Inaccessible VMs in vSphere Inventory after ESXi Rollback or Failed Upgrade

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• Virtual Machines appear in the vSphere Client inventory labeled as 'inaccessible'.
• Inaccessible VMs may appear under specific folders or within the host's root inventory.
• The Tasks and Events tabs for these VMs are empty or show no historical data.
• The VMs cannot be powered on or managed through the vCenter Server.

Environment

• VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
• VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x
• VMware vCenter Server 7.x
• VMware vCenter Server 8.x

Cause

• This issue occurs because the ESXi host database retains stale registration metadata after an upgrade is rolled back. The host maintains records of Virtual Machines that it believes are still registered, even if the underlying configuration files were moved or deleted.
• Virtual Machines that are no longer available or moved to another host show as inaccessible.

Resolution

Removing Inaccessible VMs from Inventory:

1. Log in to the vSphere Client.
2. Locate the Virtual Machine showing as (inaccessible).
3. Right-click the Virtual Machine and select Actions.
4. Select Remove from Inventory.
5. Confirm that the VM is no longer present in the host or folder inventory.

Additional Information

Additional KB articles related to the issue.

Determining why a single virtual machine is inaccessible on an ESXi host or vCenter Server system
 

 Remove VMs or VM Templates from vCenter Server or from the Datastore