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Troubleshooting a VirtualCenter Client / Virtual Infrastructure Client Installation

Symptoms

VirtualCenter Client / Virtual Infrastructure Client installation may error before completion.
VirtualCenter Client / Virtual Infrastructure Client installation fails to complete.
Unable to complete VirtualCenter Client / Virtual Infrastructure Client installation.
Unable to complete VirtualCenter Client / Virtual Infrastructure Client upgrade.
Virtual Infrastructure Client installed from an English ESX Server host starts in Japanese even if English is selected.
MSIExec help page is shown when Virtual Infrastructure Client installation is attempted.
Error: "The type initializer for "Vmomi" threw an exception"
Error: "CLR Error 8007000b"
Error: "Invalid access to memory location. (Exception from HRESULT: 0x800703E6)
Error: "All user properties not 1"

Resolution

Ensure you have met the minimum system requirements

VirtualCenter Client

The VirtualCenter Client must have:

.NET Framework version 1.1. If you do not have this version, VirtualCenter updates to .NET Framework version 1.1.4322.573.
Windows 2000 (all versions), Windows XP Professional, Windows XP Home Edition, Windows Server 2003 (all versions), or Windows NT4 (SP6a required).
As of VirtualCenter 1.4.1 - Microsoft Windows 98SE is no longer a supported operating system for installing the VirtualCenter Client.
A minimum of 256MB RAM (512 MB recommended).

The VirtualCenter Client can be installed on multiple Windows systems and access the VirtualCenter server through the network. These Windows systems can be on your desktop, laptop, or another virtual machine.

Note: Do not run the VirtualCenter Client on a virtual machine that is currently being managed by VirtualCenter. Attempting to view the console of that virtual machine from that client causes a recursive display, and this might cause the managed host to fail.

Virtual Infrastructure Client Requirements

Hardware Requirements:

Processor - 266MHz or higher Intel or AMD x86 processor (500MHz recommended).
Memory - 256MB RAM minimum, 512MB recommended.
Disk Storage - 150MB free disk space required for basic installation. You must have 55MB free on the destination drive for installation of the program, and you

must have 100MB free on the drive containing your %temp% directory.
Networking - 10/100 Ethernet adapter (Gigabit recommended).

Software Requirements:

The Virtual Infrastructure Client is designed for the 32bit versions of these operating systems:
- Windows 2000 Pro SP4
- Windows 2000 Server SP4
- Windows XP Pro (at any SP level)
- Windows 2003 (all releases)
- Windows Vista
The Virtual Infrastructure Client requires the following framework to operate:
- .NET framework 1.1 (included in installation if required)
- .NET framework 2.0 is required to install in 64-bit Operating Systems. For more information, see The VI Client Requires .NET Framework 2.0 to be Installed on 64-bit Editions of Windows Prior to Its Installation (1004093).

Upgrading VirtualCenter Clients to Virtual Infrastructure (VI) Clients

Virtual machine users and VirtualCenter administrators must use the VI Client to connect for VirtualCenter 2.x servers or ESX Server 3.x hosts. Older clients do not work. The VI Client is available for download from all VirtualCenter 2.x hosts or ESX Server 3.x hosts. Connect to the URL of the appropriate machine with a Web browser.

This operation requires no downtime. No virtual machines or clients need to be powered off for this process.

To upgrade the VI Client:

(Optional) Use Add/Remove Programs from the control panel to remove any previous VMware clients.
Older VMware clients do not need to be removed. The VI Client can coexist with the VirtualCenter Client version 1.x, 2.0.x, the GSX Server Client version 3.x, and
the VMware remote console.
Install the VI Client.

Note: If you are still unable to install/upgrade the VirtualCenter Client/Virtual Infrastructure Client after reading this article:

Gather the VMware Support Script Data. For more information, see Collecting Diagnostic Information in a VMware Virtual Infrastructure Environment (1003689).
File a support request with VMware Support and note this KB Article ID in the problem description. For more information, see How to Submit a Support Request .

Additional Information

VI Client installed from an English ESX Server host, starts in Japanese even if English is wanted. This issue can happen when the VI Client is installed from an ESX Server host version 3.0.1 GA with all patches installed up to February 2007 to a Japanese locale operating system.
The fix for this has been released in the following patch:
ESX-6431040 Patch | 03/29/07 | Security Patch Bundle ESX-8852210
VI Client Installation brings up the msiexec help page.
The following graphic shows the msiexec help page:

This message is shown because there is an unknown parameter passed to the msiexec command.
Typically, this error is because the installer does not quote the %TMP% and %TEMP% variables, and if they are configured with some blank space file path, the installation fails.

The example below fails due to the space between 'temporary' and 'folder'.
1. Click Start > Run > command.
2. Type, C:\>set TEMP
  If it outputs a directory location containing blank space, e.g. TEMP="c:\temporary folder", the installation may fail.
3. Type, C:\>set TMP
  If it outputs a directory location containing blank space, e.g. TMP="c:\temporary folder" , the installation may fail.
To solve the issue you must create a new temporary folder for the installation and set the variables %TMP%, %TEMP% to use it:
1. Type, C:\>mkdir c:\vmwtemp
2. Type, C:\>set TEMP="c:\vmwtemp"
3. Type, C:\>set TMP="c:\vmwtemp"
4. From the same command window, launch the installation:
  
  C:\>VMware-viclient.exe
The following error is seen when trying to log in to VirtualCenter or an ESX Server host using the VI Client:
The type initializer for "Vmomi" threw an exception
Check if you have two versions of the VI Client software installed via Add/Remove programs.
Remove both versions via Add/Remove programs.
Download a new copy from your VirtualCenter or ESX Server host.
Reinstall the VI Client.
The following error is seen when trying to log in to VirtualCenter or an ESX Server host using the VI Client:
CLR Error 8007000b
This error message is a .NET error which means bad image format.
To resolve this issue, a reinstallation of the .NET framework is required.

To reinstall the .NET framework:

Open the Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs.
Remove the .NET Framework 1.1, .NET Framework SP1, and all hotfixes related to this release.
Reboot the system.
Reinstall the .NET Framework 1.1 and the .NET Framework 1.1 SP1.

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