Purpose
Resolution
To perform a clean reinstall of vCenter Server:
- Backup the vCenter database. You need to reattach to this database during the reinstall.
- Backup your SSL key files for later use:
- Server 2003:
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Virtual Center\SSL - Server 2008:
C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Virtual Center\SSL
- Server 2003:
- Stop all vCenter Services. For more information, see Stopping, starting, or restarting vCenter services (1003895).
- Uninstall vCenter Server. For more information, see Best practices for uninstalling vCenter Server (1030559).
- Remove or rename these folders if they still exist:
C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware VirtualCenterC:\Program Files (x86)\VMware\VMware VirtualCenter
- Remove this registry key, if it still exists, backing it up if you want:
HKLM\Software\VMware, Inc.\VMware VirtualCenter - Reinstall vCenter Server and choose your existing DB file during the install process. For more information, see Installing ESX 4.1 and vCenter Server 4.1 best practices (1022101).
- If you need to reuse your SSL certificates backed up in step 2, see Replacing vCenter Server Certificates.
Based on VMware KB 2003493
