Installing vCenter Server on Windows 2012

  • vCenter 5.1 requires the Protected Storage service in Windows to start its own service. This service has been deprecated in Windows Server 2008 R2 and has been removed from 2012.
  • Existing Windows Server 2012 install, not Server Core


  • Press Win+R, enter regedit, press enter.
  • In regedit, navigate to: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/CurrentControlSet/Services/vpxd

  • Edit the key DependOnService by doubleclicking on it.
  • Remove the line ProtectedStorage
  • Save & reboot the server

  • Wait until the vCenter service starts up
  • Start the vCenter Setup again, but this time only the vCenter Server
  • It will now finish without errors
  • tutorial/vmware/vcenter2012.txt
  • Last modified: 2018-06-03 14:10
  • (external edit)