6.0.1

Table Of Contents
Cannot Copy Data From an ESXi Host to a USB Device That Is Connected to the
Host
You can connect a USB device to an ESXi host and copy data to the device from the host. For example, you
might want to gather the vm-support bundle from the host after the host loses network connectivity. To
perform this task, you must stop the USB arbitrator.
Problem
If the USB arbitrator is being used for USB passthrough from an ESXi host to a virtual machine the USB
device appears under lsusb but does not mount correctly.
Cause
This problem occurs because the nonbootable USB device is reserved for the virtual machine by default. It
does not appear on the host's file system, even though lsusb can see the device.
Solution
1 Stop the usbarbitrator service:/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator stop
2 Physically disconnect and reconnect the USB device.
By default, the device location is /vmfs/devices/disks/mpx.vmhbaXX:C0:T0:L0.
3 After you reconnect the device, restart the usbarbitrator service:/etc/init.d/usbarbitrator start
4 Restart hostd and any running virtual machines to restore access to the passthrough devices in the
virtual machine.
What to do next
Reconnect the USB devices to the virtual machine.
Recover Orphaned Virtual Machines
Virtual machines appear with (orphaned) appended to their names.
Problem
Virtual machines that reside on an ESXi host that vCenter Server manages might become orphaned in rare
cases. Such virtual machines exist in the vCenter Server database, but the ESXi host no longer recognizes
them.
Cause
Virtual machines can become orphaned if a host failover is unsuccessful, or when the virtual machine is
unregistered directly on the host. If this situation occurs, move the orphaned virtual machine to another host
in the data center on which the virtual machine files are stored.
Solution
1 Determine the datastore where the virtual machine configuration (.vmx) file is located.
a Select the virtual machine in the vSphere Web Client inventory, and click the Related Objects tab.
b Click Datastores.
The datastore or datastores where the virtual machine files are stored are displayed.
c If more than one datastore is displayed, select each datastore and click the file browser icon to
browse for the .vmx file.
d Verify the location of the .vmx file.
Chapter 2 Troubleshooting Virtual Machines
VMware, Inc. 19