which prevents the automated fsck process from completing successfully during startup.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, the file system inconsistencies must be fixed by manually executing fsck.

Perform the following steps:

1. Take a snapshot of the vCenter Server Virtual Machine (VM) by referring to Snapshot Best practices for vCenter Server Virtual Machines.

2. Restart the Virtual Machine running VMware Photon OS. When the splash screen appears, quickly press the letter e to enter the Grand Unified Bootloader (GNU GRUB) edit menu.

   Note: The letter e must be pressed quickly as the operating system reboots rapidly. In VMware vSphere or VMware Workstation Pro, the console might require focus by clicking within the window before keyboard input is registered.

3. In the GNU GRUB edit menu, navigate to the end of the line that begins with linux, add a space, and append the following code exactly: systemd.unit=emergency.target

4. Press F10.

5. In the bash shell, execute one of the following commands to fix the file system errors, depending on whether sda1 or sda2 represents the root file system:
   
   e2fsck -y /dev/sda1
   
   or
   
   e2fsck -y /dev/sda2

6. Restart the Virtual Machine.