How to Fix “The OVF Virtual Machine Cannot Be Deployed” Error in VMware

Deploying virtual machines in VMware using OVF (Open Virtualization Format) is a common practice, but sometimes administrators encounter the dreaded error:
“The OVF virtual machine cannot be deployed.”

This issue can be frustrating because it stops you from quickly provisioning VMs in VMware vSphere or ESXi. In this guide, we’ll explain the root causes, provide step-by-step fixes, and share VMware best practices to prevent the error from happening again.

Common Causes of the OVF Deployment Error

Before fixing the issue, it’s important to understand why VMware reports this error. The most frequent causes include:

• Corrupted or incomplete OVF/OVA file during download or transfer.

• Version incompatibility between the OVF package and your VMware ESXi or vCenter version.

• Storage or datastore limitations preventing the deployment.

• Network mapping issues when importing multi-NIC VMs.

👉 According to VMware’s official documentation (VMware Docs), many deployment failures are related to file corruption or unsupported configurations.

How to Fix “The OVF Virtual Machine Cannot Be Deployed” Error

1. Try on VMware ESXi 7.0

Suspecting it was a VMware Workstation issue, we tried importing it to VMware ESXi 7.0, but the error persisted

2. Check the hash values of ovf

We then compared hash values, suspecting the file might have been corrupted during transfer. First, navigate to the file directory in CMD and verify the hash in the .mf file using: Certutil -hashfile [File name] SHA256, as shown below

3. Check the hash value of the .vmdk file

 using the same method: Certutil -hashfile [File name] SHA256

4. Write the right hash value to the .mf file

Open the .mf file with a text editor and replace both hash values in their corresponding positions, as shown below. (If needed, convert the OVF using OVF Tool (VMware OVF Tool)

5. Verify whether the issue has been resolved or not

Then, attempt to import into VMware Workstation again - it imported successfully. Issue resolved

Best Practices for Successful OVF Deployment

To avoid running into this issue in the future:

• Always download OVF/OVA files from official vendors or VMware Marketplace.

• Store OVF files on a reliable storage system.

• Regularly update VMware vCenter and ESXi to the latest supported versions.

• Test deployment in a lab environment before production rollout.

📌 For more VMware troubleshooting, check our internal guide: VMware ESXi Virtual Disk Type Conversion