Cannot shutdown a VM

borpin

Member
Jun 27, 2020
23
14
8
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I cannot force a VM to shutdown - I need to simply pull the plug.

I continually get

Code:
trying to acquire lock...
TASK ERROR: can't lock file '/var/lock/qemu-server/lock-101.conf' - got timeout

How can I kill the process?
 
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qm stop <VM Number> && qm shutdown <VM Number>

I hope it works for you. I sometimes have the same problem. My experience is you have at least one time to wait until the vm goes down by itself. Otherwise the issue won't be ever solved. Then shut it down and it should fix it. I believe a systemd issue.
 
Last edited:
I wonder what the VM is locked for? It might tell in the /etc/pve/qemu-server/${VMID}.conf file. Shutdown already running, or maybe backup?
qm stop is the equivalent of pulling the plug, but if a qm shutdown is already running, it will give a timeout and you have to cancel the shutdown first.
qm list will show you the PID of the kvm-process that runs for your VM. You might try a kill if all else fails, which is like unplugging the virtual CPU.
 
I think it would be nicer that Proxmox automatically kills the hanging "shutdown", removing the lock and allowing the proceed with the "stop" command instead!
The Proxmox team already said they will have a look at it and see if then implement that.
 
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