Unable to mount a floppy image in vCenter Server

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

This article provides a workaround that enables you to mount a floppy image, such as an image containing the paravirtual SCSI adapter driver, to a virtual machine.

Symptoms:

• Datastore browser shows vmimages directory on the ESXi host as empty in vCenter Server
• Cannot see the vmimages/floppies directory in vCenter Server
• Contents of the vmimages/floppies directory is accessible when directly connected via the vSphere Client.

Environment

VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware vCenter Server 5.0.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 4.1.x
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0

Resolution

To workaround this issue:

1. Log in to the ESXi host.
   
   For more information, see:
   
2. • ESXi 4.1/5.x – Using Tech Support Mode in ESXi 4.1 and ESXi 5.x (1017910)
   • ESXi 4.0 and 3.x – Tech Support Mode for Emergency Support (1003677)
     
     
3. Run this command to create a new floppies directory on one of the datastores on the ESXi host:
   
   mkdir /vmfs/volumes/<datastore_name>/floppies
   
   Where <datastore_name> is the name of a shared datastore.
   
   
4. Run this command to copy the contents of the original floppies directory to the new directory:
   
   cp /productLocker/floppies/*.flp /vmfs/volumes/<datastore_name>/floppies/
   
   
5. Mount the floppy image.
   
   To use the floppy image:
   
6. 1. In the Inventory pane, right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
   2. Click the virtual floppy drive and select Connected.
   3. Click Browse under Use existing floppy image in datastore.
   4. Browse to the location /<datastore_name>/floppies.
   5. Select the required floppy image.

Additional Information

Tech Support Mode for Emergency Support
Configuring disks to use VMware Paravirtual SCSI (PVSCSI) adapters
Using Tech Support Mode in ESXi 4.1, ESXi 5.x, and ESXi 6.x