During a recent install of VMware ESXi 6.7 on a pair of Cisco UCS 220 servers, I ran into a partition error causing the installation to fail. The error stated partedUtil failed with message: “Error: Can’t have a partition outside the disk! Unable to read partition table for device.” The intended install location was a Cisco FlexFlash virtual drive made up of two onboard SD cards.

To remediate the issue, the virtual drive needed to be erased. We also disabled/re-enabled the Virtual Drive. Let’s walk through the process.

NOTE – This was done in the new HTML5 CIMC GUI. Previous CIMC versions have a format button as opposed to an erase. Additionally, erasing/formatting a drive will permanently delete all of the data from the drive. Therefore, ensure you are performing this on the correct device. Lastly, although we saw the issue with a 6.7 install, the process would still be the same for earlier ESXi versions.

Erase Cisco FlexFlash Virtual Drive

Log in to CIMC and navigate to Cisco FlexFlash under the Storage menu.

Select the Virtual Drives tab. Check your affected Virtual Drive and click Erase.

Select OK to erase the virtual drive.

Once the drive is erased, the Operation Status shows Erase-Success.

Disable/Enable Cisco FlexFlash Virtual Drive

Next, we will disable the virtual drive. With the drive still selected, click Disable Virtual Drive.

Select OK to disable the drive.

Lastly, click the Enable Virtual Drive to re-enable.

Select OK to enable the virtual drive.

That is all. Proceed with your ESXi installation.

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