Vmware esxi 5, cant create snapshots and consolidate fails, how to delete old or consolidate redo logs

I came across the solution by chance - I right clicked on the vm and chose snapshot -> consolidate (even though there are currently no snap shots in the snap shot manager) and now it's fine. Now I can create a snap shot, delete, create a new one, etc. So consolidate fixed it.

UPDATE:

later, my snapshots were failing again, so I did a lot more research and finally, I believe I have the answer. It's because my VMDK (virtual disk) size is set to 2TB! Reading through this post, I thought maybe it's because my vmdk is defined as 2TB, and my physical datastore disk is only 1.9TB. I would think it should not be an issue, since it's thin provisioned, but in fact, after using vmware tools to copy the machine and make the disk smaller (1.5TB) (other methods here for shrinking the disk here) everything seems to work working fine now!

To minimize space used during consolidation:

1. Shut down the VM. This way the swap file (size of the configured-reserved RAM) is deleted, and you don't need to worry about the temporary snapshot file that is created when deleting snapshots will eat away at your free space while you are deleting snapshots.

2. Delete from the OLDEST snapshot first. E.G. the one closest to the base. Once that snapshot has been committed, you will increase your disk space. If you start with the newest snapshot, the one furthest from the base, you roll the deleted snapshot changes into the previous snapshot, and it will get larger as you move toward the base. If you are running ESXi 4.0 update 2 or later, it will do this in order for you. If you are running ESXi prior to 4.0 update 2, it will do the opposite PLUS maintain all of the snapshots until it finishes PLUS maintain the temporary snapshot to record activity while the snapshots are being removed. Thus, if you are running a version prior to 4.0 Update 2, it is CRITICAL that you manually delete the oldest first, and work your way to the newest one at a time.

Personally, when I am in that situation, I use this procedure no matter which version of ESXi I'm working on:

• Shut down the VM.
• Delete the snapshots one at a time beginning with the oldest snapshot, the one closest to the base, and progressing toward the latest, the one furthest from the base.