"Error in accessing registry entry for DSN" in the vminst.log when upgrading/installing VC 6.0

Products

• VMware vCenter Server

Issue/Introduction

• Upgrading or installing VMware vCenter Server 6.0 fails
• You see the error:
  
  Installation of Component VCSServiceManager failed with error
code '1603'. Check the logs for more details.
   
• In the %TEMP%\vminst.log file, you see entries similar to:
  
  <YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: Entering function: ParseStatusFile
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: ParseStatusFile: curr error msg: "Error in accessing windows registry entry during DSN analysis: Error in accessing registry entry for DSN 'VCDB'. Please make sure the DSN is set up properly."
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| E: ParseStatusFile: Displaying error message for " ": "Error in accessing windows registry entry during DSN analysis: Error in accessing registry entry for DSN 'VCDB'. Please make sure the DSN is set up properly."
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: Entering function: ShowMessageQueue
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: Leaving function: ShowMessageQueue
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: Entering function: ShowMessageQueue
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: Leaving function: ShowMessageQueue
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: ParseStatusFile: got error or success
<YYYY-MM-DD>T<time>| vcsInstUtil-2562624| I: ParseStatusFile: keeping completed status file: C:\ProgramData\VMware\vCenterServer\logs\firstboot\fbInstall.json</time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time></time>

Environment

VMware vCenter Server 6.0.x

Cause

This issue occurs when the vCenter Servers Data Source Name (DSN) has a trailing space at the end of its name.

Resolution

Edit and rename the vCenter Server's DSN and remove the trailing space using the steps below:

1. Log in to the vCenter Server as an administrator.
2. Click Start > Control Panel > Administrative Tools > Data Sources (ODBC).
3. Click the System DSN tab.
4. In System Data Sources, select the Data Source that vCenter Server is using, as noted in the previous section of this article.
5. Click Configure.
6. In the Configure pane, you see the name of the configured database server in the server text box. Update the DSN to remove the trailing white space.
7. Click Next.
8. Enter the appropriate log in credentials on the next page.
   
   Note: The log in information here is not saved, it is simply used for the configuration and testing of the Data Source.
    
9. Complete the wizard and run the installation again.