Error: Failed - A specified parameter was not correct: spec.deviceChange.device when taking a snapshot of a virtual machine

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

When attempting to take a snapshot of a virtual machine, you may see the following errors in vCenter:

• Failed - A specified parameter was not correct: spec.deviceChange.device
• An error occurred while saving the snapshot: One of the parameters supplied is invalid.

In the vmware.log file for the virtual machine, you see the following errors:

• In(05) vcpu-0 ########-#######-auto-######-##:########-##-##-#### DISKLIB-LIB   : Failed to open '/vmfs/volumes/########-########-####-############/<VMname>/<VMname>-digest.vmdk' with flags 0x20a The system cannot find the file specified (25).
  

• In(05) vcpu-0 ########-#######-auto-######-##:########-##-##-#### SnapshotVMXTakeSnapshotComplete: Snapshot 0 failed: One of the parameters supplied is invalid (5).

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 8.x

Cause

A digest disk being referenced by the base disk is missing. 

Resolution

To resolve the issue:

1. Power off the VM

2. Navigate to the VM's folder on the datastore:

   cd /vmfs/volumes/<datastore-name>/<vm-folder>/
   

3. Create backup copies of critical files:

   cp <VMname>.vmdk <VMname>.vmdk.backup
   cp <VMname>.vmx <VMname>.vmx.backup
   

4. Edit the VMDK descriptor file to remove digest references:

5. vi <VMname>.vmdk

   • Press i to enter insert mode
   • Remove these lines:

     ddb.digestFilename = "<VMname>-digest.vmdk"
     ddb.digestType = "file"
     

   • Press Esc to exit insert mode
   • Type :wq! to save and exit

6. Edit the VMX configuration file to remove digest setting:

   vi <VMname>.vmx
   

   • Press i to enter insert mode
   • Remove this line:

     scsi0:0.digest = "TRUE"
     

   • Press Esc to exit insert mode
   • Type :wq! to save and exit

7. Power on the VM

8. Attempt to create a new snapshot to verify the issue is resolved

Additional Information

Error: "An error occurred while taking a snapshot: A digest operation has failed" when taking snapshot of VM