Powering on a virtual machine fails with the error: NVRAM write failure

Symptoms

• Cannot power on a virtual machine
• Powering on a virtual machine fails
• You see the error:
  
  NVRAM write failure

Cause

This issue occurs if there are issues with the underlying storage, which results in subsequent writes to the NVRAM file to fail.

 

The NVRAM file of a virtual machine stores the state of the virtual machine's BIOS settings. When you modify the BIOS settings, ESXi makes the changes persistent by storing them in the NVRAM file. If there are any issues with the underlying datastore on which the virtual machine's configuration files are stored, it results in failures while writing the new BIOS settings to the NVRAM file of the virtual machine.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, check and resolve any problems with the underlying datastore. After the underlying datastore becomes healthy, a new NVRAM file is automatically created the next time the virtual machine is powered off and then powered on.

 

Note: Any custom BIOS settings that you had applied may be lost during the failure. You must reapply the settings after the storage problem is resolved.