Windows 10 VM Crashed and Now Won't Start (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error)

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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matom
Posts: 2
Joined: 15. Sep 2021, 07:49

Windows 10 VM Crashed and Now Won't Start (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error)

Post by matom »

First time posting here. I am not particularly experienced or knowledgeable on Virtualbox/VMs but I have used a Windows 10 VM for a year or two now to keep various programs and files off of my host OS.

I've never had a significant issue with it, the VM has always run well, but I haven't accessed it in a month or two. I just fired it up earlier today and started an older cracked Matlab build. It was running pretty slow so I think I accidentally started like 3 instances of it. Anyway it crashed, and when I tried to restart it I could no longer get past the Windows boot screen. It appears to be starting up for 30 seconds or so and then I get the following blue screen (the bl;ue screen error is INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE). This error shows up in the VBox logs as well.

I searched here and couldn't really find any reason why or how this error occured, particularly after the VM has worked well for so long. So I really have no idea how to proceed here. I don't have many important files on the VM but various software packages are installed/configured and would take a while to setup again on a fresh Windows install. No snapshots, but I cloned the machine to an external drive so that I have a backup and can try to implement a fix without worrying about breaking something.

Also note that I included one older log from earlier today as it looks a bit different than the new one I just saved. The new one has a ton of repeating lines "RTC: period=0x10 (16) 2048 Hz", and there are some other differences. Hoping someone can let me know if I broke something else while trying to get things running... though I really didn't mess with much.

Thanks!


Information:
- Virtual Box version: 6.1.26-145957 (just updated today after the issue occurred to see if that would fix it)
- Guest Additions installed (although I removed the VBoxGuestAdditions.iso from my Storage and tried to start the VM without it to see if that would help, then I added it back in when it did not)
- Host: Windows10 19043, 64 bit, 16GB RAM
- Guest: Windows10 19041, 64 bit, 6144MB RAM
- Logs:
VBoxLogs.zip
(60.63 KiB) Downloaded 6 times
matom
Posts: 2
Joined: 15. Sep 2021, 07:49

Re: Windows 10 VM Crashed and Now Won't Start (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error)

Post by matom »

Quick updates
- Safe mode does not start, it gives the same error.
- I'm wondering if there is no VBox solution whether I should try the Windows 10 troubleshooting options.
--- Reset the PC while keeping files, but this removes apps/settings.
--- Uninstall updates to remove quality or feature updates from Windows. (not sure how updates of VM could have occurred/caused this, but just in case?)
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows 10 VM Crashed and Now Won't Start (INACCESSIBLE_BOOT_DEVICE error)

Post by scottgus1 »

Both logs were taken while the VM window was open, so some diagnostic info is missing. But what is there doesn't show Virtualbox 'hardware' troubles that I see.

The log shows a successful continued access to the host D drive that the VM's disk file is on, so it does not appear that the host disk is having trouble. But do check the host hardware, just to be sure.

Restore the VM from your backups, or use Windows fixing methods to fix the VM's OS directly.
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