Microsoft Confirms Server Manager Disk Resets Could Cause Data Loss

Cloud Computing

Microsoft is investigating a new issue that could cause data loss when resetting virtual disks using the Server Manager Management console in some versions of Windows Server. The company has confirmed that the problem affects systems running Windows Server 2019 and Windows 11 version 22H2.

The Windows Server management console is a tool that enables IT admins to manage local and remote Windows-based servers directly from their desktops. It eliminates the need to enable Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) connections or have physical server access.

Microsoft introduced the feature in Windows Server 2008, and it’s installed by default in Windows Server 2012 and Windows Server 2012 R2. Over the years, Microsoft has updated the tool to let users manage remote multi-server environments. The company also increased the number of servers the administrator can manage.

According to Microsoft, the data corruption problem happens when IT admins try to clear a virtual disk through the Community Virtual Driver tool. It might inadvertently cause the wrong disk to be reset, with an error message “Found multiple disks with the same ID. Please update your storage driver and then try again.”

“When you use the Community Virtual driver, there are virtual disks that might have the same UniqueId. This might create issues when you initiate a reset operation. The reset operation will reset the first disk that it finds. However, this might not be the disk you want to reset. Because of this, that disk will lose data,” Microsoft explained.

How to fix the Server Manager data loss problem

Microsoft has provided a temporary workaround solution that uses PowerShell commands to retrieve and reset a disk.

  • IT admins can type the following command to get the details about the disk: Get-PhysicalDisk | Select-Object -Property FriendlyName, DeviceID, UniqueId
  • Administrators can also confirm the details about the disk that they want to reset. Use the disk’s DeviceID as the number in the command: Clear-Disk [-Number]

Earlier this week, Microsoft released new cumulative updates to address another issue that prevents the vulnerable driver blocklist from being synced to older Windows operating systems, such as Windows 10.