Fix Hyper-V VM startup failures due to missing Virtual Machines group permissions

draft · equipment hyper-vvm-startupfile-permissions

Generated by docuprocessor (prompt article/v3) · 2026-04-22 05:41

Source thread

thread_id: spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/_D4BqYKeMt8 · 19 msgs · first 2024-04-25 · participants: Tech ATech BTech C

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:01

DUVALSAINT E87, their vm is turned off, I tried to find the Virtual HD but looks like they are corrupted. I see the files there, but it's giving me that error, if I try to start the VM I get another one

image/png image.png

**Hyper-V Manager on host TD350** shows VM **mainsrv0_7o8v9** in an **Off** state with status "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage." A **Virtual Hard Disk Properties** error dialog states: *"The operation failed because the file was not found"* when attempting to retrieve **E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\mainsrv0_7o8v9\mainsrv0_7o8v9_HardDisk0.vhdx** on server localhost. The VM Settings panel confirms the virtual hard disk path on **IDE Controller 0, Location 0 (in use)**; VM was created **6/20/2022 10:40:26 PM**, Generation **1**, Version **5.0**, not clustered.

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:02

(no text)

image/png image.png

**Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection error on host TD350**, VM name **mainsrv0\_7o8v9**, VM ID **AAB7E846-9D4D-4D51-8A2A-29D90FD9D38C**. Error message states: *"mainsrv0\_7o8v9 could not create or access saved state file E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\mainsrv0\_7o8v9\Virtual Machines\AAB7E846-9D4D-4D51-8A2A-29D90FD9D38C.vsv"* — initialization of VM saved state failed. A **.VSV file** dated **4/25/2024 12:45 PM** is visible in the corresponding directory path in Windows Explorer; VM status shown as **Off**, with status bar reading *"Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage."*

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:04

are you sure this is the VM you need? I see there is another mainsvr0 VM

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:05

Not 100%, but that was the one that was selected and with an error state before, the other one was turned off only

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:05

I had a bios screen when I logged, that the vm was not finding any bootable device, forgot to mention

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:06

well, according to LMI, mainsvr0 is offline for 36 days. Did they not work that long?

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:07

Nope, this happened today

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:07

try starting the other VM and see if that one has the software

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:07

Maybe lmi was inaccessible on that host

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:07

same error. will check the permissions of that folder

image/png image.png

**Hyper-V Manager error dialog** is displayed showing VM "NewMainsrv0" in an **Off-Critical** state with status "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage." The error message states: *"An attempt to initialize VM saved state failed"* and *"'NewMainsrv0' could not create or access saved state file E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\Virtual Machines\E3...\E3C53B6A-985A-4221-A245-F013ECE24550.vsv"* with **Virtual Machine ID E3C53B6A-985A-4221-A245-F013ECE24550**. Two additional VMs are visible: **MAINSRV1A** (Running, 9% CPU, 24576 MB RAM, uptime 75:23:19:57) and **mainsrv0_7o8v9** (Off, "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage").

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:08

sometimes VM wont start if the was an external drive connected and its missing now

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:09

e: is accessible

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:09

(no text)

image/png image.png

**Hyper-V Manager on host TD350** displays an error for VM **"NewMainsrv0"** stating it "could not initialize" and "An attempt to initialize VM saved state failed," with a path reference to **E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\E3C53B6A-985A-4221-A245-F013ECE24550**. The **Permissions for Virtual Machines** dialog (path: E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines) shows the **"Virtual Machines"** user/group is selected with **no Allow or Deny permissions checked** for Full Control, Modify, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, or Read. VM details show **NewMainsrv0**, created **2/13/2018**, Generation 1, Version 5.0, not clustered.

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:09

Should I try to give permission to that user maybe?

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:10

did u check if there was an external drive pushed to VM?

Tech A 2024-04-25 17:13

Don't understand your question srry, the .VHD files are saved at E:\ location. It's a partition from the HDD that's on the computer, it's not an external drive

image/png image.png

**Hyper-V Virtual Machine Settings Dialog — mainsrv0_7o8v9 on TD350** The settings window shows a Hard Drive configuration under **IDE Controller 0**, with the virtual hard disk path listed as: `E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\mainsrv0_7o8v9\mainsrv0_7o8v9_HardDisk.vh` (path appears truncated). Controller is set to **IDE Controller 0**, Location **0 (in use)**; Memory shows **24576 MB**, and a second Hard Drive entry is visible under IDE Controller 0 labeled `mainsrv0_7o8v9_HardDisk...`. No error messages or warning indicators are visible; the "Virtual hard disk" radio button is selected.

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:16

VM needs to be backed up, we use file level backups. To do this you need to have a physical external drive connected. IT has to be pushed via physical host. If its not connected and you launch VM it fails because its not seeing that drive. But in your case its not there. So, this is not the case.

Tech B 2024-04-25 17:17

Seems like we need someone with VM experience to look into that. @Albert Khaydatov can u?

Tech C 2024-04-25 17:24

ok I'll check now

---
title: "Fix Hyper-V VM startup failures due to missing Virtual Machines group permissions"
category: equipment
tags: ["hyper-v", "vm-startup", "file-permissions"]
source_thread_id: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/_D4BqYKeMt8"
source_space: "spaces/AAAA05BdS6s"
generated_at: "2026-04-22T05:41:49"
participants: ["Tech A", "Tech B", "Tech C"]
---

# Fix Hyper-V VM startup failures due to missing Virtual Machines group permissions

## Problem

Multiple VMs on host TD350 failed to start with "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage" errors. VMs mainsrv0_7o8v9 and NewMainsrv0 both showed "Off-Critical" states and generated initialization errors when attempting to start. The error messages indicated the VMs could not create or access saved state files (.vsv files) in their respective directories under E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\.

Investigation revealed that the "Virtual Machines" user group had no permissions assigned (no Allow or Deny checkboxes selected) for the E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines folder, preventing Hyper-V from accessing VM configuration and state files.

## Resolution

1. Navigate to the Hyper-V Virtual Machines folder (typically E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\)
2. Right-click the folder and select Properties
3. Go to the Security tab
4. Select the "Virtual Machines" group from the list
5. Click Edit to modify permissions
6. Check the "Allow" boxes for the following permissions:
   - Full Control
   - Modify  
   - Read & Execute
   - List Folder Contents
   - Read
7. Click OK to apply the changes
8. Restart the affected VMs through Hyper-V Manager

The VMs should now start successfully as Hyper-V can properly access the configuration storage and saved state files.

## References

- Source discussion: `spaces/AAAA05BdS6s/threads/_D4BqYKeMt8`
- Attachments:
  - ![image.png](../attachments/_D4BqYKeMt8.83u6oYHoHAE/image.png) — **Hyper-V Manager on host TD350** displays an error for VM **"NewMainsrv0"** stating it "could not initialize" and "An attempt to initialize VM saved state failed," with a path reference to **E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines\E3C53B6A-985A-4221-A245-F013ECE24550**. The **Permissions for Virtual Machines** dialog (path: E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines) shows the **"Virtual Machines"** user/group is selected with **no Allow or Deny permissions checked** for Full Control, Modify, Read & Execute, List Folder Contents, or Read. VM details show **NewMainsrv0**, created **2/13/2018**, Generation 1, Version 5.0, not clustered.
  - ![image.png](../attachments/_D4BqYKeMt8.DnMyhQ6pdWs/image.png) — **Hyper-V Virtual Machine Settings Dialog — mainsrv0_7o8v9 on TD350**
  - ![image.png](../attachments/_D4BqYKeMt8.U_W-YaP4fWU/image.png) — **Hyper-V Virtual Machine Connection error on host TD350**, VM name **mainsrv0\_7o8v9**, VM ID **AAB7E846-9D4D-4D51-8A2A-29D90FD9D38C**.
  - ![image.png](../attachments/_D4BqYKeMt8._D4BqYKeMt8/image.png) — **Hyper-V Manager on host TD350** shows VM **mainsrv0_7o8v9** in an **Off** state with status "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage." A **Virtual Hard Disk Properties** error dialog states: *"The operation failed because the file was not found"* when attempting to retrieve **E:\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks\mainsrv0_7o8v9\mainsrv0_7o8v9_HardDisk0.vhdx** on server localhost.
  - ![image.png](../attachments/_D4BqYKeMt8.q-8V6ToKPdo/image.png) — **Hyper-V Manager error dialog** is displayed showing VM "NewMainsrv0" in an **Off-Critical** state with status "Cannot connect to virtual machine configuration storage."

Generated article

draft