Error: Bad address when starting VM from command line
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Error: Bad address when starting VM from command line

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Article ID: 343633

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Updated On:

Products

VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

  • When you start a virtual machine (VM) from the command line, it fails at 95 percent. The vmware.log file reports a GenericVmConfigFault with the message "Reason: Bad address." This error indicates an issue accessing storage, Virtual Machine File System (VMFS) volume corruption, or a hardware issue.
  • If you start the virtual machine from the command line using the vmware-cmd full_Path_to_VMX_file start or vim-cmd vmsvc/power.on vmid command, you see errors similar to in vmware.log:
    Traceback (most recent call last):
File "/usr/bin/vmware-cmd", line 93, in ?
main()
File "/usr/bin/vmware-cmd", line 65, in main
result = TaskManager().HandleIfTask(result, async=False)
File "/usr/lib/vmware/vmware-cmd/TaskManager.py", line 17, in HandleIfTask
else: return self.WaitForTask(task)
File "/usr/lib/vmware/vmware-cmd/TaskManager.py", line 28, in WaitForTask
result = task.WaitForCompletion()
File "/usr/lib/vmware/vmware-cmd/Task.py", line 20, in WaitForCompletion
onProgressUpdate=self.OnProgressUpdate)
File "/usr/lib/python2.4/site-packages/pyVim/task.py", line 120, in WaitForTask
raise task.info.error
pyVmomi.VmomiSupport.vim.fault.GenericVmConfigFault: (vim.fault.GenericVmConfigFault) {
dynamicType = <unset>,
dynamicProperty = (vmodl.DynamicProperty) [],
msg = 'Reason: Bad address.',
faultCause = <unset>,
faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [],
reason = 'Reason: Bad address.',
messageInfo = (vim.vm.Message) []
}

     
  • Running the file * command in the virtual machine directory (/volumes/vmfs/vm_name) reports errors similar to:
    #########-000001-delta.vmdk: ERROR: cannot read `#########-000001-delta.vmdk' (Bad address)
#########-000002-delta.vmdk: ERROR: cannot read `#########-000002-delta.vmdk' (Bad address)
#########_1-000001-delta.vmdk: ERROR: cannot read `#########_1-000001-delta.vmdk' (Bad address)
#########-000001-delta.vmdk: ERROR: cannot read `#########-000001-delta.vmdk' (Bad address)



Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

The cannot read (Bad address) errors indicate issues with accessing storage, or this issue could be due to a corrupted VMFS volume or represent a hardware issue.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, check the status of the VMFS volume and the corresponding storage or check the status of the block linked to the VMDK file.

To check the status of the VMFS volume and corresponding storage:
 

  • Perform storage diagnostics by running the command:

    vmkfstools -P VMFS_volume

    For example:
    # vmkfstools -P ##########

VMFS-3.46 file system spanning 2 partitions.
File system label (if any): ##########
Mode: public
Capacity 7476464320512 (891264 file blocks * 8388608), 31524388864 (3758 blocks) avail
UUID: 4d77bfcd-44b73914-####-0026b98c5ccf
Partitions spanned (on "lvm"):
naa.6090####f09affdc7####401000000af:1
naa.6090####f09a6fe77b####010000a099:1
(One or more partitions spanned by this volume may be offline)


    OR
     
  • A second approach is to check the status of the block linked to the VMDK file. To do so, use the command [vmkfstools -p0] if the issue is oriented to a physical storage issue.

    Example:
    [root@ESXHOST## WHP#####IL01]# vmkfstools -p0 WHP####IL01-000001-delta.vmdk

Mapping for file WHP####IL01-000001-delta.vmdk (164049670144 bytes in size):
[ 0: ##########] --> [Backing device/extents are offline]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 77050478592 --> 77067255808)]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 77570572288 --> 77587349504)]
.....
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 1680818110464 --> 1680834887680)]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 1681573085184 --> 1681589862400)]
[ ##########:
-------------16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 1684408434688 --> 1684425211904)]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 1690280460288 --> 1690297237504)]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 2132032946176 --> 2132049723392)]
.....
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 2146545238016 --> 2146562015232)]
[ ##########: 16777216] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 2147769974784 --> 2147786752000)]
[ ##########: 120452022272] --> [Backing device/extents are offline]
[ 126701535232: 562036736] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 153604915200 --> 154166951936)]
[ 127263571968: ##########] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 154183729152 --> 155374911488)]
[ 128454754304: 754974720] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 155391688704 --> 156146663424)]
[ 129209729024: ##########] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 156163440640 --> 157723721728)]
[ 130770010112: 150994944] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 157740498944 --> 157891493888)]
[ 130921005056: 23748149248] --> [Backing device/extents are offline]
[ 154669154304: 8388608] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 117861056512 --> 117869445120)]
[ 154677542912: 8388608] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 117877833728 --> 117886222336)]
[ 154685931520: ##########] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 118506979328 --> 121216499712)]
[ 157395451904: 285212672] --> [VMFS -- LVID:########-########-####-############/########-########-####-############/1:( 121233276928 --> 121518489600)]


    Notes:
  • These above steps indicates that there are some missing extents for the datastore where the virtual machine is stored.
  • Contact your storage team to ensure all the extents for the datastore are presented to the host. 
  • If all the extents are presented to the host, raise a support request with VMware. For more information, File a Support Request in Customer Connect.



Additional Information


Failed to power on virtual machine

Impact/Risks: The errors indicate an unreliable storage situation.

Note: Backing up the virtual machine that remains operational is suggested.

 

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