VM Boot Stuck with "Booting from Hard Disk" Console Message

Problem

VM Boot Stuck with "Booting from Hard Disk" Console Message with VM status ACTIVE on the console.

Environment

• Private Cloud Director Virtualization - v2025.4 and Higher
• Self-Hosted Private Cloud Director Virtualization - v2025.4 and Higher

Cause

The VM Image is built to set boot in UEFI mode, not legacy BIOS which is default.

Diagnostics

1. Check VM is running and VM Status shows active on the PCD GUI.
2. SSH to Underlying host and run below commands

   Host

   $ sudo qemu-nbd --connect=/dev/nbd0 <IMAGE_NAME>.qcow2

If above command fails with error "qemu-nbd: Failed to open /dev/nbd0: No such file or directory". Use below steps to fix

# modprobe nbd max_part=8

1. Connect to the QCOW2 image.

   $ sudo qemu-nbd --connect=/dev/nbd0 <IMAGE_NAME>.qcow2

2. Check if any disk has type "EFI" which means qcow2 image is set to boot in UEFI mode.

   $ sudo fdisk -l /dev/nbd0

3. Disconnect the NBD tool

   $ sudo qemu-nbd --disconnect /dev/nbd0

Resolution

Info

These steps are applicable only when you see Step 3 from Diagnostics section show any disk with type "EFI"

1. Using PCD GUI edit the image properties ((VM --> Images -->Select Image --> Edit properties) and add below values.

   hw_firmware_type=uefi 
   hw_machine_type=q35

2. Rebuild the VM using latest image properties.

Validation

1. Check if VM boot successfully.
2. If these steps prove insufficient to resolve the issue, reach out to the Platform9 Support Team for additional assistance.