When running VMware server on an OS with IPv6 enabled, you might get the following error after logging in to the server web UI:

The VMware Infrastructure Web Service at "http://localhost:8222/sdk" is not responding (Connection Refused).

The service may not be responding because hostd is too busy or because it is not running. Try again in a few moments or restart hostd.
Until communication with the VI Web Service is restored, VI Web Access will not be able to manage any hosts.
More Informationbq. Details
ConnectException : Operation failed.

While the error details are not very explicit, the reason for the error is very simple: the IPv6 lookup for “localhost” is not supported by the server.
To fix this you have to edit the hosts file and add an IPv4 host entry for “localhost”.

The hosts file is in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\etc
Open the file with Notepad and add the following line:

127.0.0.1       localhost

Your hosts file should look somewhat like this.

# Copyright (c) 1993-2006 Microsoft Corp.

#

# This is a sample HOSTS file used by Microsoft TCP/IP for Windows.

#

# This file contains the mappings of IP addresses to host names. Each

# entry should be kept on an individual line. The IP address should

# be placed in the first column followed by the corresponding host name.

# The IP address and the host name should be separated by at least one

# space.

#

# Additionally, comments (such as these) may be inserted on individual

# lines or following the machine name denoted by a '#' symbol.

#

# For example:

#

#      102.54.94.97     rhino.acme.com          # source server

#       38.25.63.10     x.acme.com              # x client host

::1             localhost

127.0.0.1       localhost

After this, just reboot to make sure that all the services are aware of the change. You shouldn’t get that error anymore (unless there is another problem with the service).

I often get this error while running VMware server on Vista. Usually this is due to Tomcat encountering an error while starting. You can see the error in catalina.<date>.log file in C:\ProgramData\VMware\VMware Server\tomcat-logs.
The most common problem is Tomcat not being able to bind to a port. The bind exception looks like this:

SEVERE: StandardServer.await: create[8005]: 

java.net.BindException: Address already in use: JVM_Bind

    at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.socketBind(Native Method)

    at java.net.PlainSocketImpl.bind(Unknown Source)

    at java.net.ServerSocket.bind(Unknown Source)

    at java.net.ServerSocket.<init>(Unknown Source)

    at org.apache.catalina.core.StandardServer.await(StandardServer.java:373)

    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.await(Catalina.java:642)

    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Catalina.start(Catalina.java:602)

    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke0(Native Method)

    at sun.reflect.NativeMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)

    at sun.reflect.DelegatingMethodAccessorImpl.invoke(Unknown Source)

    at java.lang.reflect.Method.invoke(Unknown Source)

    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.start(Bootstrap.java:288)

    at org.apache.catalina.startup.Bootstrap.main(Bootstrap.java:413)

Port 8005 is used by many server applications and it’s the usual cause for the bind exception. This can be easily fixed by editing the Tomcat server config file.

The config file is located at C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Server\tomcat\conf\server.xml

Just look for a block like:

<!-- Note:  A "Server" is not itself a "Container", so you may not

  define subcomponents such as "Valves" at this level. 

  Documentation at /docs/config/server.html  -->

 <Server port="8005" shutdown="SHUTDOWN"> 

<!--APR library loader. Documentation at /docs/apr.html –>

Just change the port to something else. I usually use 8025 (no particular reason, but that port is not widely used by applications).

After this change, you have to restart the tomcat service (Run->"C:\Program Files\VMware\VMware Server\tomcat\bin\tomcat6w.exe" //ES//VMwareServerWebAccess).

The same goes for the other ports.

Is it always me that gets bizarre errors, or do you all get them and never post it on the Internet? I tried to install VS2008 on my nearly clean Windows 7 install on my main development machine. I have no idea why, but as VS was starting to install, before the product key, it dropped out with:

“A problem has been encountered while loading the setup components. Cancelling setup.”

I tried all the obvious, Run as Administrator, Compatibility Mode, etc etc … 40 minutes later trawling the Internet and generally cursing, I come across a window hidden behind a few others. It seems Windows 7 is good enough to know about this problem, but it failed to make me properly aware of it.

This helpful window contained the following (which also happened to solve the problem):

Solve a problem with Windows 7 beta

An issue with the Customer Experience Improvement Program (CEIP) client in Windows 7 beta is causing Explorer and some MSI-based installers to stop working properly.

To solve this problem, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button , click All Programs, and then click Accessories.

2. Right-click Command Prompt, and then click Run as administrator. In the User Account Control window, verify that Program name is Windows Command Processor, and then click Yes.

3. In the Administrator: Command Prompt window, type or paste the following text at the prompt:

   reg delete HKLM\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\SQMClient\Windows\DisabledSessions /va /f

4. Press Enter to install the solution.

5. If The operation completed successfully displays, close the Administrator: Command Prompt window to complete this procedure. If "ERROR: Access is denied" displays, repeat this procedure from the top, making sure you clicked Run as administrator in step two.