Hey guys, my vmware recently installed a windows update, and will no longer boot up.
Upon startup, I'm immediately getting a bsod with an error 'critical process died'.
I entered the Windows recovery screen and have tried the following;
-Restore point - none present
-Uninstall windows updates - neither worked
-Startup repair - won't boot into safe mode, and automatic repair does nothing
-Enter cmd and run sfc /scannow - locked out and/or access denied
bootrec /fixmbr - didn't help
tried the discm /online command to repair the disc image - /online not recognized
Also, I don't have any snapshots for the machine, as I had trouble with those earlier on with a separate issue.
I then proceeded to create a windows 10 boot disk using my USB flash drive, and I can't for the life of me, get VMware to recognize and boot it.
I tried using the Windows creation media tool and Rufus, but neither work. I confirmed removable media was the top selection in the bios boot menu, but the system continued to 'diagnose pc' and 'automatic repair'. The USB drive would not boot.
I confirmed the USB drive was connected to the guest, and not the host. Although, this does need to be changed each time the VM is shut down and started up again.
I tried changing the firmware type between UEFI and BIOS to get the flash drive to boot - nothing worked.
How can I get VMware to boot from my usb flash drive so I can run a windows repair?