Symptoms

When you power on a Virtual machine, it fails with the below error Module 'DevicePowerOnEarly' power on failed VM task & events reported with the below error The device "hpet0" is not supported by the current hardware version. ,Error,vpxuser,vim.event.VmMessageErrorEvent,, VM_NAME,04/07/2025, 4:26:41 PM hostd.log reports the error messages similar to: 2025-04-07T09:47:29.539Z Db(167) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vigor.Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] VMotion destination started; powering on 2025-04-07T09:47:29.786Z Db(167) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] Handling vmx message 212308: The device "hpet0" is not supported by the current hardware version. 2025-04-07T09:47:29.786Z Db(167) Hostd--> 2025-04-07T09:47:29.786Z Wa(164) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] Failed to find activation record, event user unknown. 2025-04-07T09:47:29.786Z In(166) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vimsvc.ha-eventmgr] Event 3443 : Error message on <ESXI_HOST> in <DATACENTER>: The device "hpet0" is not supported by the current hardware version. 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z Db(167) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vigor.Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] VMotionPrepare: MigrateFromDest message: Module 'DevicePowerOnEarly' power on failed. 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z Db(167) Hostd--> 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z Db(167) Hostd--> The VM failed to resume on the destination during early power on. 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z Db(167) Hostd--> 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z In(166) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] Answered question 212308 2025-04-07T09:47:29.787Z Db(167) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] VMotionStatusCb [<MIGRATION_ID>]: Failed with error [N3Vim5Fault20GenericVmConfigFault] 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Libs] VigorTransportClientManageConnection: connection closed 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z Db(167) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vmsvc.vm:/vmfs/volumes/vsan:<VSAN_UUID>/<VM_UUID>/<VM_NAME>.vmx] VMotionStatusCb: Firing ResolveCb 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vcsvc.VMotionDst.<MIGRATION_ID>] ResolveCb: VMX reports needsUnregister = true for migrateType MIGRATE_TYPE_VMOTION 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd[Originator@6876 sub=Vcsvc.VMotionDst.<MIGRATION_ID>] ResolveCb: Failed with fault: (vim.fault.GenericVmConfigFault) { 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> faultMessage = (vmodl.LocalizableMessage) [ 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> key = "msg.moduletable.powerOnFailed" 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> message = "Module 'DevicePowerOnEarly' power on failed." 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> key = "msg.migrate.resume.fail" 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> message = "The VM failed to resume on the destination during early power on." 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> ] 2025-04-07T09:47:29.788Z In(166) Hostd--> } vmware.log reports the error similar to: 2025-04-07T10:56:41.978Z In(05)+ vmx - Power on failure messages: Module 'DevicePowerOnEarly' power on failed. 2025-04-07T10:56:41.978Z In(05)+ vmx - The device "hpet0" is not supported by the current hardware version. 2025-04-07T10:56:41.978Z In(05)+ vmx - Failed to start the virtual machine.

Cause

This issue occurs when high precision event timer (HPET) is enabled in VM hardware versions 7 and below.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, perform one of the below options. See also the Additional Information section to find the details of each option. Workaround 1:Disable HPET in the virtual machine. To disable HPET by editing the VM's vmx file: From the client machine, open the .vmx file for the virtual machine using a text editor. Note: The file can also be edited by command line using the "vi" text editor. Change hpet0.present to FALSE. Alternatively, to disable HPET using the vSphere Client: Click the Configuration tab.Click Advanced Settings.Clear the VMkernel.Boot.timerEnableHPET option in Advanced Settings. Workaround 2:Upgrade the virtual machine hardware to version 8 and above. Note: A virtual HPET is introduced with Virtual Hardware version 8.

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