October Windows Server updates cause Hyper-V VM boot issues

October Windows Server updates cause Hyper-V VM boot issues

October 17, 2023 at 08:37AM

Hyper-V hosts running Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022 are experiencing issues with virtual machines (VMs) failing to boot after installing certain Patch Tuesday updates. Uninstalling the problematic updates resolves the issue, and Microsoft has yet to acknowledge it. In the past, the company released emergency updates to fix similar problems with Hyper-V VMs and VMware ESXi VMs. Microsoft did not provide a statement regarding the current Hyper-V VM issues.

Key takeaways from the meeting notes:

– Customer reports indicate that Patch Tuesday updates this month are causing virtual machines on Hyper-V hosts to fail to start with “failed to start” errors.
– Windows admins have complained that the issue occurs after installing KB5031361 and KB5031364 on Windows Server 2019 and Windows Server 2022 systems.
– The event viewer will log specific errors when attempting to start a VM on an affected Hyper-V system.
– Uninstalling the problematic updates resolves the issue for administrators with impacted devices, allowing all virtual machines to start up properly.
– The Windows Update Standalone Installer (WUSA) tool can be used to uninstall the updates.
– To fix the Hyper-V boot issues, an elevated command prompt should be opened as an administrator and specific commands should be run depending on the installed cumulative update.
– Microsoft has not acknowledged this as a known issue yet.
– Previously, Microsoft released emergency updates to fix similar issues with Hyper-V VMs not starting and problems creating new VMs on Hyper-V hosts.
– A similar issue with VMware ESXi VMs was also acknowledged earlier this year.
– Microsoft has not provided a statement regarding these Hyper-V VM issues when contacted.

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