Article ID: 954282 - Last Review: September 11, 2011 - Revision: 3.0

The VMBus device does not load on a virtual machine that is running on a Windows Server 2008-based computer that has Hyper-V installed

View products that this article applies to.
System TipThis article applies to a different operating system than the one you are using. Article content that may not be relevant to you is disabled.
Support for Windows Vista Service Pack 1 (SP1) ends on July 12, 2011. To continue receiving security updates for Windows, make sure you're running Windows Vista with Service Pack 2 (SP2). For more information, refer to this Microsoft web page: Support is ending for some versions of Windows (http://windows.microsoft.com/en-us/windows/help/end-support-windows-xp-sp2-windows-vista-without-service-packs) .
Expand all | Collapse all

SYMPTOMS

Consider the following scenario.
  • You have a Windows Server 2008-based computer that has Hyper-V installed.
  • You create a virtual machine on the Windows Server 2008-based computer.
  • You create the virtual machine from a virtual hard disk image (.vhd file) that was created by using Microsoft Virtual Server 2005 or Microsoft Virtual PC 2007.
In this scenario, the VMBus Integration Services device does not load. When you open Device Manager on the virtual machine, a yellow triangle that has an exclamation point on it appears next to VMBus. When you double-click VMBus, the VMBus Properties dialog box displays one of the following messages:
This device cannot find enough free resources that it can use. (Code 12).
This device cannot start. (Code 10).
Back to the top

CAUSE

This issue occurs because the hardware abstraction layer (HAL) is not automatically updated in Windows Server 2008. (This is also true in Windows Vista.)

When a virtual machine is created by using Virtual Server or Virtual PC, the Advanced Configuration and Power Interface (ACPI) HAL is used. The Integration Services require an Advanced Programmable Interrupt Controller (APIC) HAL to load the VMBus device correctly.
Back to the top

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, follow these steps:
  1. Start the virtual machine.
  2. Click Start, click Run, type Msconfig.exe, and then click OK.
  3. In the System Configuration dialog box, click the Boot tab, and then click Advanced Options.
  4. In the BOOT Advanced Options dialog box, click to select the Detect HAL check box, and then click OK.
  5. Click Yes to restart the virtual machine.
  6. After the virtual machine is restarted, open Device Manager, and then verify that all Integration Services devices are installed.
  7. In Device Manager, expand Computer, and then verify that an APIC-based PC HAL is listed. For x86 virtual machines, this item will be listed as APIC x86-based PC. For x64 virtual machines, this item will be listed as APIC x64-based PC.
Note You can clear the Detect HAL check box that you selected in step 4. If the Detect HAL check box is selected, the virtual machine takes a slightly longer time to start.
Back to the top

MORE INFORMATION

For more information about Hyper-V technology, visit the following Microsoft Web site:
http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/c513e254-adf1-400e-8fcb-c1aec8a029311033.mspx?mfr=true (http://technet2.microsoft.com/windowsserver2008/en/library/c513e254-adf1-400e-8fcb-c1aec8a029311033.mspx?mfr=true)
Back to the top
APPLIES TO
  • Windows Server 2008 Enterprise
  • Windows Server 2008 Standard
  • Windows Server 2008 Datacenter
  • Windows Server 2008 for Itanium-Based Systems
  • Windows Vista Business
  • Windows Vista Enterprise
  • Windows Vista Home Basic
  • Windows Vista Home Basic Beta
  • Windows Vista Home Basic N
  • Windows Vista Home Premium
  • Windows Vista Service Pack 1
  • Windows Vista Starter
  • Windows Vista Ultimate
Back to the top
Keywords: 
kbexpertiseadvanced kbtshoot kbprb KB954282
Back to the top