Can't get Windows Server instance to boot after doing disk cleanup within Fusion 11.5.7

[mrbugs]

I have a Fusion. 11.57  Windows Server 2016 instance.  In the Virtual Machine Library window it states that a disk cleanup is needed with an orange line indicating 240G of space to be reclaimed.  The instance runs fine but its bloated with the 240G wasted space.

I did a disk cleanup in windows server and also ran chkdsk and defragmented the drive.  Everything checked out fine.

However, when I tell Fusion to cleanup the disk within the virtual machine library, the instance cleans the disk but will not boot and I get the Windows blue screen stating the volume cannot boot.

I've tried everything.  Can someone please help me with this?  I've tried building a custom VM and copying the disk to the new VM but getting the same result.  So net is, when I tell Fusion to cleanup the disk via the recommendation .... it no longer will boot into Windows 2016.

Thanks so much - Bugs

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Don Bugansky
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[Technogeezer]

Do you have a backup copy of this VM? If so, have you tried restoring from it? If not, I'd suggest making a copy of the VM (with Fusion GUI shut down) before doing anything further.

What's the error code in the BSOD? That might give us an idea why Windows won't boot.

Have you tried using Windows Recovery (booted from a Windows Server 2016 installation media) in order to check the disk from there and potentially repair your Windows installation? 

What macOS version are you using that's keeping you on Fusion 11? Fusion 11 is a relatively old release and out of support for almost 5 years now.

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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[Technogeezer]

Another question: does this virtual disk have snapshots?

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- Paul (technogeezer)
vExpert 2025
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