Windows OS Hub
  • Windows Server
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • SCCM
  • Active Directory
    • Group Policies
  • Windows Clients
    • Windows 10
    • Windows 8
    • Windows 7
    • MS Office
    • Outlook
  • Virtualization
    • VMWare
    • Hyper-V
  • PowerShell
  • Exchange
  • Home
  • About

Windows OS Hub

  • Windows Server
    • Windows Server 2016
    • Windows Server 2012 R2
    • Windows Server 2012
    • Windows Server 2008 R2
    • SCCM
  • Active Directory
    • Group Policies
  • Windows Clients
    • Windows 10
    • Windows 8
    • Windows 7
    • MS Office
    • Outlook
  • Virtualization
    • VMWare
    • Hyper-V
  • PowerShell
  • Exchange

 Windows OS Hub / VMWare / How to Upgrade VM Hardware Version in VMWare ESXi

November 10, 2016 VMWare

How to Upgrade VM Hardware Version in VMWare ESXi

In each new ESXi release, VMware updates the VM version and, consequently, the parameters of virtual hardware. As a rule, in the new VM version new features appear, old bugs are fixed, etc. So when moving to a newer ESXi version it is recommended to upgrade virtual hardware version for all virtual machines. It’s better to use older VM versions only for compatibility purposes. In this article, we’ll consider how to upgrade virtual hardware version of a VM running on a VMWare ESXi host.

The compatibility of ESXi and VM versions is shown in the table below.

Hypervisor VersionVM Version
ESX/ESXi 4.X7
ESXi 5.08
ESXi 5.19
ESXi 5.510
ESXi 6.011

You can see the current virtual machine (virtual hardware) version in the Summary tab of the virtual machine. The screenshot below shows that VM version 8 (ESXI 5.0 and later) is being used.

vmware vm hardware version

Before upgrading the VM version, it is recommended to:

  • Create a VM snapshot
  • Update VMware Tools version

To upgrade the Virtual Hardware version, the virtual machine has to be stopped. After that right-click the VM to access Upgrade Virtual Hardware (Compatibility > Upgrade VM Compatibility in vSphere Web Client).

Upgrade Virtual Hardware

When upgrading the virtual hardware version to 10 or 11 from earlier versions, you will be able to edit VM settings only in vSphere Web Client interface. If you try to change them in vSphere Client, the following error appears:

Restricted Virtual Machine Settings
You have restricted editing capabilities on a virtual machine of version 9 or higher using this client.
Some devices may not appear in the devices list, and the settings of some devices may appear as “Restricted”.
If you want to edit the advanced hardware features of this virtual machine, please use the vSphere Web Client

You have restricted editing capabilities on a virtual machine of version 9 or higher using this client

You can schedule an automatic upgrade of VM version after the next correct VM restart.

  • To do it, go to VM settings, switch to the Virtual Hardware tab and expand  Upgrade.
  • Check Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade option and select the upgrade version.
  • It’s better to check Only upgrade after normal guest OS shutdown option.Schedule VM Compatibility Upgrade

Also, you can upgrade VM Hardware Version using PowerCLI:

Connect-VIServer esxi_hostname
Set-VM -VM lon-fs03 -Version v11 -Confirm:$false

If you are using a free ESXi version (VMware vSphere Hypervisor), you won’t be able to upgrade it in PowerCLI due to some API restrictions. But you can use vim-cmd command in ESXi shell:

Get the list of VMs on the server:

vim-cmd vmsvc/getallvms

Remember VMID to be upgraded:

vim-cmd vmsvc/upgrade vmid vmx-11

vim-cmd vmsvc/upgrade vmid vmx-11

Start VM and make sure that it has been upgraded to VM version 11.

vm version

0 comment
0
Facebook Twitter Google + Pinterest
previous post
Using FSRM on Windows File Server to Prevent Ransomware
next post
How To Backup and Restore IIS configuration to Another Server

Related Reading

ESXi: Slow Disk Performance on HPE Gen8

February 15, 2019

How to Install Hyper-V Role in Windows 10...

August 8, 2018

VMware vSAN 6.5: FAQ and Cluster Configuration

July 25, 2018

Detecting Memory Overcommitment in the Guest OS

July 11, 2018

How to access VMFS Datastore from Linux, Windows...

April 3, 2018

Leave a Comment Cancel Reply

Categories

  • Active Directory
  • Group Policies
  • Exchange
  • Windows 10
  • Windows 8
  • Windows 7
  • Windows Server 2016
  • Windows Server 2012 R2
  • Windows Server 2008 R2
  • PowerShell
  • VMWare
  • MS Office

Recent Posts

  • ESXi: Slow Disk Performance on HPE Gen8

    February 15, 2019
  • Integrating Windows Updates into Windows 10 Install Image

    February 12, 2019
  • Copying Large Files over an Unreliable Network Using BITS and PowerShell

    February 11, 2019
  • Fix: Clock Reverts to Wrong Time After Computer (Server) Reboot

    February 8, 2019
  • Fix: BSOD Error 0x0000007B on Boot on Windows 7 and Server 2008 R2

    February 7, 2019
  • How to Disable Automatic Driver Updates in Windows 10?

    February 6, 2019
  • WSUS Windows Update Error 0x80244010: Exceeded max server round trips

    January 31, 2019
  • Configuring SSO (Single Sign-On) Authentication on Windows Server RDS

    January 29, 2019
  • Unable to Start or Connect to Virtual Disk Service in Disk Management

    January 28, 2019
  • How to Inject Drivers into a Windows 10 WIM/ISO Install Image?

    January 15, 2019
woshub.com

Follow us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS
Popular Posts
  • How to Reset Root Password in VMware vCenter Appliance
  • VMware vSphere 6.5 Licensing Guide
  • How to Remove an Inactive NFS Datastore on VMWare ESXi Host
  • VMware ESXi: How to Restart a Hung Virtual Machine
  • VMware Converter: Synchronize changes when perfoming P2V or V2V
  • Backing Up VMWare Virtual Machines Using Altaro VM Backup
  • Removing VMWare vCenter Self-Signed Certificate Warning
Footer Logo

@2014 - 2018 - Windows OS Hub. All about operating systems for sysadmins


Back To Top