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Cannot connect remotely to a Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 VM in Azure because of netvsc.sys

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This article explains how to troubleshoot an issue in which there is no network connection when you connect to a Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 Datacenter virtual machine (VM) on a Hyper-V Server 2016 host.

Symptoms

You cannot connect to an Azure Windows 10 or Windows Server 2016 VM by using Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP). In Boot diagnostics, the screen shows a red cross over the network interface card (NIC). This indicates that the VM has no connectivity after the operating system is fully loaded.

Typically, this issue occurs in Windows build 14393 and build 15063. If the version of your operating system is later than these versions, this article does not apply to your scenario. To check the version of the system, open a CMD session in the Serial Access Console feature, and then run Ver.

Cause

This issue might occur if the version of the installed netvsc.sys system file is 10.0.14393.594 or 10.0.15063.0. These versions of netvsc.sys might prevent the system from interacting with the Azure platform.

Solution

Before you follow these steps, take a snapshot of the system disk of the affected VM as a backup. To troubleshoot this issue, use the Serial Console or repair the VM offline by attaching the system disk of the VM to a recovery VM.

Use the Serial Console

Connect to the Serial Console, open a PowerShell instance, and then follow these steps.

Note

If the Serial Console is not enabled on your VM, go to the repair the VM offline section.

  1. Run the following command in a PowerShell instance to get the version of the file (c:\windows\system32\drivers\netvsc.sys):

    (get-childitem "$env:systemroot\system32\drivers\netvsc.sys").VersionInfo.FileVersion

  2. Download the appropriate update to a new or existing data disk that is attached to a working VM from the same region:

  3. Detach the utility disk from the working VM, and then attach it to the broken VM.

  4. Run the following command to install the update on the VM:

    dism /ONLINE /add-package /packagepath:<Utility Disk Letter>:\<KB .msu or .cab>

  5. Restart the VM.

Repair the VM Offline

  1. Attach the system disk to a recovery VM.

  2. Start a Remote Desktop connection to the recovery VM.

  3. Make sure that the disk is flagged as Online in the Disk Management console. Note the drive letter that is assigned to the attached system disk.

  4. Create a copy of the \Windows\System32\config folder in case a rollback on the changes is necessary.

  5. On the rescue VM, start Registry Editor (regedit.exe).

  6. Select the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key, and then select File > Load Hive from the menu.

  7. Locate the SYSTEM file in the \Windows\System32\config folder.

  8. Select Open, type BROKENSYSTEM for the name, expand the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE key, and then locate the additional key that is named BROKENSYSTEM.

  9. Go to the following location:

    HKLM\BROKENSYSTEM\ControlSet001\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

  10. In each subkey (such as 0000), examine the DriverDesc value that is displayed as Microsoft HYPER-V Network Adapter.

  11. In the subkey, examine the DriverVersion value that is the driver version of the network adapter of the VM.

  12. Download the appropriate update:

  13. Attach the system disk as a data disk on a rescue VM on which you can download the update.

  14. Run the following command to install the update on the VM:

    dism /image:<OS Disk letter>:\ /add-package /packagepath:c:\temp\<KB .msu or .cab>

  15. Run the following command to unmount the hives:

    reg unload HKLM\BROKENSYSTEM

  16. Detach the system disk, and create the VM again.

Contact us for help

If you have questions or need help, create a support request, or ask Azure community support. You can also submit product feedback to Azure feedback community.