[SOLVED] Windows Server 2019 - Fully Patched - Will Only Boot Into Safemode

[danielcberman]

New Windows Server 2019 VM, freshly activated and fully patched. After the July 2024 update, it will only boot into Safe Mode.

Troubleshooting steps:
1. SFC /scannow - Found corrupted files and fixed them.
2. Dism /Online /Cleanup-Image /RestoreHealth - Finished successfully
3. Rebooted and the initial boot failed whereupon it initiated an automatic repair, when that failed it gave me the custom startup menu.
4. Selected Safemode with Networking and successfully logged in.

Please find attached CBS logs and ComponentScanner.txt

 

[Maxstar]

Hi,

Some questions;
1. Did you create snapshots / images / backups while setting up this server?
2. How is this VM configured and which software is used, Hyper-V VMWare vSphere etc?
3. Have you tried to to install KB5012170 (Secure Boot DBX) which maybe the cause of the automatic repair?

What you can do is to uninstall the latest update from the Recovery Environment to see if this will resolve the boot issue / automatic repair loop!

Please provide also the previous CBS logs to look at, as well as the following Event logs in safe mode.

wevtutil epl SYSTEM "%userprofile%\Desktop\System.evt"
wevtutil epl APPLICATION "%userprofile%\Desktop\Application.evt"

 

[danielcberman]

1. Did you create snapshots / images / backups while setting up this server? No but I will do that on the next VM.
2. How is this VM configured and which software is used, Hyper-V VMWare vSphere etc? Windows 2019 Data Center VM running in a Hyper-V Environment on Windows 2019 Datacenter Hypervisors. (Not my choice, inherited from a predecessor who didn't document half of what he should have.)
3. Have you tried to install KB5012170 (Secure Boot DBX) which maybe the cause of the automatic repair? This update is not familiar and I am not showing it in the installation history. That said are you suggesting that I install it as a troubleshooting step?

What you can do is to uninstall the latest update from the Recovery Environment to see if this will resolve the boot issue / automatic repair loop! I would but shouldn't there be an "Uninstall Updates" Button here?


Please see attached for requested event logs as zipped file. I included CBS logs in the original post so I think that covers "previous" logs but please see attached for fresh CBS logs just in case I misunderstood.

 

[Maxstar]

I would but shouldn't there be an "Uninstall Updates" Button here?

Hi,

I don't know what happend, but that button is missing because it seems this is still the RTM build (17763.1).
Please remove the 'Safe Boot' setting in MSConfig under the boot tab and try to start the VM in the normal mode again to see what happens.

 

[danielcberman]

I tried rebooting the VM in normal mode and saw the same behavior. I am chalking this up to a borked Windows install as a new install on a fresh HD file seems to be working correctly. I have marked this thread as solved.

 

[Maxstar]

Hi,

This must have been a faulty installation for some reason, glad you have installed a new one which seems to be ok to working on, so good luck to setting up that VM...