Hyper-V VMs not starting/stopping after Host startup

Question

Hi,

I have a problem with my Windows Server 2022 with Hyper-V installed (all current updates installed). When I try to do any actions to the VMs, it will stuck at that state. For example if I try to start a VM, the VM will stay in state "Starting..." (no percentage shown). If I shutdown a VM, it stay in status "Stopping..." AFTER it is shut down inside of the VM. If I try to import an existing VM, it will be imported but cannot be started. If I create a new VM, it cannot be started. If I try to see the configuration of any VM (no matter if started or stopped), the config-dialog keeps loading forever.

Things I checked and what I did:

• There is no process in taskmanager for a to-be-started-Machine but there is still a process for a to-be-stopped-Machine.
• I see no relevant eventlogs in System, Application or any of the Hyper-V Eventlogs.
• When I restart the vmms-service (Hyper-V Management service) there is no change except that the stucked starting/stopping status is not present anymore.
• Currently there is a 1-Node Failovercluster on that host. The 2nd host will be added later. The stroage is configured as clusterstorage, the VMs are currently not part of the Failovercluster.
• I have no Anti-Virus installed currently. The whole setup is just ~2 weeks old.
• The VMs are stored on a SAN, but the same happens if I create a local VM, so I don't think this is the root of the problem.

The only chance to start a VM is to restart the whole server, including ALL VMs. On startup they will start, only if the start delay is not too large (150 sec is OK, 300 not). Within the time after start it doesn't matter if the VMs are started automatically or if I do it manually.

I have VMs with config version 8.0 and 10.0. Both behave the same.

There is more than enough free memory (192 GB of 512 GB used with all VMs started) and also space is available (min. 1TB free space on each disks (also at the CSVs)).

Anyone has an idea what else I can check or try? I am a bit out of ideas.

Answer 1

Hi Hunv,

Hope you're doing well.

Could you please share us the error screenshots?

From my point of view, please follow the following steps:

1. Ensure all VM configuration files are intact and uncorrupted. Check for any discrepancies in the .xml files associated with the VMs.
2. Review the Windows Event Viewer for any related errors or warnings.
3. Confirm that the Integration Services version matches the host’s Hyper-V version. Update Integration Services if necessary.
4. Conduct a clean boot of the host to eliminate interference from third-party services or drivers. Or try to disable third-party anti-virus software and check the VMs state.

I hope this helps!

Best Regards

Answer 2

Hi Xu,

there is no error. It's just not doing anything as described: "When I try to do any actions to the VMs, it will stuck at that state. For example if I try to start a VM, the VM will stay in state "Starting..." (no percentage shown). [...]"

To point 1: As the VMs are starting immediately after a reboot, but not later, I don't think it is a config error at the VMs. Nevertheless: Even a newly created empty VM has the same issue.

To point 2: As mentioned: No related errors or warnings recognized.

To point 3: As the VMs are not starting or stopping after they are shut down, the Integration services are not active at the point of time where the issue occurs.

To point 4: As mentioned: No Anti-Virus installed. Reboot was performed many many times - how else should I say that after a reboot of the host it works to start the VMs for a short time?

Regards,

Hunv

Answer 3

Hi Hunv,

Thanks for the update.

Please try the following steps:

1. Killing the process of the stuck VM. Open this directory in File Explorer and find the folder with the name of your stuck virtual machine. Copy the GUID that is specified in the name of the VM configuration file with the .vmcx extension.

Run the Task Managerand go to the Detailstab. All virtual machines are running under their own instance of vmwp.exe process. To determine which process is responsible for your VM, you need the GUID of the hung-up VM you obtained earlier. Find the process vmwp.exe that has the GUID of your VM in the User name column. Kill this VM process (End Task).

2. Similarly, you can find and stop a hung virtual machine process on a Hyper-V host using the Process Explorer tool.
3. We can also force stop Hyper-V VMs by using PowerShell:

You need to kill a VM process by its GUID. You can get the VM GUID by its name. For example, to get the GUID of the VM with the name SVM-GUARDEDHOST1, run the command:

$VMGUID = (Get-VM "SVM-GUARDEDHOST1").ID

$VMWMProc = (Get-WmiObject Win32_Process | ? {$_.Name -match 'VMWP' -and $_.CommandLine -match $VMGUID})

Stop-Process ($VMWMProc.ProcessId) –Force

If you want to check this issue further (root cause), we suggest you go to the Microsoft Customer Service Center to open a Premier-level case so that with their permission level and resource, Microsoft could provide you with better help on your request.

I hope this helps.

Best Regards

Answer 4

Hi Xu,

Stopping the machine is just one part of the problem. Starting is at least the same priority of the problem.

Of cause, I can kill the process of the VM. I did this before. But after doing so, I cannot start the VM. So it helps to stop the VM but does not help to bring back the VM online.

Answer 5

Hi Hunv,

Thanks for the update.

Due to the resource limitation, we couldn't check the specifics of this issue via remote, nor could we check the logs. So I still suggest you go to the Microsoft Customer Service Center to open a Premier-level case so that with their permission level and resource, Microsoft could provide you with better help on your request.

Thanks for your understanding!

Best Regards