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Performing hardware diagnostics

Symptoms

A guest or host operating system: 
  • Has failed
  • Has stopped responding and displayed a blue screen with a stop code
  • Has experienced a core dump
  • Has experienced a kernel panic
  • Has stopped responding
  • Keeps rebooting for no apparent reason

Purpose

This article guides you through the process of determining if problems encountered on a virtual machine's guest operating system or on a host computer where a VMware product is installed, are related to a hardware problem on the physical host.

Note: This article does not address hardware problems unique to an ESX Server host.

Resolution

VMware may behave unexpectedly if there is a problem with the hardware being used on the physical host computer.
 
To ensure that host hardware is healthy:
 
Note: For more information about problems related specifically to memory, see Validating host memory (1004012).
 
Note: If you perform a corrective action in any of the following steps, determine if the problems initially encountered are still being experienced.
  1. Ensure that all of the components are seated and attached correctly.

    Note: The computer must be powered down and its case removed. Proper maintenance procedures based on the manual provided by the hardware vendor must be followed.

  2. Verify that none of the components have been overclocked. Overclocking is the process of forcing a computer component to run at a higher clock rate than it was designed for by its manufacturer. Overclocking improves performance but may result in instability. VMware does not recommend overclocking.

  3. Run a diagnostic utility that was provided by the hardware vendor.
  4. Run a third party diagnostic utility.

    Note: This is required if the computer is a clone system or a computer where a diagnostic utility was not provided by the hardware vendor.

    Note: VMware cannot endorse or recommend any particular third party utility, nor can it take responsibility for anything that may not occur as a result of its use.

    Note: This list is not meant to be exhaustive. Any inclusion or exclusion of a particular third party utility from this list is not an implicit or explicit indication of VMware's recommendation or lack of recommendation for that utility.
    CheckIt Diagnostics http://www.smithmicro.com/default.tpl?group=product_full&sku=CKDWINEE
    DIAG http://www.diagnoseprogramm.de/indexe.htm
    EVEREST http://www.lavalys.com/
    Fresh Diagnose
    Sandra http://www.sisoftware.net/
    Test My Hardware http://www.testmyhardware.com/
    TuffTEST http://tufftest.com/
    Ultra-X QuickTechPRO http://www.uxd.com/qtpro.shtml

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1004013
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ACE
    VMware Capacity Planner
    VMware Consolidated Backup
    VMware Converter
    VMware ESX
    VMware Fusion
    VMware GSX Server
    VMware Player
    VMware Server
    VMware Virtual Desktop Manager
    VMware VirtualCenter
    VMware Workstation
    VMware vCenter Lab Manager