SCCM 2012 SP1 Remote Distribution Point installation Failure with Server 2012 on VMware 5.x or 4.x

Had a strange issue that took a long while to get fixed.

Issue:
I was given a Windows Server 2012 vm running on ESXi 5.1 that had a C:\ for the OS and a D:\ (220GB) for holding distributed data from the primary SCCM server. So for all intended purposes, this was a standard remote distribution point.

I tried to install the DP role onto the new server and it failed every time, tried to access the D:\ remotely from the primary and access was denied, tried setting every permission known to man and it still failed.

Solution:
The D:\ appeared as removable devices instead of your conventional hard drive.

So to resolve this and get the role installed from your CAS/Primary server complete the following.

1. Connect to the ESXi/ESX host or vCenter Server using the vSphere Client.
2. Power off the virtual machine.
3. Right-click the virtual machine and click Edit Settings.
4. Click the Options tab.
5. Click General > Configuration Parameters > Add Row.
6. Insert a new row with the name devices.hotplug and a value of false.
7. Power on the virtual machine.

To disable HotPlug capability by editing the .vmx file:

1. Power off the virtual machine.
2. Access the ESXi/ESX service console using an SSH client.
3. Open the virtual machine configuration file (.vmx) in a text editor. The default location is:
   
   /vmfs/volumes/datastore_name/vm_name/vm_name.vmx
   
   
4. Add the line:
   
   devices.hotplug = "false"
   
   Note: This setting does not interfere with HotPlug CPU/memory.
   
   
5. Save and close the file.
6. Power on the virtual machine.8

Note: If you are using VMware View, follow one of the above procedures for the parent virtual machine first, then follow these steps:

1. Create a new snapshot of the parent virtual machine:
   
   
   1. In the vSphere Client, right-click the parent virtual machine and click Snapshot > Take Snapshot.
   2. Give the snapshot a name and description.
   3. Click OK.
      
2. Recompose the affected pools to this new snapshot:
   
   
   1. In the View Manager console, select a pool and open it.
   2. Click View Composer > Recompose, and select the newly created snapshot.
   3. Click Next.
   4. Configure the Schedule and Warnings options.
   5. Click Next.
   6. Review the confirmation information.
   7. Click Finish and verify that the recompose operation successfully completes.
   8. Repeat the recompose procedure for all affected pools.