Hyper-V integration components update for Windows virtual machines

This article describes an update for the latest integrated components for Windows virtual machines (VMs) that are running on a Windows 10-based or Windows Server 2016-based host, or a Windows Server 2012 R2-based host. This update is available on Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, and Windows Server 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 (SP1)-based Hyper-V guest. Before you install this update, check out the Prerequisites section.

Issues fixed in this update

Consider the following scenario:

You connect a VM to a virtual switch that uses a physical adapter.

You enable the single-root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) option in Virtual Switch Manager.

You disable the physical adapter on the Hyper-V guest while network I/O is running on the VM.

In this scenario, the VM crashes.

The current Write Ahead Logging (WAL) implementation incorrectly assumes that the Virtual Hard Disk (VHD) ownership never changes. However, the ownership does change in multiple VM group replication in a shared VHD scenario.

How to get this update

You can get this update through Windows Update and the Microsoft Download Center. Even though this issue has only been observed in Windows Server 2012 R2, Windows Server 2012, or Windows Server 2008 R2 SP1, the update also applies to Windows 8.1 and Windows 7 SP1.

Important If you install a language pack after you install this update, you must reinstall this update. Therefore, we recommend that you install any language packs that you need before you install this update. For more information, see Add language packs to Windows.

Method 1: Windows Update

This update is provided as a Recommended update on Windows Update. For more information on how to run Windows Update, see How to get an update through Windows Update.

Method 2: Microsoft Download Center

The following files are available for download from the Microsoft Download Center.

All supported x86-based versions of Windows 8.1

Download the package now.

All supported x64-based versions of Windows 8.1

Download the package now.

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2012 R2

Download the package now.

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2012

Download the package now.

All supported x86-based versions of Windows 7

Download the package now.

All supported x64-based versions of Windows 7

Download the package now.

All supported x64-based versions of Windows Server 2008 R2

Download the package now.

Note This download is not self-installing. Please see Managing Hyper-V Integration Services for guidance on how to manage and install integrated components. To start the download, click the Download button.

For more information about how to download Microsoft support files, click the following article number to view the article in the Microsoft Knowledge Base:

119591 How to obtain Microsoft support files from online services Microsoft scanned this file for viruses. Microsoft used the most current virus-detection software that was available on the date that the file was posted. The file is stored on security-enhanced servers that help prevent any unauthorized changes to the file.

Update detail information

Prerequisites

Registry information

To use the update in this package, you don’t have to make any changes to the registry.

Restart requirement

You may have to restart the computer after you apply this update.

Update replacement information

This update doesn’t replace a previously released update.

Status

Microsoft has confirmed that this is a problem in the Microsoft products that are listed in the «Applies to» section.

References

See the terminology that Microsoft uses to describe software updates.

Upgrade virtual machine version in Hyper-V on Windows 10 or Windows Server

Applies To: Windows 10, Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, Windows Server (Semi-Annual Channel)

Make the latest Hyper-V features available on your virtual machines by upgrading the configuration version. Don’t do this until:

• You upgrade your Hyper-V hosts to the latest version of Windows or Windows Server.
• You upgrade the cluster functional level.
• You’re sure that you won’t need to move the virtual machine back to a Hyper-V host that runs a previous version of Windows or Windows Server.

Step 1: Check the virtual machine configuration versions

1. On the Windows desktop, click the Start button and type any part of the name Windows PowerShell.
2. Right-click Windows PowerShell and select Run as Administrator.
3. Use the Get-VMcmdlet. Run the following command to get the versions of your virtual machines.

You can also see the configuration version in Hyper-V Manager by selecting the virtual machine and looking at the Summary tab.

Step 2: Upgrade the virtual machine configuration version

1. Shut down the virtual machine in Hyper-V Manager.
2. Select Action > Upgrade Configuration Version. If this option isn’t available for the virtual machine, then it’s already at the highest configuration version supported by the Hyper-V host.

To upgrade the virtual machine configuration version by using Windows PowerShell, use the Update-VMVersion cmdlet. Run the following command where vmname is the name of the virtual machine.

Supported virtual machine configuration versions

Run the PowerShell cmdlet Get-VMHostSupportedVersion to see what virtual machine configuration versions your Hyper-V Host supports. When you create a virtual machine, it’s created with the default configuration version. To see what the default is, run the following command.

If you need to create a virtual machine that you can move to a Hyper-V Host that runs an older version of Windows, use the New-VM cmdlet with the -version parameter. For example, to create a virtual machine that you can move to a Hyper-V host that runs Windows Server 2012 R2 , run the following command. This command will create a virtual machine named «WindowsCV5» with a configuration version 5.0.

You can import virtual machines that have been created for a Hyper-V host running an older version of Windows or restore them from backup. If the VM’s configuration version is not listed as supported for your Hyper-V host OS in the table below, you have to update the VM configuration version before you can start the VM.

Supported VM configuration versions for long-term servicing hosts

The following table lists the VM configuration versions that are supported on hosts running a long-term servicing version of Windows.

Hyper-V host Windows version	9.1	9.0	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.0	7.1	7.0	6.2	5.0
Windows Server 2019	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Enterprise LTSC 2019	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows Server 2016	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Enterprise 2016 LTSB	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Enterprise 2015 LTSB	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”
Windows Server 2012 R2	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”
Windows 8.1	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”

Supported VM configuration versions for semi-annual channel hosts

The following table lists the VM configuration versions for hosts running a currently supported semi-annual channel version of Windows. To get more information on semi-annual channel versions of Windows, visit the following pages for Windows Server and Windows 10

Hyper-V host Windows version	9.1	9.0	8.3	8.2	8.1	8.0	7.1	7.0	6.2	5.0
Windows 10 May 2019 Update (version 1903)	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows Server, version 1903	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows Server, version 1809	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 October 2018 Update (version 1809)	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows Server, version 1803	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 April 2018 Update (version 1803)	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Fall Creators Update (version 1709)	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Creators Update (version 1703)	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”
Windows 10 Anniversary Update (version 1607)	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ–	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”	вњ”

Why should I upgrade the virtual machine configuration version?

When you move or import a virtual machine to a computer that runs Hyper-V on Windows Server 2019, Windows Server 2016, or Windows 10, the virtual machine»s configuration isn’t automatically updated. This means that you can move the virtual machine back to a Hyper-V host that runs a previous version of Windows or Windows Server. But, this also means that you can’t use some of the new virtual machine features until you manually update the configuration version. You can’t downgrade the virtual machine configuration version after you’ve upgraded it.

The virtual machine configuration version represents the compatibility of the virtual machine’s configuration, saved state, and snapshot files with the version of Hyper-V. When you update the configuration version, you change the file structure that is used to store the virtual machines configuration and the checkpoint files. You also update the configuration version to the latest version supported by that Hyper-V host. Upgraded virtual machines use a new configuration file format, which is designed to increase the efficiency of reading and writing virtual machine configuration data. The upgrade also reduces the potential for data corruption in the event of a storage failure.

The following table lists descriptions, file name extensions, and default locations for each type of file that’s used for new or upgraded virtual machines.

Virtual machine file types	Description
Configuration	Virtual machine configuration information that is stored in binary file format. File name extension: .vmcx Default location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines
Runtime state	Virtual machine runtime state information that is stored in binary file format. File name extension: .vmrs and .vmgs Default location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Machines
Virtual hard disk	Stores virtual hard disks for the virtual machine. File name extension: .vhd or .vhdx Default location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks
Automatic virtual hard disk	Differencing disk files used for virtual machine checkpoints. File name extension: .avhdx Default location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Hyper-V\Virtual Hard Disks
Checkpoint	Checkpoints are stored in multiple checkpoint files. Each checkpoint creates a configuration file and runtime state file. File name extensions: .vmrs and .vmcx Default location: C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Snapshots

What happens if I don’t upgrade the virtual machine configuration version?

If you have virtual machines that you created with an earlier version of Hyper-V, some features that are available on the newer host OS may not work with those virtual machines until you update the configuration version.

As a general guidance, we recommend updating the configuration version once you have successfully upgraded the virtualization hosts to a newer version of Windows and feel confident that you do not need to roll back. When you are using the cluster OS rolling upgrade feature, this would typically be after updating the cluster functional level. This way, you will benefit from new features and internal changes and optimizations as well.

Once the VM configuration version is updated, the VM won’t be able to start on hosts that do not support the updated configuration version.

The following table shows the minimum virtual machine configuration version required to use some Hyper-V features.

Feature	Minimum VM configuration version
Hot Add/Remove Memory	6.2
Secure Boot for Linux VMs	6.2
Production Checkpoints	6.2
PowerShell Direct	6.2
Virtual Machine Grouping	6.2
Virtual Trusted Platform Module (vTPM)	7.0
Virtual machine multi queues (VMMQ)	7.1
XSAVE support	8.0
Key storage drive	8.0
Guest virtualization-based security support (VBS)	8.0
Nested virtualization	8.0
Virtual processor count	8.0
Large memory VMs	8.0
Increase the default maximum number for virtual devices to 64 per device (e.g. networking and assigned devices)	8.3
Allow additional processor features for Perfmon	9.0
Automatically expose simultaneous multithreading configuration for VMs running on hosts using the Core Scheduler	9.0
Hibernation support	9.0

For more information about these features, see What’s new in Hyper-V on Windows Server.