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OPERATIONAL DEFECT DATABASE
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Virtual machine (VM) will not power on with the error.File system specific implementation of Ioctl[file] failed Failed to start the virtual machine. Module 'Disk' power on failed. Cannot open the disk '/vmfs/volumes/vm file path/vmname.vmdk' or one of the snapshot disks it depends on.
Provide information to troubleshoot and fix VM won't power on with the error.
The File system specific implementation of Ioctl[file] failed error can be caused by: Bad entries in virtual disk descriptor files (*.vmdk, *.vmx)Communication problems between ESXi host and storage arrayESXi OS problemsProblems with file locksVirtual disk data corruption
Reconfiguring a VM to different virtual disks can cause data loss.Restarting management agents can cause vMotion to to be unavailable.
To resolve this issues, resolve the following possible issues: VM sharing disksVM file locksIncorrect disk file sizesMissing virtual disk filesBad virtual disk descriptor filesvSAN cluster problemsSnapshot virtual disk problemsInterrupted snapshot consolidationVM descriptor file problemsLost VM processStorage errors Check for VM sharing disks with other VMs Determine which virtual disk files are being used by the VM: Connect to the command line for the host managing the VM per Connecting to an ESX host using an SSH clientGet the names of the virtual disk files currently attached to the VM per Get virtual machine file path and virtual disk information through ESXi command line Follow Determining if a virtual disk is attached to another virtual machineIf the VM has disks attached to other VMs: Ensure the configuration of the VM and shared virtual disk is correct per Enabling or disabling simultaneous write protection provided by VMFS using the multi-writer flagFor Microsoft Cluster VMs please ensure VM and virtual disk configuration is set up correctly per About Setup for Windows Server Failover Clustering on VMware vSphereIn some cases you may need to vMotion the affected VM to the host where the other VM resides to overcome file lock problems Check for VM file locks Follow Investigating virtual machine file locks on ESXi hosts Check for incorrect VM virtual disk data file sizes Connect to the command line for the host managing the VM per Connecting to an ESX host using an SSH clientGet the names of the virtual disk files currently attached to the VM per Get virtual machine file path and virtual disk information through ESXi command lineCompare the sizes of the virtual disk data files (*-flat.vmdk) to the last known correct sizes of the file Example: You know from experience, or from looking at backup files, that a virtual disk should be 700 GB but it is showing as 400 KB.If the file is suspect, either Rebuild the virtual diskRestore the virtual disk from backup Check for missing VM virtual disk files (*.vmdk) Follow the "Check if virtual disk files are missing:" section in the KB article Error: Can't open 'vmfs/volumes/.vmdk': Could not find the file" while powering on virtual machine Check for bad data in VM virtual disk characteristics file (*.vmdk) Determine which virtual disk files are being used by the VM: Connect to the command line for the host managing the VM per Connecting to an ESX host using an SSH clientGet the names of the virtual disk files currently attached to the VM per Get virtual machine file path and virtual disk information through ESXi command lineFor any virtual characteristics file (*.vmdk), run the command, replace the type in italics with the vmdk file name: cat vmdk_file_nameNote: Do not try to run this on *-flat.vmdk files, as those are the actual binary data filesListing may look something like: Check for vSAN cluster problems If your VM is on a vSAN cluster you need to check the health of the objects related to the VMSee how to Check Virtual SAN HealthAlso see vSAN Health Check Information for additional links including troubleshooting information Check for snapshot virtual disk problems See Troubleshooting virtual machine snapshot descriptor problems Check for cancelled or interrupted snapshot virtual disk consolidation See Unable to power on a virtual machine after cancelling snapshot consolidation Check for bad data in VM descriptor file (*.vmx) Connect to the command line for the host managing the VM per Connecting to an ESX host using an SSH clientGet the names of the virtual disk files currently attached to the VM per Get virtual machine file path and virtual disk information through ESXi command lineIf any of the virtual disk files listed look incorrect: Make a backup of the VM descriptor file, using the following command, where the text in italic is replaced by the name of the VM: cp vm_name.vmx vm_name.vmx.bak Re-create the descriptor file by following Recreate a lost or deleted virtual machine .vmx configuration file on an ESXi host Note: This procedure can also be followed if no other steps resolve the issue as sometimes the corruption in the *.vmx file is more subtle than bad vmdk links. Check for lost VM process control Despite the VM appearing to be powered off, the ESXi host can have lost control of processes related to the VM, preventing it from powering back on.Follow Unable to Power off a Virtual Machine in an ESXi host Check for storage array errors Check the vCenter or ESXi user interface for errors related to the datastore the VM is onConnect to the command line for the host managing the VM per Connecting to an ESX host using an SSH clientGet the names of the virtual disk files currently attached to the VM per Get virtual machine file path and virtual disk information through ESXi command lineIf there are any input/output errors, or I/O errors, reported on the command line, please check the storage array for problems. You may need to contact your array vendor for further diagnosis and troubleshooting.Check the ESXi logs for further critical storage array errors per Storage vMotion fails with error "Failed to copy one or more disks"
"File system specific implementation of LookupAndOpen [file] failed" in vmware.log fileRace condition on ESXi 6.0 and 6.5 causing disruption to VMs or hostd management serviceVM fails to power on with Error: "File system specific implementation of LookupAndOpen [file] failed"Failed to power on virtual machine