Troubleshooting ESXi PSOD
A Purple Screen of Death (PSOD) is an error screen that appears when an ESXi host experiences a critical failure or system crash. It is often caused by hardware or software issues, and it can be difficult to troubleshoot. Here are the steps you can follow to troubleshoot a VMware ESXi PSOD:
- Collect diagnostic information: When a PSOD occurs, ESXi generates a diagnostic file called a core dump. The core dump contains information about the state of the system at the time of the crash, which can be used to identify the root cause of the issue. To collect the core dump, you will need to enable core dump collection on the ESXi host and configure a location to store the dump file.
- Review the PSOD message: The PSOD message includes a hexadecimal code that can provide clues about the cause of the issue. You can use the VMware Knowledge Base or other online resources to search for information about the specific code.
- Check the hardware: A PSOD can be caused by hardware issues, such as a faulty memory module or a failing disk. If you suspect a hardware issue, you can try running hardware diagnostics or replacing the faulty component.
- Check the logs: The ESXi host generates log files that can provide information about the cause of the PSOD. You can use tools such as the vSphere Web Client or the ESXi Shell to access the logs and look for error messages or other clues about the issue.
- Check for updates: A PSOD can sometimes be caused by a bug in the ESXi software. If you suspect this is the case, you can check for updates and apply any relevant patches or upgrades.