Microsoft Confirms VM Secure Boot Issue Causing Boot Failures on Windows Server 2022

Datacenter networking servers

Microsoft has acknowledged a new issue that might prevent virtual machines (VMs) from booting up on Windows Server 2022. The company detailed on the Windows Health Dashboard that the problem triggers on Windows Server machines that installed the latest Patch Tuesday Updates released on February 14.

According to Microsoft, the issue only impacts virtual machines with the Secure Boot option enabled running on vSphere ESXi version 6.7 U2/U3 or vSphere ESXi version 7.0.x. Secure Boot is a security feature that helps to prevent malware (rootkits and bootkits) from taking over Windows devices at boot time. It’s designed to block all programs that don’t have a valid signature from running on the computer.

“After installing KB5022842 on guest virtual machines (VMs) running Windows Server 2022 on some versions of VMware ESXi, Windows Server 2022 might not start up. Only Windows Server 2022 VMs with Secure Boot enabled are affected by this issue,” the company explained.

Microsoft suggests a workaround to fix boot failures on Windows Server 2022 VMs

Microsoft is investigating the issue, but there is no fix available at the moment for affected virtual machines. However, the company provided a couple of temporary workaround solutions to mitigate the problem. Microsoft suggested that the issue can be fixed by upgrading to vSphere ESXi 8.0.

Alternatively, Microsoft notes that customers can resolve the problem by disabling Secure Boot on Windows Server machines. The company warned that customers should not install the KB5022842 update on virtual machines until a fix is available. Did you experience any problems while booting virtual machines on Windows Server 2022? Let us know in the comments section below.