"A general system error occurred input/output error" while accessing the local datastore.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms :

• VMs appear in an inaccessible state in vCenter.

• VM folders are missing on the local datastore.

• Attempting to browse the datastore in vCenter displays “No item found”.

Verification :

• Accessing the datastore via vCenter UI or ESXi Host Client UI results in the error: "A general system error occurred Input/output error"

• The df -h command shows that local datastores are inaccessible.

VmFileSystem: Slow refresh failed: Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########
VmFileSystem: Slow refresh failed: Unable to get FS Attrs for /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########
VmFileSystem: Slow refresh failed: Unable to get FS Attrs for /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########
Error when running esxcli, return status was: 1
Errors:
Error getting data for filesystem on '/vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########': Cannot open volume: /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########, skipping.
Error getting data for filesystem on '/vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########': Unable to get FS Attrs for /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########, skipping.
Error getting data for filesystem on '/vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########': Unable to get FS Attrs for /vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########, skipping.
Cannot open volume:

• Logs are not written to the default ESXi log path, and exporting logs generates no output.

[root@ESXi_hostname :~ ] cd /var/run/log
[root@ESXi_hostname:/vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########/log] ls
[root@ESXi_hostname:/vmfs/volumes/########-####-####-####-###########/log]

 

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 6.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

• This issue occurs when the local hard disk in the ESXi host fails, resulting in datastore unavailability.
• Since VMs are stored on the local datastore, they enter an inaccessible state when the underlying storage device becomes unreadable.

Cause Validation :

• From the server’s out-of-band management console (iDRAC / iLO), hardware alerts confirm a local hard disk failure.

Resolution

• Engage the hardware vendor to validate the disk failure.

• Replace the defective local hard disk as per vendor guidance.