Solved: Re: Change the Default Virtual Machine Compatibili...

mooncaptain66 · ‎10-17-2023

Hi everybody,

I am running standalone esxi 8 - no vcenter.

I just upgraded from 6.7 to 8. Not a real upgrade i did a fresh install and re registered all 20 of my vms. In 6.7 I installed 3 windows 2022 servers but could only tell esxi that they were 2016 or greater.

In esxi 8 I have been getting complaints:

The configured guest OS (Microsoft Windows Server 2016 or later (64-bit))for this virtual machine does not match the guest that is currently running (Microsoft Windows Server 2022 (64-bit)). You should specify the correct guest.

I found a couple of "compatibility" entries in host/manage/system/advanced settings that looked like they might help.

Misc.DefaultHardwareVersion --Desc. Default virtual machine compatibility
Misc.MaximumHardwareVersion --Desc. Maximum virtual machine compatibility

When I try to edit them I am prompted for a string - no drop down list.

Is this the right place to change these values?
What are the correct values.

I have read the article here about the prerequisites for changing the VM compatibility.

prerequisites

mooncaptain66 · ‎10-20-2023

power off machine

select upgrade compatiblity from right mouse click on left hand panel of vm

edit settings

vm options tab

General Options

guest os version

View solution in original post

Brisk · ‎10-17-2023

You can change the compatibility for each individual VM. Power off a VM, click on Edit settings and go to the VM Options tab. Expand the general options section and then open the drop down next to Guest OS version.

There you should be able to select Server 2022.

mooncaptain66 · ‎10-18-2023

Some additional points I didn't provide.

I tried to do this. In fact the user interface suggested this option. The problem is that the provided drop down did not include Windows server 2022.
There is an Upgrade VM Compatibility item in the right mouse click menu when selecting a VM entry in the left panel.The problem is that it is greyed out.

I found this link. https://docs.vmware.com/en/VMware-HCX/4.7/hcx-user-guide/GUID-D4FFCBD6-9FEC-44E5-9E26-1BD0A2A81389.h...

with a list of correct names for guests - it is from 2023 but doesn't include Server 2022.

I also peaked at the vmx file. I found this line:

guestInfo.detailed.data = "architecture='X86' bitness='64' buildNumber='20348' distroName='Windows' distroVersion='10.0' familyName='Windows' kernelVersion='20348.1970' prettyName='Windows Server 2022, 64-bit (Build 20348.1970)'"

So the system "knows" what the version is.

and this line:

guestOS = "windows9srv-64"

The above value covers a lot of territory (based on looking at a bunch of links). Basically anything from Windows server 2016 and later. But I am still getting the warning.

I may take a flyer given the patterns found in the above two vmx file entries and modify the guestOS value to "windows10srv-64" that might work.

Also there is a pattern from the above linked article that looks like this: windows2019srv_64Guest and I could try windows2022srv_64Guest. From that same page they talk about hcx version. I would think that esxi 8 is at the most recent version.

In any case I can blow up one vm temporarily and see what happens. I can always revert.

mooncaptain66 · ‎10-20-2023