Upgrading VMware Tools on VDI virtual machines used with Citrix can cause a BSOD.

Products

• VMware vSphere ESXi

Issue/Introduction

Symptoms:

• BSOD occurs after upgrading VMware Tools and restarting Windows on a Citrix VDI virtual machine.
• Subsequent restart of Windows also result in a BSOD.
• Before the BSOD, on the console screen, the message like "Citrix Provisioning [version number]" "Attempting to set ip address on boot NIC" is displayed.
• After waiting for a few tens of seconds, the guest OS encounters a BSOD with Stop Code 0x7E (SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED) caused by CVhdMp.sys.

Environment

VMware vSphere ESXi

Cause

According to the following article published by Citrix, it is necessary to create a 'reverse image' when upgrading hypervisor-related tools. Directly upgrading VMware Tools in a Citrix VDI environment might not be an intended or supported scenario by Citrix.

(External link) Best Practices for Upgrading a Hypervisor Tools Version in a Citrix Provisioning Environment

Resolution

Consult with Citrix for the best practices regarding VMware Tools upgrades in Citrix environment.

Additional Information

The following article addresses a similar BSOD issue: PVS target BSOD on CVhdMp.sys