Symptoms

During a VMware Image backup, the following event is logged: Event Severity = PROCESS Event Summary = Virtual machine client contains disks that cannot be backed up or restored.

Cause

The message or notification seen indicates that the Virtual Machine Disk (VMDK) is being skipped from backup. By default VMware virtual disks are set to Independent Persistent, and Non-Persistent are ignored during the snapshot (backup) process.

Resolution

Perform one of the following options: Set the VMDK to Non-Independent through VMware if the disks must be backed up Install a local agent on the Virtual Machine (VM), and do guest-level backups If the backed-up disks of the VM must be recovered, first create the VM in the VCenter Server (VC). Ensure that it has the same number of disks and the same size, then select "Restore to Existing".

Support Cases