Cannot Edit Virtual Machine Settings after Upgrading Virtual Hardware in VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5

Article Summary: This article provides information on not being able to edit virtual machine settings after upgrading virtual hardware in VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5.

Issue :

After upgrading the virtual hardware on a VM, you are unable to edit the settings of a VM in the vSphere Client 5.5.

"You cannot use the vSphere Client to edit the settings of virtual machines of version 10 or higher. Use the vSphere Web Client to edit the settings of this virtual machine."


 
Discussion :

The vSphere Client will only all you to edit VM settings if the virtual hardware version is 8 or lower. However, the vSphere Client will allow you to upgrade a VM's virtual hardware to hardware versions greater than 8. You should see the following warning prior to the virtual hardware upgrade :



Resolution :

Use the web client to make any changes to the VM.

Workaround :

Downgrade the VM's virtual hardware to 8 :

• Ensure VM is shut down / powered off
• Remove VM from inventory :
  • Right click on VM in the left pane in the vSphere Client
  • Click on 'Remove from Inventory'
  • Confirm that you want to remove it from inventory by clicking on the 'Yes' button
• Connect to the host via SSH :
• # cd /vmfs/volumes/<datastore>/<vm>
  • Example :
    • # cd /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/testvm
• Find the line that says 'virtualHW.version'
  • Example :
    • virtualHW.version = "10"
• Change the value to 8
• Example :
  • virtualHW.version = "8"
• # vim-cmd solo/registervm <path/to/vmx>
  • Example :
    • # vim-cmd solo/registervm /vmfs/volumes/datastore1/testvm/testvm.vmx
• Navigate to your VM's directory :
• Edit the VM's .VMX file :
• Register the virtual machine :