VMWare - mounting Windows image for file level backup fails with popup 'Internal Error' (4045092)

Product & Version: NVBU Any
OS Version: Any
Module & Version: VMWare 2.x
Application version: VMWare Any

Symptoms:
When creating a backup strategy for backing up at file level a Windows machine, it is impossible to mount the image because it fails with a popup window saying 'Internal Error' and the Netvault logs only show the data plugin failing with exit 1.

In the bottom of the VCenter client it shows the snapshot being created and the disks loaded and then the snapshot is deleted right away.

This is not a NetVault bug. The VM function which is supposed to get the machine to a file level backup mixes up the order of the drives.

The workaround is as follows:
- First of all note the name of the disk containing the boot partition.
- Stop the virtual machine.
- Go into the client vCenter, right click on the virtual machine and then choose 'Edit Settings'.
- In the window that appears, click on the first disk 'Hard Disk 1' and on the right change 'Virtual Device Node' from 'SCSI (0:0)' to another SCSI address that is free.
- In the same window, click the drive with the MBR and in the same way, change its 'Virtual Device Node' to 'SCSI (0:0)'.
- Go to the second tab (Options), click in 'Boot Options' and check the option 'The next time the virtual machine boots, force entry Into the BIOS setup screen.'.
- Close the window by clicking 'OK', this will save your changes.
- Start the virtual machine with the console open to see the BIOS.
- In the BIOS, go to the Boot tab, and then go to '+Hard Drive' and make sure that the 'VMWare Virtual SCSI Hard Drive (0:0)' is the first on the top of the list that appears and do a F10 to save and exit the BIOS setup.
- This will restart the virtual machine so that the disk 0:0 is with the boot partition.

Now you will be able to make the file-level backup.

N.B.
Note that when the virtual machine restarts, the order of the letters could have changed as a result of changing the SCSI id of the disks.