SBS 2008 as an ESXi guest

(I apologize for posting here, but the VMware support sites are not
helping at this point.)

ESXi 4.0. Brand new Dell PE server. 64-bit. VT properly set.
Attempting an SBS 2008 R2 install. Everything works great during the
install. Several reboots including those for updates, etc.

BUT...when I shut the VM down and start it up again, it BSODs with:

STOP: c00002e2 Directory Services could not start because of the
following error: A device attached to the system is not functioning.
Error Status: 0xc0000001

I next boot into DSRM and attempt to run both esentutl and ntdsutil.
With later, when I try the files option, I get a Jet Engine error tryng
to open the database.

Thinking all this was self-inflicted, I started over. Same results. I
have looked at KBs and other Googles regarding this error but most have
to do with attempting a DCPROMO.

BTW, there 2 Ubuntu server VMs on this host that are working fine.

Is there anyone in this NG that might be able to give some SOS?

How are you 'shutting down' the VM? Are you performing a controlled
shutdown/power off of SBS first and then shutting down the VM from ESX?

Probably aware that this is probably not a MS supported configuration. (
unless I missed an update, only Hyper-V implementations were supported for
SBS2008 virtualization solutions)

Thanks for your quick response.

Yes. I manually shutdown SBS from a console in the vSphere client. I
do NOT let ESXi shut it down.

Yes, I realize that I was taking a chance going with VMware, which has
consistently served me well for other OSes, including Windows, in the
past...and that I may now be in trouble for assuming that SBS 2008 was
not going to be a problem.

I know (of) many people who do this, for what it's worth.

From your symptoms though even a standard Server 2008 with Directory
Servcies role (AD/DC) might encounter this problem. Suggest making sure that
you have the update 1 for ESXi 4.0 and review the release notes (
particularly about the hang in over commit memory situations) if you've not
already.

I have done several Server 2008 (R1)'s with Directory Servcies and have not
had that problem with any of them. All were ESX 3.5 - something though.

Update 1 was the ticket. Working fine from a cold start.

[damagerer]

Joe, I would also like to setup SBS 2008 in ESXi. When you created "New Virtual Machine" in vSphere Client - what operating system have you selected in the "Guest Operating System" dialog? I do not see an option for SBS 2008 and I simply cannot find any info on suggested option.