vSphere 6.0 Client fails on Windows XP and 2003

VMware-XP-SSL-Error

We all know that Windows XP is a deprecated and no longer supported operating system. Here is just a nail in the coffin. I attempted to install the vSphere 6.0 client on XP, and received the error message, “When installed on a Windows XP or Windows Server 2003 host machine, the vSphere Client might fail to connect to vCenter Server. See VMware Knowledge Base article 2049143.”

Just to be obnoxious, I tried the connection, and it did indeed fail. So, I went to the KB article to understand the underlying issues were the security changes made to resolve issues with the OpenSSL Library. These changes require the client to utilize strong cipher suites to connect with vCenter Server. Without a hotfix from Microsoft, neither Windows XP nor Server 2003 have these stronger ciphers.

So, if you are running Windows XP, you are out-of-luck because the hotfix is no longer available. And, I did test to see if the Windows 2003 hotfix would work on XP, but it refuses to install itself. But, on the other hand, if you are running Server 2003, the necessary hotfix is still available here:
http://hotfixv4.microsoft.com/…

Happy virtualizing!