Problem booting Windows 2012R2 VM on Windows 2025 Hyper-V

Stefan Cuypers 100

We're having a problem with a Windows Server 2025 Hyper-V cluster.

We have 2 identical clusters (same hardware, same BIOS version) and when we move a Windows 2012R2 VM from one cluster to another it does not boot any more (tested with 2 different VM's).

The error is a blue screen 0x7B (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE).

If we move the machine back to the other cluster it boots just fine.

Only difference I see is the cluster path level. The working cluster is an older Windows Update (KB5058411, KB5058523 and KB5054979).

Whereas the newer cluster has KB5063666, KB5062553, KB5056579 and KB5059502. It tried installing KB5064489 also, but that does not help.

A VM with Windows server 2022 of 2025 does move fine, so it seems to be linked to 2012R2.

I also tried to install a brand new 2012R2 VM from the original iso and then completely upgrading it with Windows Update and that machine is working fine. It seems to have the same verson of storage drivers as the non working VM.

The faulting VM does boot succesfully into recovery mode. I tried bootrec /fixmbr and bootrec /fixboot, but that does not help.

TPIT 1 Reputation point

2025-07-21T03:47:13.84+00:00

Same issue here. Sadly I could not pin down the exact faulty update!

but thanks for your direction!

Thought, I killed my VM. Even the back up…. :D

Answer accepted by question author

Vladimir Shebaldenkov 145

I compared the registry of a VM that boots with one that doesn’t and found some differences.

Then I booted into recovery mode, copied the missing registry keys, and successfully booted the Windows Server 2012 R2 VM on a 2025 Hyper-V host.

reg load HKLM\TempHive c:\Windows\system32\config\SYSTEM

reg copy HKLM\TempHive\ControlSet001\Enum\ACPI\VMBus HKLM\TempHive\ControlSet001\Enum\ACPI\MSFT1000 /s

reg copy HKLM\TempHive\ControlSet001\Enum\ACPI\Hyper_V_Gen_Counter_V1 HKLM\TempHive\ControlSet001\Enum\ACPI\MSFT1002 /s

Bjørn Bendix 10 Reputation points

2025-11-09T10:54:45.4333333+00:00

Works perfect! Thx for your work!
TPIT 1 Reputation point

2025-11-09T12:25:02.85+00:00

Thanks !
Hammer 0 Reputation points

2025-11-09T20:50:35.9533333+00:00

Worker for me too! Thank you!!!
Stefan Cuypers 100 Reputation points

2025-11-10T08:12:41.2766667+00:00

Great work! Works for me too. Thanks a lot.
Andy Bryant 20 Reputation points

2025-11-10T09:51:03.03+00:00

Works for me too. Awesome job! Thank you @Vladimir Shebaldenkov
Richard Hunt 0 Reputation points

2025-11-11T06:31:51.77+00:00

Could you not just export the two keys and then import them in the same HKLM/System/CurrentControlSet/Enum/ACPI root or must be done in recovery mode and in must use ControlSet001 ?
Stefan Cuypers 100 Reputation points

2025-11-11T08:44:48.1+00:00

Some more analysis on what in KB5060842 triggers the problems.

Analysing the ACPI configuration in the BIOS it seems that the ids of some devices have changed.

The 'VMBus' name was defined as an _HID (hardware id).

After the update it is defined as a _CID (compatible id) and MSFT1000 has become the _HID.

Same applies for the Hyper_V_Gen_Counter_V1 device which has become _HID MSFT1002.

Though this should theoretically not pose a problem (Windows should look at both _HID and _CID's) it seems Windows 2012R2 (or older Hyper-V integration services on it) has a problem with this for boot devices.
Glenn Rimington 0 Reputation points

2026-02-09T23:01:29.45+00:00

FANTASTIC!!!! - That worked for me too. Thank you.
Peter Jericho 0 Reputation points

2026-02-09T23:20:11.7033333+00:00

Worked straight away. Thank you.
MARKO TAMM 0 Reputation points

2026-02-26T20:02:00.2866667+00:00

Thank You very much, You saved me alot of time :)
Mulani, Waqas 0 Reputation points

2026-03-01T08:12:38.1733333+00:00

I wanted to let you know that this fix works for me as well.

Thank you so much for all your effort in finding this solution.
CARLOS ANDRES BUITRAGO C 0 Reputation points

2026-03-16T18:15:02.2433333+00:00

Gracias!!
Fernando J. Pineda B 0 Reputation points

2026-08-28T13:40:29.5233333+00:00

I used this procedure on 08-27-2026 to gain access to a Server 2012 VM (Host on Server 2012R2 Crashed and serious damaged and unbootable) imported via Server Backup on a 2025 Server Hyper-V Host.

I found two problems, the first one is protections on the registry zone if the computer you are using to edit the registry have KB5060842 installed or its up to date and recently installed, y manage to use an old VM on Windows 10 24H2 and was able to do it (It shows an access denied error but make the changes on the registry file on the TempHive)

The second problem is that the VM (Now able to boot) will boot just once, so don't restart it or turn it off until you upgrade the OS on the VM (InPlace-Upgrade) or get whatever you need from the VM (Don't restart or shut down)

Probably you will get a VM working but without operational network, in my scenario, it get solved while you run the update to server 2019 or newer OS.

Thanks a lot to Vladimir Shebaldenkov to get us a lead to work and solve the problems!

17 additional answers

Kaced Yanis 0 Reputation points

2025-08-21T07:43:02.1833333+00:00

Hello,

I tried moving my windows server 2012 on an older cluster so i can boot it up again. I've added the SCSI controller and even a disk, i booted it up and let it work for two days.

Then i moved it back on my windows server 2025 hyper v, but it still wont boot.

I come here everyday, hoping to find a new workaround or a patch that would solve it.

Does someone have a solution ?
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Peter Stam 10 Reputation points

2025-08-21T07:45:30.3033333+00:00

only workaround is a nested hyper-v with older OS as far as I know for now...

Kaced Yanis 0 Reputation points

2025-08-21T07:56:35.38+00:00

Thank you for your answer.

I'll just move all my 2012 R2 on an older cluster but i hope they will fix this soon...

Derek Loseke 5 Reputation points

2025-08-21T19:21:31.7833333+00:00

@Peter Stam using a nested hypervisor isn't the worst idea I've heard, at least in my case where there's just one VM that is around for historical purposes....thanks for the idea.
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Hammer 0 Reputation points

2025-08-09T23:39:31.25+00:00

Hi, having the same issue…any update on a possible solution? For now, I’m running the Server 2012R2 VM nested inside a Server 2022 VM under a Server 2025 host just to be able to have it up. There’s a huge performance penalty so would be great to find a better solution.
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Peter Stam 46 Reputation points

2025-08-01T12:17:24.7133333+00:00

Hi Guys,

So after a 7 hours call with MS still no solution. We checked so many things but not booting. My thanks go out to the engineer who helped me!, he will need to get into contact with his technical manager and see where to go from here.

Seems like a very annoying issue.

Hope to get some updates here soon, in the meanwhile thank you everyone for the posts here!

Regards
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Andy Bryant 20 Reputation points

2025-08-01T12:22:07.4566667+00:00

Seven hours, wow! Thanks for your perseverance Peter.

Dimitri Iacomi 0 Reputation points

2025-08-06T05:57:16.06+00:00

Hi Peter, no more updates MS side?

Peter Stam 46 Reputation points

2025-08-06T06:11:19.43+00:00

Hi Dimitri,

Unfortunately not, because we troubleshoot it a long time the MS engineer had to consult with his technical manager. First response was, no extended support, no support so it's looks I'm stuck on the MS side (for now).

I'm getting as far with this that for some reason some registry key looks not accessible when the VM is moved. I ran some diagnostics tool I got from MS and this is the only difference we notice. I totally don't understand why a registrykey inside the VM changes/is not accessible when moved. Maybe it has to do with driver signing/certificates that are expired I don't know. The tool boots a PXE environment so I'm not sure how this can be related. What makes it more difficult is that a clean install of 2012R2 works and in our case 'some' of the moved 2012R2 servers don't boot, not all, so very unclear.

Regards,

Peter

Dimitri Iacomi 0 Reputation points

2025-08-06T06:55:51.02+00:00

Thank you for the update.

In my case 100% of the moved vms are not booting, but are only 3 fortunately. Freshly installed vms boots correctly.

The problem is occurring also exporting the working vm and importing to a 2025 host.

The registry error is very strange, a more detailed error than "cannot find the file specified" would have been more helpful :)

Wannes de Smedt 0 Reputation points

2025-08-06T09:41:23.1266667+00:00

hello,

I also managed to get on the phone with MS support, but they quickly mentioned 202R2 lifecycle and that was that.

Richard Hunt 0 Reputation points

2025-08-07T00:32:53.7+00:00

Question, do we have the same issue on windows 2022, don't want to go all the way back to 2019 if not needed.

Also, I can add that one suddenly did work, then didn't work again after a reboot having me wonder if it was something else in the hyper-v setup, boot order of VMs. Sorry nothing confirmed yet from that as that one still doesn't work but thought to mention.

Peter Stam 10 Reputation points

2025-08-07T06:03:08.32+00:00

Hi Richard,

We moved around 300-400 non 2012R2 VM's from 2022 host clusters to 2025 host clusters now and there doesn't seem to be an issue with these (knock knock on wood). So 2012R2 VM's where running fine on 2022 hosts with all the latest patches as far as I can tell.

Richard Hunt 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T03:10:37.3433333+00:00

given they (2012r2 vms) run fine on 2022 (assuming fully patched), have you tried moving one of them to a 2025 host to see if that works? Good to know 2022 works.. I may try firing up a 2022 host server instead of 2019 to move forward at least.

K2AAB 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T10:45:30.34+00:00

I too have the same issue, tried copies, Veeam replication, Veeam backups, still not found a solution.

Some of the issues I'm seeing in Veeam point to version issues, here is the link to the Veeam KB, but so far I'm still having issues.

https://www.veeam.com/kb4377

Peter Stam 46 Reputation points

2025-08-08T11:04:33.51+00:00

2012r2 vm on 2022 host has no issues, we ran the 2012r2 vms for a long time. Migrate to 2025, boot issue. Veeam also tried without Success. For testing i tried to run the 2012r2 vm on my windows 11 workstation, also does not boot, easy to continue testing on my local workstation

K2AAB 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T11:11:28.1566667+00:00

I'm wondering if I can do a cold backup on Veeam, restore to VMware, backup again with Veeam and the restore to 2025 Hyper-V Host

K2AAB 0 Reputation points

2025-08-08T13:11:07.7366667+00:00

In Veeam I can perform a cold backup. Within Veeam I can then export the files from the C:\ drive to a new VHD, VHDX of VMDK. I have then used these to try and boot a brand new VM on my 2025 hosts, with Gen 1 and Gen 2 VMs. No Joy, still the same issue with the VM going into recovery mode. Unfortunately I'm not able to test the VMDK due to being off site but hope to this soon. This really feels like it has to be an issue inside of the source VMs OS, that the 2025 hosts see as some sort of corruption and will not boot.

Andy Bryant 20 Reputation points

2025-08-08T13:26:56.7633333+00:00

If you look back to some of the previous comments, you'll will see that we have established it is KB5060842 introduced in June 2025 where the problem first occurred. Of course July 2025 KB5062553 also has the problem. Prior to this, all was good. I'm struggling to see how the MS Engineer couldn't understand this.

BryceSor 5,500 Reputation points Volunteer Moderator

2025-08-08T22:24:00.5266667+00:00

I think they do Andy but because 2012R2 EOL finished in 23 they don't want to make their updates backwards compatible, my thoughts on it.

Peter Stam 10 Reputation points

2025-08-13T15:44:17.89+00:00

So after a staggering 5 hour call today, the support engineer is out of options. He really need to contact the 2012R2 support team but can't because we have no extended support. My thanks goes out to the Microsoft engineer for his help. Unfortunately we keep stuck at the VMBus message. For now we go with the option to run a server 2022 host nested on the 2025 host, same as Hammer.

Andy Bryant 20 Reputation points

2025-08-13T15:56:59.3033333+00:00

Their response is terrible. They introduced the problem with a Windows update, they should fix it. Especially as 2012R2 is listed as a supported VM guest.

Hammer 0 Reputation points

2025-08-13T16:52:31.0566667+00:00

If it’s a matter of drivers, is it possible to update them while the vm is running and then move to Server 2025 host?
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Ben Gillam 10 Reputation points

2025-07-30T09:46:33.1433333+00:00

We have this same or similar issue although not a cluster.

Windows 2025 server - Moved 3x Windows 2012 R2 VMs to it back in April time - They are archival manual boot access for old accounts system. Worked fine at time. Later tried to boot and they all fail. Restores from backup failed, new export and import fails etc which lead me here.

The tweaks to Storsvc recommended along with a new export didnt work for me.

I don't seem to have any of the updates listed however maybe they were bundled into a cumulative update.

At the point now of bringing a previous 2019 host online again to host these VMs if 2025 isnt going to play ball with them unless a fix comes along soon.
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Kalabis Tomáš 15 Reputation points

2025-07-30T09:56:49.4933333+00:00

try to run this comman in ps:
Get-HotFix -Id KB5060842

Dimitri Iacomi 0 Reputation points

2025-07-30T10:04:28.2+00:00

Same scenario here, KB5060842 NOT installed and vm not booting.

Only those 3 hotfix are installed:

Kalabis Tomáš 15 Reputation points

2025-07-30T10:33:54.64+00:00

what about try to uninstall KB5063666 ? - the security update.
did you have resoruce to try it ?

Ben Gillam 10 Reputation points

2025-07-30T10:51:34.2366667+00:00

these are my updates

in terms of removal I would have to wait until the weekend to test it. Although i'm never a huge fan of removing or blocking an update if it affects something else adversely or leaves a security risk.

Stefan Cuypers 0 Reputation points

2025-07-30T12:11:59.71+00:00

These are cummulative updates, so the problem is in any of the later updates too. Starts with KB5062553 but also present in later updates KB5064489 and KB5062660.

Still no engineer assigned on Microsoft support ticket. Got assigned an Escalation Support Manager though. Hope to get a reaction soon now.

Derek Loseke 5 Reputation points

2025-07-30T21:29:31.46+00:00

Same for me. I tried the registry keys and no dice. Then I tried the other suggestion of adding and removing a storage adapter and when I brought the 2012 R2 machine back up, it started boot looping the same as well, but on the 2016 cluster now. Fortunately, it was a clone of the production machine.

Derek Loseke 5 Reputation points

2025-07-30T22:45:36.8333333+00:00

Okay, so I have a 2025 3-node cluster. I'm coming from a 2016 cluster. Server 2012 R2 VM was blue screening on boot until I removed KB5060842 from one of the hosts. With that KB removed, VM boots up perfectly fine. I'm going to roll back to my 2016 cluster for the time being until there is a good solution that doesn't involve uninstalling/blocking an update, but that worked perfectly for me. The other suggestions haven't worked at all for me.

Kalabis Tomáš 15 Reputation points

2025-07-31T06:35:59.9033333+00:00

Yes Derek, same issue as in the cluster of my customer. remove of KB5060842 helps !

https://tomaskalabis.com/wordpress/problem-booting-windows-2012r2-vm-on-windows-2025-hyper-v/
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Problem booting Windows 2012R2 VM on Windows 2025 Hyper-V

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