Window 11 failed to start in Hyper-V after I deleted the ~.iso install file

whale11 · Dec 9, 2023

I have been running Windows 11 inHyper-V (under Windows 10) for some months. Last week it refused to load stating that is could not find the original ~.iso file I used to install Windows 11. I had deleted the file. I found another copy on the ~.iso file and restored it to the original location. Windows 11 virtual machine then loaded successfully.

Why does Windows need the original install ~.iso to load once it's installed?

cereberus · Dec 9, 2023

whale11 said:
I have been running Windows 11 inHyper-V (under Windows 10) for some months. Last week it refused to load stating that is could not find the original ~.iso file I used to install Windows 11. I had deleted the file. I found another copy on the ~.iso file and restored it to the original location. Windows 11 virtual machine then loaded successfully.

Why does Windows need the original install ~.iso to load once it's installed?

Answer is really simple - just remove the dvd from settings.

What you have done by not deleting it is equivalent to leaving a dvd drive with a dvd disk in.

cereberus · Dec 9, 2023

OAT said:
It would not be required if you used Win 11 natively as a host OS.
But since you are running Win 10, many things need to be installed in order for the guest to run.
Rather than using more space, it re-creates on the fly a working OS by picking the pieces it needs from the .iso file.
When you shut down the VM, it flushes RAM and storage.

I'm sorry this is not true at all.
It is not like a live linux OS at all.
Hyper-v boots from an iso, like it would from a dvd or usb drive, and installs PERMANENTLY in a virtual hard drive in exactly the same was as installing on a host drive.