How to Determine the Cause of NTFS Errors on VHDX Disks

How to Determine the Cause of NTFS File System Problems on a VHDX Virtual Disk

The main causes of NTFS errors on VHDX disks are damage to the virtual disk itself, problems with the host storage system, conflicts in the Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) operation, or incorrect hypervisor operation. For diagnosis, it is necessary to check the integrity of VHDX files, event logs in guest systems, and the operation of Hyper-V components, especially the virtual disk management service and restore points.

Contents

• Main Causes of NTFS Errors on VHDX
• Diagnostics of VHDX Disk Problems
• Tools for Checking and Repair
• Checking Host System and Hyper-V
• Preventive Measures
• Step-by-Step Problem Resolution Plan

Main Causes of NTFS Errors on VHDX

Problems with the NTFS file system on VHDX virtual disks can occur for several main reasons:

VHDX file damage itself
A VHDX virtual disk can be damaged due to power failures, RAID controller errors, or storage problems. Even if the host system doesn’t show errors, the VHDX file itself may have structural corruption.

Compression issues
As noted in one source, the VHDX file must be uncompressed. Attempting to compress files inside VHDX doesn’t solve the problem, but the VHDX container itself should remain uncompressed.

VSS service conflicts
Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) can cause problems, especially when creating Hyper-V checkpoints. Incorrect VSS operation leads to NTFS Event ID 55 errors.

VHDX chain issues
When using differential disks or multiple checkpoints, a situation can occur where parent nodes of the current disk image are deleted, causing the disk chain to fail to load.

Diagnostics of VHDX Disk Problems

To determine the exact cause of the problems, it is necessary to conduct systematic diagnostics:

Checking VHDX file integrity

Use PowerShell to check the status of virtual disks:

Test-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\VM1\Virtual Hard Disks\VM1.vhdx"
Test-VHD -Path "C:\VMs\VM2\Virtual Hard Disks\VM2.vhdx"

If the command returns False, this indicates VHDX file damage.

Event log analysis

Pay special attention to events with Event ID 55 in guest systems. The message “The file system structure on the disk is corrupt and unusable” requires immediate attention.

Checking the file system inside VHDX

To check NTFS inside a virtual disk, you need to:

1. Mount the VHDX file on the host system
2. Run CHKDSK in read-only mode
3. If necessary, execute CHKDSK /F /R

Important: As noted in sources, the only tool capable of resolving file system damage is CHKDSK.

Tools for Checking and Repair

Standard Windows Tools

CHKDSK
The main tool for NTFS recovery:

# Read-only mode
chkdsk C: /r

# With error correction (requires reboot)
chkdsk C: /f /r

PowerShell for VHDX management

# Getting disk information
Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "VM1"

# Checking disk integrity
Get-VMHardDiskDrive -VMName "VM1" | Test-VHD

Specialized Tools

DiskInternals VHDX Repair
A specialized tool for recovering damaged VHDX files with support for NTFS, FAT, exFAT, and other file systems.

Windows Server Recovery
For critically damaged cases, you can use:

# Recovery from checkpoints
Get-VMSnapshot -VMName "VM1" | Restore-VMSnapshot

Checking Host System and Hyper-V

Hyper-V Storage Configuration

1. Check VHDX file locations
   Ensure that VHDX files are placed on optimized storage, not on network drives with high latency.

2. Check virtual disk management service
   Errors with code Error Code: 2424869 indicate problems with this service.

3. Check Hyper-V Storage component operation

   powershell

   # Check service status
   Get-Service -Name "vmms"
   Get-Service -Name "msiserver"
   

Checking iSCSI Integration

If iSCSI storage is used, connection problems can cause damage. Temporarily disable iSCSI connections and check disk status.

Preventive Measures

Hyper-V Configuration Optimization

1. Use dynamically expanding VHDX
   Instead of fixed sizes to save space.

2. Regular checkpoint creation
   Before performing important operations in guest systems.

3. Storage health monitoring
   Use Windows Server Monitoring to track disk status.

Backup Configuration

1. Use specialized tools
   Hyper-V-aware backup solutions for proper backup creation.

2. Regular integrity checks
   Weekly execution of Test-VHD for all virtual disks.

Step-by-Step Problem Resolution Plan

Step 1: Problem Identification

1. Collect all information about Event ID 55 errors from guest systems
2. Execute Test-VHD for all VHDX files
3. Check Hyper-V event logs on the host system

Step 2: Diagnosis

1. Mount damaged VHDX files on the host system
2. Run CHKDSK /R in read-only mode
3. Check RAID array and host file system integrity

Step 3: Recovery

1. If VHDX is damaged - use DiskInternals VHDX Repair
2. If the problem is with NTFS - execute CHKDSK /F /R with reboot
3. If the problem is with the VHDX chain - restore from the last checkpoint

Step 4: Prevention

1. Set up regular VHDX file monitoring
2. Optimize Hyper-V and storage configuration
3. Update Hyper-V components to the latest version

Sources

1. ServerFault - Hyper-V how to connect compressed NTFS storage or convert it
2. DiskInternals - VHDX Repair: Comprehensive Guide to Fix Corrupt or Unreadable VHDX Files
3. Spiceworks - Hyper-V Guest Reporting NTFS Errors
4. Microsoft Learn - Troubleshoot Hyper-V Virtual Machine Backup, Checkpoint, and Storage Failures
5. Reddit - VM fails to start - Virtual Hard Disk Errors
6. Experts Exchange - NTFS Event ID: 55 - File Corruption on Hyper-V
7. Partition Wizard - Event ID 55, 50, 98, 140 Disk Errors in Event Viewer
8. The Windows Club - Fix Event ID 55, 50, 98, 140 Disk Errors in Event Viewer
9. AskWoody - Error ID 55
10. Microsoft Learn - Error when you manage a VHD file

Conclusion

To solve NTFS problems on VHDX disks in a Hyper-V environment, it is necessary to sequentially go through the stages of diagnosis and recovery. The main directions for finding a solution are checking VHDX file integrity, analyzing Event ID 55 event logs, using CHKDSK to recover the file system, and specialized tools to recover damaged virtual disks. Preventive measures, including regular monitoring and Hyper-V configuration optimization, will help avoid similar problems in the future.