Knowledge Base
Adjusting the virtual SCSI adapter type in a VMDK file
Symptoms
After converting a physical or virtual machine using VMware Converter, you experience these symptoms:
-
You are unable to boot the virtual machine
-
Windows boots to a blue screen error
-
You see one or more of these errors:
- STOP 0x7B INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
-
STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE
-
Mount: error No such device or address mounting /dev/root on /sysroot as ext3
Setuproot: moving /dev failed: No such file or directory
Setuproot: error mounting /proc: No such file or directory
Setuproot: error mounting /sys: No such file or directory
Switchroot: mount failed: No such file or directory
Kernel panic – not syncing: Attempted to kill init! - A disk read error occurred
Purpose
Cause
This issue may occur if the SCSI controller is misidentified or if you have not chose the appropriate driver while creating the virtual machine.
Resolution
To correct the adapter type after the conversion or creation of a virtual machine, you can use the GUI or the command line.
GUI
To correct the adapter type after the conversion or creation of a virtual machine using the GUI, see 
Changing the virtual SCSI controller of a virtual machine (1002149).
Changing the virtual SCSI controller of a virtual machine (1002149).Command line
To correct the adapter type after the conversion or creation of a virtual machine using the command line:
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Power off the virtual machine that is using the virtual hard disk file (VMDK).
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If the virtual machine is located on an ESX/ESXi host, use the service console to access the file. For more information on accessing the service console, see:
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Locate the smallest VMDK file (about 340 bytes), which will typically be in a folder labeled /vmfs/volumes/<volume id>/<virtual machine name> on an ESX/ESXi host. If not accessing a host, locate the file on your local drive.
-
Once the virtual machine is located, open the .vmdk file using a text editor or vi (nameofvm).vmdk command.
The file appears similar to:
# Disk DescriptorFile
version=1
CID=<cid>
parentCID=ffffffff
createType="<create_type>"
# Extent description
RW <num_sectors> <TYPE> "<filename>"
# The Disk Data Base
#DDB
ddb.virtualHWVersion = "<version>"
ddb.geometry.cylinders = "<cylinders>"
ddb.geometry.heads = "<heads>"
ddb.geometry.sectors = "<sectors>"
ddb.adapterType = "<adapter_type>" -
Locate the line ddb.adapterType.
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Specify one of these parameters: lsilogic or buslogic.
The following table shows the adapter type for the guest operating system:
Guest Operating SystemAdapter TypeWindows 2003, 2008, VistalsilogicWindows NT, 2000, XPbuslogicLinuxlsilogic -
Save the changes to the .vmdk file.
-
Power on the virtual machine. If you are prompted to change the adapter type assigned to the virtual machine, allow the changes.
For information on changing the SCSI controller using the GUI option, see Change the virtual SCSI controller of a virtual machine (1002149).
Additional Information
For more information related to troubleshooting, see:
- Troubleshooting a virtual machine converted with VMware Converter that fails to boot with the error: STOP 0x0000007B INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE (1006295)
- Cannot power on a virtual machine because the virtual disk cannot be opened (1004232)
- Converting a GSX Server virtual IDE disk To a virtual SCSI disk (1881)
- Guest Operating System Installation Guide
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