Installing Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2 fails with: Error Code: 0x000000C4

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• You are unable to install Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2.
• When you attempt to boot from a Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2, the install fails with the error.
  
  Your PC needs to restart.
  Please hold down the power button.
  Error Code: 0x000000C4
  Parameters:
  0x0000000000000091
  0x000000000000000F
  0xFFFFF80078363A80
  0x0000000000000000

Notes: You have to ensure that:

• You have selected the correct guest operating system within the virtual machine settings.
• Microsoft Windows 8 and Server 2012 installs without any issues.
• The virtual machine is within a cluster with EVC enabled.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi 5.5
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.0
VMware vSphere ESXi 5.1

Cause

This issue can occur when:

• The ESXi host in which the virtual machine running is a member of an EVC cluster with an older generation baseline that is not supported by Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2.
• The EVC mode enabled on a cluster masks out CPU features required for the installation of Microsoft Windows 8.1 and Server 2012 R2.

For more information, see the Microsoft Windows 8.1 System Requirements.

Note: The preceding link was correct as of October 30, 2014. If you find the link is broken, please provide feedback and a VMware employee will update the link.

Resolution

To resolve this issue, increase the EVC level of your cluster.

For more information, see EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ (1005764).

Additional Information

This example illustrates on increasing EVC level of your cluster:

If your EVC cluster is set to the AMD Opteron Generation 1 baseline, Microsoft Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2 does not install as this baseline masks the CMPXCHG16B instruction set required by the operating system. Changing the EVC cluster to the AMD Opteron Generation 3 baseline unmasks this instruction set allowing the install to complete successfully.

EVC and CPU Compatibility FAQ
Microsoft Windows 8.1 または Server 2012 R2 のインストールが次のエラーで失敗する：エラー コード: 0x000000C4
安装 Microsoft Windows 8.1 或 Server 2012 R2 失败并显示以下错误：错误代码: 0x000000C4 (Error Code: 0x000000C4)