Issue:
When attempting to import a physical computer to VMWare you receive the following error message
Unable to connect to the remote VMWare Converter Agent.
The remote host is not accessible using Microsoft Network Services. It might be down or firewalled.
VMWare Log Example Issue #1
[2009-07-15 14:57:35.820 'P2V' 5656 info] Starting execution of a Task
[2009-07-15 14:57:35.820 'P2V' 5656 info] Connecting to IPC$ on 192.168.0.27 as 192.168.0.27\admin
[2009-07-15 14:57:36.742 'P2V' 5656 info] SMB manager: Error connecting to share [\\192.168.0.27\IPC$]: 1203
[2009-07-15 14:57:36.742 'P2V' 5656 warning] Failed to connect to IPC$ on 192.168.0.27. Reason: Unspecified
error in remote execution mechanism
[2009-07-15 14:57:36.742 'P2V' 5656 info] Giving up trying to connect to IPC$ on 192.168.0.27
[2009-07-15 14:57:36.742 'P2V' 5656 error] Task failed: P2VError REMOTE_UFA_FIREWALLED(192.168.0.27)
VMWare Log Example Issue #2
[2009-07-15 15:41:13.272 'P2V' 2036 info] Connecting to ADMIN$ on 192.168.0.26 as 192.168.0.26\admin
[2009-07-15 15:41:13.272 'P2V' 2036 info] SMB manager: Error connecting to share [\\192.168.0.26\ADMIN$]: 1203
[2009-07-15 15:41:13.272 'P2V' 2036 warning] Failed to connect to ADMIN$ on 192.168.0.26. Reason: Unspecified
error in remote execution mechanism
[2009-07-15 15:41:16.272 'P2V' 2036 info] Connecting to ADMIN$ on 192.168.0.26 as 192.168.0.26\admin
[2009-07-15 15:41:16.272 'P2V' 2036 info] SMB manager: Error connecting to share [\\192.168.0.26\ADMIN$]: 1203
[2009-07-15 15:41:16.272 'P2V' 2036 warning] Failed to connect to ADMIN$ on 192.168.0.26. Reason: Unspecified
error in remote execution mechanism
[2009-07-15 15:41:16.272 'P2V' 2036 info] Giving up trying to connect to ADMIN$ on 192.168.0.26
[2009-07-15 15:41:16.272 'P2V' 2036 error] Task failed: P2VError REMOTE_UFA_FIREWALLED(192.168.0.26)
Cause:
The important error message occurs just prior to the Failed to Connect to … message.
Issue #1 Error Message
SMB manager: Error connecting to share [\\192.168.0.27\IPC$]: 1203
The error code returned is 1203 which means the following: No network provider accepted the given network path. This error simply indicates that the request to login via the IPC$ share was not accepted. This is different than a bad user name and password error as shown below.
[2009-07-15 15:28:10.995 'P2V' 2036 info] SMB manager: Error authenticating to share [\\172.20.0.26\IPC$]: 1326
In this case the computer has multiple NICs. One NIC was TCP/IP bound to the File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks and one NIC was not.
Issue #2 Error Message
SMB manager: Error connecting to share [\\192.168.0.26\ADMIN$]: 1203
The 1203 error code usually occurs when the default administrative shares (C$, D$, ADMIN$) are not enabled. The default administrative shares are required for the VMWare Converter Agent to be installed and to allow the P2V process to occur.
Solution:
Issue #1 Solution
Use the TCP/IP address of the NIC bound to File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks, or bind the second NIC to that service.
Issue #2 Solution
Enable the default administrative shares on the target computer.
HOW TO: Restore Administrative Shares That Have Been Deleted
You will need to restart the Server service or restart the computer for this change to take effect.