Downloading .vmx from the vCenter/vSphere datastore browser fails with HTTP ERROR 500.

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• When attempting to download the .vmx file of a powered-on virtual machine from the datastore browser in the vSphere Client, the operation may fail with the following error:

This page isn't working HTTP ERROR 500

• When connecting to the VMware vCenter Server URL (http://VC-hostname) and navigating via the web-based datastore browser to the .vmx of a powered-on VM, attempts to download these files may fail with an HTTP error or produce a file of zero bytes in size, indicating a failed download.

 

Cause

This issue may occur when the .vmx or any virtual machine files are stored on a shared datastore accessible by multiple ESXi hosts. When a virtual machine is powered on, the ESXi host running that VM places a lock on these critical files to maintain data integrity. Attempting to download or copy these files from another ESX/ ESXi host that shares the same datastore but does not own the VM results in failure because the lock restricts file access.

When using the web-based datastore browser or the vSphere Client datastore browser connected to a vCenter Server, the server selects an ESXi host to process the download or copy request. Problems arise when that chosen host is not the one currently running the powered-on virtual machine. Similarly, browsing the datastore directly via the web-based or vSphere Client datastore browser on an ESXi host that does not host the virtual machine even though it has datastore visibility, can lead to download or copy operations failing due to these locks.

Resolution

Workaround:

• To access the files for a specific virtual machine, please connect to the ESXi host web client where the virtual machine's .vmx files are located.

Additional Information

If the workaround listed above do not work, you can power off the virtual machine and then attempt the file copy again. If the operation fails even when the virtual machine is powered off, it is possible that a backup process or some other process is holding a stale lock on the file.