There is an issue with Windows 7 and VMware vSphere client that causes the following errors to be displayed and does not allow you to connect....

Error parsing the server "SERVER IP" "clients.xml" file. Login will continue, contact your system administrator.

Note: This issue is now fixed...

From VMware: "If the build number for your vSphere Client is 208111 or higher, then you have vSphere Client Update 1 or later, and should not be affected by this issue."

Press OK, and another error will be displayed.

The type initializer for "VirtualInfrastructure.Utils.HttpWebRequestProxy" threw an exception.

 

There is currently no official fix from VMware for this, so for now the following unsupported workaround allows it to work.

 

 

1. On the Windows 7 computer create a folder named:

"%ProgramFiles%\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\Lib+"

 

2. On a Windows XP or Vista computer with .Net 3.5 SP1 installed:

Copy "%SystemRoot%\Microsoft.NET\Framework\v2.0.50727\System.dll" to the "Lib+" folder on your Windows 7 computer.

 

3. Run the vSphere client in developer installation mode:

Edit "VpxClient.exe.config" adding the following:

<configuration>
...
<runtime>
<developmentMode developerInstallation="true"/>
</runtime>
</configuration>

 

4. Create a batch file named "VpxClient.cmd" in the same folder as "VpxClient.exe.config".

 

 

5. Add the following line to the "VpxClient.cmd" file:

SET DEVPATH=%ProgramFiles%\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\Lib "%ProgramFiles%\VMware\Infrastructure\Virtual Infrastructure Client\Launcher\VpxClient.exe"

 

6. Modify the start menu shortcut.

Change the shortcut to to point to the batch file "VpxClient.cmd".

 

 

 

Note: This issue is now fixed...

From VMware: "If the build number for your vSphere Client is 208111 or higher, then you have vSphere Client Update 1 or later, and should not be affected by this issue."

Note: Please be aware this is not supported by VMware.