vCenter server service won’t start after upgrading 5.5 to Update 3b

Just a quick heads up! Over the last week I’ve been upgrading our vCenter servers from version 5.5 to the most recent 5.5 Update 3b version and have ran into a small hiccup.

The upgrade of SSO, Web Client, Inventory Service and even vCenter server all went as expected without any issues. Then I rebooted the vCenter server and after the reboot noticed that the vCenter server service hadn’t started and when I tried to start it manually I then received the following error:

Error 1053: The service did not respond to the start or control request in a timely fashion.

The issue happens when the vCenter 5.5 U3b installer fails to update the deployPkg.dll file during the upgrade. Thanks to VMware as they had published KB 2134141 with a workaround.

How to prevent prior to updating to 5.5 U3b

If you see this post or the KB article prior to upgrading from vCenter 5.5 to vCenter 5.5 Update 3b then simply perform the following steps:

  1. Go to: C:\Windows\Installer\$PatchCache$\Managed\05550F1E83248734780F0115742A159D\5.5.0
  2. Move the re/move the deployPkg.dll file from the folder.
  3. And finally, run the 5.5 U3b installer.

How to fix after already upgrading to vCenter 5.5 Update3b

If you’ve already ran the upgrade and prior to seeing this post or the KB (as was my case) then there is a fix for you as well.

  1. Go to: C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\ (Your drive letter may vary depending on where you installed vCenter server).
  2. Move the re/move the deployPkg.dll file from the folder.
  3. Download 2134141_deployPkg.zip from KB 2134141 (or here) and extract the deployPkg.dll file to C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\ directory on the vCenter Server.
  4. Next start the vCenter server and vCenter Management Web services.
  5. Now open a command prompt window (run-as administrator) and type the following command:
    msiexec.exe /x {7BC9E9D9-3DF6-4040-B4A1-B6A3A8AE75BA} SKIPVCCHECK=1 SUPPRESS_CONFIRM_UNINSTALL="1" /qr
  6. Lastly, install 5.5 Update 3 version of Profile-Driven storage by running this command in the same command prompt as above by using this command:
    msiexec.exe /L*V "%temp%\sps_vminst.log" /I "D:\vCenter-Server\Profile-Driven Storage\VMware vSphere Profile-Driven Storage.msi" INSTALLDIR="C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\" COMPUTER_FQDN=vc-a.domain.com TOMCAT_MAX_MEMORY_OPTION="S" VC_KEYSTORE_TYPE=PKCS12 VC_KEYSTORE_PASSWORD=testpassword VC_SSL_DIR="C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter\SSL\" VC_SPS_EXTENSION_DIR="C:\Program Files\VMware\Infrastructure\VirtualCenter Server\extensions\com.vmware.vim.sps\" IS_URL="https://vc-a.domain.com:10443" ARPSYSTEMCOMPONENT=1 SKIPVCCHECK=1 /qr

    NOTE: Assuming D: as the drive the ISO is mounted and C: as the drive vCenter Server is installed on.

Just make sure all the vCenter server services are running and that’s it, a pretty quick and easy fix. Now the vCenter servers at both the primary and secondary data centers have been upgraded to the latest 5.5 build.

Similar Posts

  • HTML5 Embedded Host Client, this looks promising

    It’s no secret many people have really disliked the vSphere web client, it’s very sluggish, clunky, and based on flash (flash comes with it’s own security issues). It was rumored and highly hoped that vSphere 6 might be re-written in HTML5, but sadly this didn’t and hasn’t happened yet. While vSphere 6 did improve a bit on the web client the issues many people have had with it in the past still remain today.

    Enter the VMware HTML5 Embedded Host Client fling. I’ve been using and following this fling for a while now and have really enjoyed it and with each release it keeps getting better and better.

    The Embedded Host Client fling is based on HTML5 which allows it works great across all kinds of platforms, it’s fast, responsive, and doesn’t require any plug-ins – YES the VM console works great. If this happens to be a look of what’s to come in a new VMware vSphere web client, then a client is looking very promising!

    If you haven’t tried it yet, you should. It’s extremely easy to install and doesn’t even require a reboot just follow these simple instructions.

    Read More “HTML5 Embedded Host Client, this looks promising”

  • Another CBT bug found in VMware ESXi 6.0

    VMware

    VMware just published KB 2136854 regarding a new bug found in ESXi 6.0 that causes virtual machine backups, which use Changed Block Tracking (CBT), to be inconsistent. VMware says the cause of the issue is this:

    This issue occurs due to an issue with CBT in the disklib area, this causes the change tracking information of I/Os that occur during snapshot consolidation to be lost. The main backup payload data is never lost and it is always written to the backend device. However, the corresponding change tracking information entries which occur during the consolidation task are missed. Subsequent QueryDiskChangedAreas() calls do not include these missed blocks, hence a backup based on this CBT data is inconsistent.

    Read More “Another CBT bug found in VMware ESXi 6.0”

  • My VMware View Windows 7 Optimization Guide

    These are the few steps I do when creating a new "Golden" image. Luckily I don’t have to do these steps all the time as I’ll create the "Golden" image when there is a new upgrade such as when we went from View 4.6 to View 5.0.1. I like to have a new fresh machine using new virtual hardware from the start. You could certainly just upgrade the virtual hardware on the "Golden" image, I just prefer to start clean.

    At any rate, here’s my list. Hopefully someone might find it somewhat useful and maybe even others can improve upon it.

    Preparing a new virtual machine

    1. Create New Virtual Machine – FILE > NEW > VIRTUAL MACHINE (CTRL+N)
    2. Under Configuration select CUSTOM.
    3. Select a Name, Folder, Host, Cluster, and Storage.
    4. Under Guest Operating System select Windows and then Windows 7 32bit under the Version drop down.
    5. Select which Network (VLAN) and under Adapter select VMXNET 3.
    6. Configure disk size to 30GB THIN provisioned.

    Read More “My VMware View Windows 7 Optimization Guide”

  • How to convert VMDK to OVF file format

    Here is a quick and easy way to convert a VMDK to OVF file format using the OVF Tool from VMware.

    1. First download and install the VMware OVF Tool for your operating system.
    2. Open a command prompt as Administrator and navigate to the OVF Tool install directory:
      
      cd C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware OVF Tool
      

      vmdk to ovf command prompt

    3. Next, type in the following command to convert VMDK to OVF:
      
      ovftool.exe \virtualmachine.vmx \virtualmachine.ovf
      

      convert vmdk to ovf command

    After a few minutes time you should you should see a “Transfer Completed, Completed successfully” message and your VMDK to OVF file conversion is complete and ready for use.
    convert vmdk to ovf complete

  • How to unlock vRealize Orchestrator default account

    vrealize orchestrator account locked out

    Earlier this month I posted how on how to fix the weak ephemeral Diffie-Hellman key issue in VMware vRealize Orchestrator 6.0.2 appliance. Another issue I’ve ran into is how to unlock vRealize Orchestrator default account. It seems you can lock the account after to many failed attempts but once locked the account does not seem to unlock… or at least for me after waiting more than a couple hours.

    Luckily unlocking the vRealize Orchestrator default account is pretty straight forward.

    Read More “How to unlock vRealize Orchestrator default account”

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

One Comment

  1. Installer folder is hidden we need to un hide it from folder options
    (Hide protected Operating system Files(Recommended)) was checked.

    there is no such file inside 5.5.0 folder (deployPkg.dl)