[Resolved] VMs shut down automatically. Please help

[Zamy]

Hello. I have problem with my VMs. I have two WinServers 2016 - one for AD/DHCP/DNS and second for Exchange. Both only for testing and trying.
Both VMs sometimes automatically shut down and its problem, because i can´t install Exchange on server because the time of install Exchange is long about 2 hours and my VM shut down after 1 hour approximately.

Thanks for help.

[socratis]

00:00:01.673995 Host RAM: 8046MB (7.8GB) total, 3583MB (3.4GB) available
00:00:01.781296 RamSize  <integer> = 0x0000000080000000 (2 147 483 648, 2 048 MB)
00:00:01.781499 VRamSize <integer> = 0x0000000008000000 (134 217 728, 128 MB)

You have less than 3.4 GB available on your host and you assign 2 + 2 GB for your VMs. Plus 256 MB for VRAM, plus some overhead. Are you sure you're not running short on resources on your host? Are you keeping tabs on the RAM available on your host? Maybe you're stressing the whole thing?

Try with 1.5 GB for your guests, and close all open apps on your host. Try it again and see what happens...

[Zamy]

Thanks for reply. I try set on DC server 1 GB and on Exchange server 2 GB RAM because 1,5 GB wasn´t sufficient and problem persist. When I turn on both servers, task manager show me approximately 6 GB RAM used and 2 GB available.
I add today´s logs to the attachment.

[socratis]

01:01:30.495090 VMMDev: Guest requests the VM to be turned off
01:01:30.495251 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'POWERING_OFF'

I see that the guest itself is asking for the VM to be powered down, both of them. So, I'm not quite sure what's going on here. You don't crash, you shutdown normally, from within the guest.

[BillG]

Exchange Server has always been a CPU hog. I doubt that you will ever get this to run with only 8G in the host.

[Zamy]

It´s not a reason why my VMs shut down. The situation was same before installation Exchange.
The problem is I turn on the VMs. I go for a few minutes away and when I come back to computer, VMs are turn off. :/

[socratis]

And as it's shown from the logs, the VMs do not crash, they shut down normally. Can you go to each VM and disable all power-saving energy/power plans? I have the suspicion that when your host goes into low power mode, the guests receive that as a signal to shut down.

I repeat, there's no crash, the VMs are shutting down after they ask to be shut down normally.

[Zamy]

I think it´s not the problem. On the host I have turn on high permormance. Once I try to every minute click to the both VM´s and move with mouse for "keep VM turn on" and it didn´t help.
Thanks for try to help me. In the worst I reinstall virtualbox and VM´s or Windows.

[socratis]

I think it´s not the problem. On the host I have turn on high permormance.

How about automatic updates/reboots? Any chance that the guests are doing background updates and Windows decides to apply them? Something is shutting down the VM from within the VM.

[Martin]

Are you using unactivated or eval versions of Windows Server 2016 after 180 days? These will shutdown automatically after one hour.

[Zamy]

I update Windows regulary, not in backround, but manually.
Yes, I have unactived Windows 2016, but I have it about one, max two weeks.

[socratis]

Martin,
Brilliant, simply brilliant!

01:01:30.495090 VMMDev: Guest requests the VM to be turned off
01:01:30.495251 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'POWERING_OFF'

01:02:10.025860 VMMDev: Guest requests the VM to be turned off
01:02:10.025907 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'POWERING_OFF'

Zamy, you need to activate Windows, no matter what. From what I've read, it will shut down every hour, until it gets activated. At that point you have 180 days to evaluate it, with some options to increase the evaluation period. But if not activated, it will shut down every hour!

[Zamy]

Okey, thanks very much. It´s interesting, because Windows shuld be free for 180 days, but I have it max two weeks.
Thanks for help

[Zamy]

Thanks all and thank you Martin, problem was that I don´t have activation Win. After use command slmgr -rearm it´s work. Thank you very much

[socratis]

Great, thanks for the feedback. Marking as [Resolved].