Proxmox VE

Boot Problems Troubleshooting Guide

3 min read

Boot Problems Troubleshooting Guide

Overview

Comprehensive troubleshooting guide for VM boot problems. Learn to identify and fix boot failures quickly.

Common Boot Errors

Error: No Bootable Device

Symptoms:

  • Black screen with “No bootable device”
  • VM stops at BIOS/firmware screen

Solutions:

# 1. Check boot order
qm config 100 | grep boot
 
# 2. Verify disk exists
qm config 100 | grep -E "scsi|sata|ide"
 
# 3. Set boot order
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0

Error: Boot Disk Not Found

Symptoms:

  • “Boot disk not found”
  • BIOS reports no bootable media

Solutions:

# 1. Check storage
pvesm status
 
# 2. Verify disk is attached
qm config 100 | grep scsi0
 
# 3. Check disk content
pvesm list local | grep 100
 
# 4. Recreate disk if needed
qm set 100 --scsi0 local:32

Error: PXE Boot Failed

Symptoms:

  • Network boot attempts but fails

Solutions:

# 1. Check network
qm config 100 | grep net0
 
# 2. Verify DHCP
# Check DHCP server is running
 
# 3. Configure PXE
# Set boot order: net0
qm set 100 --boot order=net0

Error: Boot Loop

Symptoms:

  • VM constantly reboots
  • Never reaches OS

Solutions:

# 1. Check boot logs
qm console 100
 
# 2. Remove bootable media
qm set 100 --ide2 none
 
# 3. Verify disk is bootable

Boot Order Issues

Wrong Boot Device First

# Check current order
qm config 100 | grep boot
 
# Set correct order
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0;ide2
 
# Verify
qm config 100 | grep boot

DVD Boot Without ISO

# Remove empty DVD
qm set 100 --ide2 none
 
# Set boot to disk
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0

Storage Boot Issues

Storage Not Ready

# Check storage status
pvesm status
 
# Check mount
mount | grep /var/lib/vz
 
# Restart storage
systemctl restart pve-storage

Slow Storage

# Add boot delay
qm set 100 --startup-delay 10

Network Boot Issues

DHCP Not Responding

# Check DHCP service
systemctl status isc-dhcp-server
 
# Check network
qm config 100 | grep net0
 
# Verify switch port

TFTP Server Down

# Check TFTP
systemctl status tftp-hpa
 
# Start TFTP
systemctl start tftp-hpa

Emergency Boot Recovery

Boot to Recovery ISO

# 1. Upload recovery ISO
# 2. Attach ISO
qm set 100 --ide2 local:iso/rescuecd.iso,media=cdrom
 
# 3. Set boot
qm set 100 --boot order=ide2;scsi0
 
# 4. Start VM
qm start 100

Fix Partition Table

# 1. Boot to Linux rescue
# 2. Run fsck
fsck /dev/sda1
 
# 3. Fix GPT
gdisk /dev/sda

Boot Recovery Commands

Common Fixes

# Reset boot configuration
qm set 100 --boot order=scsi0
 
# Reset EFI
qm set 100 --efidisk0 local:1G,efitype=4g
 
# Reset BIOS
qm set 100 --bios seabios

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