Cannot disconnect or unregister inaccessible VMs from a "Not Responding" ESXi host

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

In VMware vCenter Server, an ESXi host remains in a Not Responding state following a hardware failure or network isolation. Administrators are unable to perform standard lifecycle operations on the host (even through ILOM) or its associated virtual machines. 

• Symptoms:

  • Virtual Machines appear as Inaccessible or Orphaned.

  • The "Disconnect" option for the host is greyed out or fails with a timeout.

  • The "Remove from Inventory" option for VMs is unavailable because vCenter still perceives the VMs as "Powered On."

Environment

 

• VMware vCenter Server 6.x / 7.x / 8.x
• ESXi 6.x / 7.x / 8.x

 

Cause

The vCenter Server service (vpxd) cannot complete a "Disconnect" handshake with the host-side management agent (vpxa) because the host is unreachable. Because the host is not "Disconnected," the inventory objects (VMs) remain locked in the vCenter database to prevent data corruption or split-brain scenarios.

Resolution

If the host is permanently failed and cannot be brought back online, follow these steps to clear the inventory:

• Force Remove the Host:

  1. In the vSphere Client, right-click the Not Responding host.

  2. Select Remove from Inventory.

  3. Click Yes to confirm the removal. This action bypasses the disconnect requirement and purges the host and its VMs from the vCenter database.

• Restart vCenter Services (If UI is unresponsive): If the removal task hangs or the UI does not update, restart the vpxd service to clear stale sessions:

  1. SSH to the VCSA as root.

  2. Run: service-control --restart vmware-vpxd

• Restore VM Connectivity: If the VM disks are on shared storage (vSAN, NFS, or iSCSI/FC):

1. 1. Navigate to the Storage view.

   2. Right-click the datastore > Files.

   3. Locate the VM folder and the .vmx file.

   4. Right-click the .vmx and select Register VM.