Imaging not working with Windows 8 in VMware after applying Feb 2015 Imaging Update (e1000e driver issue)

  • 7016226
  • 24-Feb-2015
  • 25-Feb-2015

Environment


Novell ZENworks Configuration Management 11.3 Imaging
Novell ZENworks Configuration Management 11.2 Imaging

Situation

After applying February 2015 Imaging Update, Windows 8 VM's running on VMware can no longer do imaging (e1000e linux driver can not load, thus stopping the ZEN imaging engine to fully initialize). 

Resolution

Workaround: Edit the .vmx configuration file from the VM, and change the attribute 'ethernet0.virtualDev' from 'e1000e' to 'e1000'.  Using the nic interface 'e1000' works just fine in Windows 8 VMs.

Cause

In order to support several new hardware models, the e1000e driver was updated in this imaging update release.  Unfortunately this specific driver has problems with VMware.  

Status

Reported to Engineering