Linux guest OS fails to boot

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

• After starting a VM, the guest OS drops into GRUB recovery mode
• While viewing from a console, you see a message such as:
  
  Error : Attempting to start up from:
+ EFI Virtual disk (0.0) ... unsuccessful.
+ EFI VMware Virtual IDE CDROM Drive (IDE 0:0) ... No Media.
+ EFI Network ...
 
• When creating a new VM with a new configuration file and adding an existing hard disk (with the guest OS installed) to the VM, it starts to boot and then it enters emergency mode.

Environment

7.x
8.x

Cause

There is an issue with:

• the guest OS
• GRUB bootloader
• boot partition
• a kernel panic
• missing drivers

Resolution

• Engage with the guest OS vendor to investigate and resolve the issue.