Powering off a virtual machine fails with the error: Cannot power Off: Another task is already in progress

Products

• VMware vCenter Server
• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• Cannot power off a virtual machine.
• Powering off a virtual machine fails.
• You see the error:
  
  Cannot power Off: Another task is already in progress.
  
• vCenter Server does not report any other task.
• In the home directory of the virtual machine, there are no vmware.log files
• In the .vmx file of the virtual machine, you see this entry:
  
  log.fileName = "/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########e7a3/vmware.log"
  
  However, the storage [/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########e7a3/] does not exist or is inaccessible.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vCenter Server 5.1.x
VMware vCenter Server 5.5.x
VMware ESX 4.0.x
VMware ESXi 4.1.x Installable
VMware ESXi 4.0.x Installable
VMware ESX 4.1.x

Resolution

To resolve this issue, comment a line in the .vmx file.

 

To comment a line in the .vmx file:

1. Open the .vmx file of the virtual machine using a text editor.
2. Comment this line:
   
   #log.fileName = "/vmfs/volumes/########-####-########e7a3/vmware.log"
   
   
3. Shutdown the virtual machine through RDP or an SSH session. If the virtual machine fails, see Powering off a virtual machine on an ESXi host (1014165).
   
   
   1. List the Virtual Machine ID (VMID) with the command:
      
      ESX(i) 4.0 and prior: vmware-vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep virtual_machine_name
      
      ESX(i) 4.1 and later: vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep virtual_machine_name
      
      
   2. Restart the virtual machine with the command:
      
      ESX(i) 4.0 and prior: vmware-vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reset <VMID>
      
      ESX(i) 4.1 and later: vim-cmd vmsvc/power.reset <VMID>
      
      

Note: Instead of restarting the virtual machine, you can reload the .vmx file using these commands. For more information, see Using ESXi Shell in ESXi 5.0 and 5.1 (2004746).

 

1. Reload the virtual machine's vmx for the changes to take affect.
   
   
   1. List the Virtual Machine ID (VMID) with the command:
      
      ESX(i) 4.0 and prior: vmware-vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep virtual_machine_name
      
      ESX(i) 4.1 and later: vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms | grep virtual_machine_name
      
      
   2. Reload the virtual machine's vmx with the command:
      
      ESX(i) 4.0 and prior: vmware-vim-cmd vmsvc/reload <VMID>
      
      ESX(i) 4.1 and later: vim-cmd vmsvc/reload <VMID>

Additional Information