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ESX Server 3.5.0 Might Require Manual RPM Installation After Upgrading from ESX Server 3.0.1 or 3.0.2

Details

The issue described below affects the following systems:
 
After an upgrade of the ESX Server 3.0.1 or 3.0.2 system to ESX Server 3.5.0 using esxupdate or CD-ROM, the ESX Server host might return the following error messages in the system console during boot:
 
"EXT2-fs error (device ramdisk(1,0)): ext2_read_inode: Unable to read inode block - inode=16002, block=65539
mount: Mounting /proc on /proc failed: Input/output error
grep: /proc/cmdline: Input/output error
attempt to access beyond end of device
01:00: rw=0, want =65540, limit =64000
EXT2-fs error (device ramdisk(1,0)): ext2_read_inode: Unable to read inode block - inode=16001, block=65539
....
kernel panic: VFS: Unable to mount root fs on 00:00"

Solution

To prevent this issue, download the ESX Server 3.5 bits (ISO or upgrade zip file) that have a release date of 2/20/2008 instead of 12/10/07.

Download the files from http://www.vmware.com/download/download.do?downloadGroup=ESX350.

If the CD image for ESX Server 3.5 has already been created, ensure the dates corresponding to the files inside the CD are dated 02/16/08. If the dates are shown as 11/29/07, recreate the CD by using the esx-3.5.0.64607.iso image file.

If you already upgraded the host without performing the above procedure first, the ESX Server 3.5 host will not boot properly. Complete the following steps:

  1. Obtain esx-3.5.0-64607.iso and create a CD image.
  2. Insert the newly created ESX Server 3.5.0 CD into the CD/DVD drive of the affected server.
  3. Reboot the server to boot from CD.
  4. Re-run the upgrade by choosing the Upgrade option in the Installation Wizard.

Keywords

3.5 upgrade, kernel panic

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Actions
  • KB Article: 1003801
  • Updated: Aug 14, 2009
  • Products:
    VMware ESX
  • Product Versions:
    VMware ESX 3.0.x
    VMware ESX 3.5.x