Virtual Machine: Unable to Start or Stop — Operation Failed

Question

Virtual Machine: Unable to Start or Stop — Operation Failed

CarlosVillagomez-2158 0

Problem description

I am experiencing an issue where my virtual machine running Windows cannot start or stop. The start or stop operation fails, and I am seeking assistance to resolve this problem.

Environment

Azure Virtual Machine running Windows, region not specified in the case information

What I've already tried

I have not tried anything yet.

Current status

I am seeking guidance on how to troubleshoot and resolve the issue preventing my VM from starting or stopping.

0 comments

1 answer

Your answer

Answer 1

Hello @CarlosVillagomez-2158

A Start/Stop failure can happen when the VM is left in a Failed provisioning state after an unsuccessful operation, although the exact cause can't be determined without the Activity Log error. Azure distinguishes the VM's provisioning state from its power state, so check both.

First, go to VM → Activity log and open the failed Start/Stop operation. Note the error code, error message, timestamp, and correlation ID. Also check Resource health for any Azure-side event affecting the VM.

If the VM shows the Provisioning state: Failed, Microsoft recommends trying Reapply:

VM → Support + troubleshooting → Redeploy + reapply → Reapply

Or using Azure CLI:

az vm reapply -g <ResourceGroupName> -n <VMName>

Reapply resubmits the VM's state/configuration to Azure and is Microsoft's documented resolution for a VM stuck in a Failed state.

If Reapply completes successfully, retry the Start/Stop operation.

If the VM remains in a failed state, the next option is Redeploy, which moves the VM to another Azure host:

az vm redeploy -g <ResourceGroupName> -n <VMName>

Be aware that redeployment causes data loss on the temporary/ephemeral disk, and dynamic IP addresses associated with the VM's network interface can change.

If possible, please post the exact Activity Log error/code from the failed operation, with subscription IDs or other sensitive information removed. That will help determine whether you're dealing with provisioning, compute allocation, networking, an extension failure, or another platform issue.

Sharing these references with you:

Microsoft — VM stuck in a failed state

Microsoft — Troubleshoot VM restart/operation errors

Microsoft — Redeploy a Windows VM to a new Azure node

Please "Accept the Answer" if this information helped you. This will help us and others in the community.