Resolve "Cannot complete operation due to concurrent modification" error during VM power-on after migration (vSphere)
Article ID: 452342
Updated On:
Products
Issue/Introduction
This article provides resolution steps for virtual machines failing to power on after migration or re-registration. The error "Cannot complete operation due to concurrent modification by another operation" occurs when stale lock files persist on the datastore.
Environment
- VMware vSphere ESXi 7.x, 8.x
- VMware vCenter Server 7.x, 8.x
Cause
During cross-vCenter vMotion or storage migration, the management process may fail to clean up the virtual machine lock file (.lck). This orphaned file indicates to the ESXi host that the virtual machine disk is in use by another host, causing the host to deny power-on requests to prevent potential data corruption.
Resolution
Follow these steps to clear the stale lock file and enable the virtual machine to power on:
- Identify the datastore path where the virtual machine is registered.
- Log in to the ESXi host CLI via SSH.
- Navigate to the virtual machine directory:
cd /vmfs/volumes/<INSERT_DATASTORE_NAME>/<INSERT_VM_DIRECTORY>/ - Create a backup directory to hold the stale files:
mkdir bkup - Move the stale lock files to the backup directory:
mv *.vmx.lck bkup/ - Navigate to the vSphere Client and attempt to power on the virtual machine.
If the issue persists, verify that no duplicate folders exist for the virtual machine on the datastore and ensure the virtual machine is registered from the path containing the most recent configuration files.
Additional Information
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