"Automatic startup" error when configuring VM auto startup

I am using the vSphere client to configure my VM guests to auto-start when the VM host is booted (Host Configuration\Virtual Machine Startup/Shutdown, Properties).

When clicking on <ok> to commit the changes I get the error message below.  After clicking <close> on the error, the vSphere shows the correct startup options for the guests (auto start, startup delay, etc).

A specified parameter was not correct.  vim.host.AutoStartManager.AutoPowerInfo.key

Call "HostAutoStartManager.Reconfigure" for object "ha-autostart-mgr" on ESXi "x.x.x.x" failed.

vSphere client = v4.1.0 build 491557

VMHost = ESXi v4.1.0 build 502767

Any idea what is causing the error and how to fix it?

Can the error be ignored without issues?

Thanks!