Changing disk mode from Independent to Dependent for a Virtual Machine

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi
• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

This article outlines the steps to change the Virtual Machine disk mode from Independent to Dependent. Users may observe that the vSphere Client allows this change while the Virtual Machine is powered on; however, a power cycle is required for the change to take effect.

Environment

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

Cause

The ESXi hypervisor re-reads the .vmx configuration file only when the Virtual Machine is powered on or during a power cycle. If the disk mode is modified while the VM is running (hot conversion), the change remains pending in the configuration and is not applied to the active process. This can lead to snapshot inconsistencies or Invalid change tracker errors.

Resolution

To change the options for the virtual disk(s):

1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
3. Find the affected virtual disk(s) and expand to see all the hard disk details.
4. Change the Disk Mode to Dependent.
5. Click OK to apply and save the changes.
6. Power the virtual machine back on.

Additional Information

• For further assistance, see Contact Support. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click on your respective region.
• Refer to KB 206567 for general support contact information.
• Issues if not power cycled properly:
  • Snapshot with memory fails with the error: "Failed to take a memory snapshot, since the virtual machine is configured with independent disks"