Windows 10 "Automatic Repair" loop after power outage on critical VM

[pooterpant]

Hi. I'm stuck in an "Automatic Repair" loop when trying to boot up my Windows 10 VM after a shutdown caused by a power outage (I have a UPS, so the shutdown should have been graceful).

 

Nonetheless, the result was a bunch of issues with my Docker containers and VMs not appearing/starting properly. This COULD(?) have been related to loose cache drive cables (as I read somewhere), which I tightened up. I replaced the original dead CMOS battery on the motherboard with a new one. I remade my Docker containers (still have much configuration to do there, sigh), but my WIndows 10 VM (arguably the most crucial thing on Unraid, runs Blue Iris for my security cameras in a somewhat sketchy area) will not start. It represents a lot of meticulous configuration and rescuing the installation is ideal. Rescuing the files is necessary at bare minimum.

 

Things I have tried are as follows:
- Safe Mode (safe mode of any kind does not work)

- Updating Unraid (1.8.6 (i think) to 1.9.2)

- Updating virtio drivers Unraid is using from 0.1.160 to 0.1.190

- Running `drvload viostor.inf` from inside the command prompt enabled by the Automatic Repair tool

    - NOTE: The drive and files appear normally when `dir`ing around in the command prompt here

- Spinning up a separate Win10 VM and mounting the disk as a secondary disk. The disk is visible in "My Computer" but is not accessible (access denied) and is not accessible through the Disk Management utility or whatever it's called (access denied, and an inability to give myself access on it).

 

Two diagnostic bundles are attached. I believe that the older one might be pre-update but I'm not sure.

 

Thanks for your time.

 

EDIT: Oh my god, I may have solved it. In case I have, writing the steps here. Note that it's from memory, everything with an asterisk(*) may be inexact or mistitled

- Booted up normally (Automatic Repair)

- Somewhere in the Advanced Settings (I think), clicked Use Device/CD* and selected the UEFI CD/DVD* (essentially the Windows installation CD windows attaches)

- Proceeded with an install as usual, but was confronted with no hard drives to select. Odd. Clicked the disk to load a driver, loaded the /w10/ folder driver from the listed options.

- Back out to the initial CD install splash screen and select "repair installation". Kicked back out to the Automatic Repair screen.

- Click "repair startup" and....

- All of a sudden, for the first time this entire time, a "Windows 10" installation that is now repairing disk errors. I could cry.

 

Edited April 29, 2021 by pooterpant
problem changed