Knowledge Base

Summaries and Symptoms

Installation of ESX 4.0 ESX400-201112401 fails on some x86 64-bit machines that use physical destination mode regardless of number of processors/cluster present with the following error message:

MP-BIOS bug : 8254 timer not connected to IO-APIC

Kernel panic - not syncing: IO-APIC + timer doesn't work! Try using the 'noapic' kernel parameter

The APIC (Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller) delivery mode is unchecked in the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) Fixed ACPI Description Table (FADT), which causes ESX to set the APIC to a flat mode. APIC set to a flat mode does not work on some x86 64-bit machines that use physical destination mode.

This patch resolves the issue. Refer to the Patch Download and Installation section for the installation procedure.

Systems Known to have the Issue:

Unisys systems (ES7000/7600R and ES7000/one Xeon).

Patch Download and Installation

To install ESX 4.0 ESX400-201112401 use the following steps:

1. Install ESX 4.0 Update 3.
2. Download ESX400-201112401.zip file from http://support.vmware.com/selfsupport/download/.
3. Install the bundle using esxupdate from the command line of the host. For more information, see the ESX 4.0 Patch Management Guide.
4. Install ESX 4.0 Patch ESX400-201112401 and refer KB 1036391.

Note: See the VMware vCenter Update Manager Administration Guide for instructions on using Update Manager to download and install patches to automatically update ESX 4.0 hosts.