How to Fix Error: VMware the Computer Restarted Unexpectedly

Error: VMware the computer restarted unexpectedly

Some users reported that they received the error “The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error. Windows installation cannot proceed” when upgrading the current Windows operating system versions (sch as upgrading to Windows 11) or or using a recovery disk to restore Windows to its factory settings. When you click "OK", the computer restarts and the error window appears again. It’s a endless restart loop. In this case, what is the reason of Windows the computer restarted unexpectedly?

This may be due to previous changes that have corrupted the Image. This article will provide guidelines for how to fix the error of VMware the computer restarted unexpectedly.

Fix: VMware the computer restarted unexpectedly error

If the “computer restarted unexpectedly” error occurs, neither the click on the OK button nor the restart of the Windows installation wizard helps. The error window appears again and again...

To solve this issue, please continue to read the following part.

1. Press Shift + F10 to open Command Prompt window when the error windows appears. If you are using a laptop, please use a keyboard shortcut Shift +Fn+F10, or disable the System Configuration >> Action Keys Mode = Disabled n in the BIOS settings.

Tips: If you cannot use this combination, you can access Advanced Startup options.

2. In Command Prompt, type regedit and press Enter. This will open Registry Editor.

3. In the Registry Editor, follow the path:

“HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE/SYSTEM/Setup/Status/ChildCompletion”.

 Then right-click setup.exe and select Modify.

4. Change the value 1 into 3, and save it.

5. Click OK to close the Registry Editor and restart your computer. Check if you still receive the "The computer restarted unexpectedly or encountered an unexpected error" error while trying to update, upgrade, or recover your Windows operating system.

If you get this error message, you can refer to these steps to solve the problem. But for better protection of your virtual machine, it is recommended that you make a secure virtual machine backup. When you can't restart your VM after upgrading it, you can restore it to the previous status directly, which safeguards your data and keeps the business continuity.

Agentless and free backup solution for virtual machine

The professional and agent-less backup solutions usually provides better support for VMware virtual machines.  Here I will introduce a free VMware backup software - AOMEI Cyber Backup as an example.

It supports VMware ESXi & Hyper-V, and enables you to create image backups of multiple VMs at once. Besides the basic data protection, you can also develop a flexible backup strategy and automate execution, enable email notifications to save the labor and reduce administration costs.

Enjoy more benefits from this free VMware image backup software:

Support Free ESXi: support both paid and free versions of VMware ESXi.
Easy-to-use: Backup and restore multiple virtual machines via central console without complicated configuration and reinstallation.
Auto image backup: Schedule image backups flexibly, and create cleanup policy to auto delete old backups.
Centralized Backup: Perform multiple VMs backup simultaneously from a central console.
Fast VM restore: Recover an entire VM quickly and easily, without any complicated reinstallation and configuration.
Restore from history version: For VMs that have been backed up multiple times, you can select any of the history versions to restore.

Hit the button below to download and use AOMEI Cyber Backup Free Edition with no time limit:

*You can choose to install this VM backup software on either Windows or Linux system.

How to protect virtual machines on ESXi for free

1. Navigate to AOMEI Cyber Backup, then add your VMware device (you can add vCenter Server or Standalone ESXi) and click Backup Task >> Create New Task to schedule VM image backup and restore in VMware.

2. In the opened wizard, do as followings to backup VM at image level.

✦ Enter a Task Name and select VMware ESXi Backup as an example.

✦ On Device Name section, select virtual machines you want to backup.

✦ On Target section, specify a location to store VMs.

✦ On Schedule section, choose full/incremental/differential backup to keep tracking virtual machine data and select the time and frequency (daily/weekly/monthly), which protects business security all the time.

✦ Click Start Backup. It allows you to select start backup now or later.

3. When a backup is complete, you can restore entire VM from image backups by clicking the Restore button. Then select a VM backup and click Restore to original location.

While the Free Edition covers most of the VM backup needs, you can also upgrade to enjoy:
✦ Backup Cleanup: Configure retention policy to auto delete the old backup files and save storage space.
✦ Restore to New Location: Easily make a clone of a virtual machine in the same or another datastore/host, without reinstalling or configuring a new VM.

Summary

This article fixes the error of VMware the computer restarted unexpectedly by editing Windows Registry. This solution of the interrupted installation of the operating system works well in Windows 10, Windows 7, Windows 8.1, and Windows Server.

Meanwhile, you should backup your virtual machines regularly to avoid unexpected failure of VM restarting. VM backup allows you to restore a virtual machine to its previous state without data loss.