Having multiple issues with Proxmox VE

L

libtech

New Member
Aug 27, 2025
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Hello Community,
I am to Proxmox VE. I recently switched from Red Hat Virtual Manager to Proxmox VE, however, I am not having a good experience so far. I am not sure if I messed up something, or that's how Proxmox works. I installed it on two servers in my home lab. I am using the free version for personal use.

1. Issue with CLI. It hangs all the time, either using the shell from UI or through SSH. It becomes unresponsive for minutes, like three to four minutes. Is it a known behavior?
2. "Take Snapshot" button for Windows VM is disabled. I can't take a snapshot of the window VMs.
3. Every week or two, I am having a "/var/ doesn't exist" error for Linux VMs. I have never had this issue with RHEL virt manager. When I reboot the VM, the error gets fixed.

Are there configuration settings that I missed? I am hoping someone can help so that I don't have to switch back to RHEL virt manager. I appreciate your help.
 
libtech said:
Issue with CLI. It hangs all the time, either using the shell from UI or through SSH. It becomes unresponsive for minutes, like three to four minutes. Is it a known behavior?
Click to expand...
No, must be something on your end. I would suggest to check your network.

libtech said:
"Take Snapshot" button for Windows VM is disabled. I can't take a snapshot of the window VMs.
Click to expand...
That depends not on the guest but on the used storage technology. Please share what you used there. screenshots of the UI or cmd line output (CODE tags) of the contents of the file /etc/pve/storage.cfg

libtech said:
Every week or two, I am having a "/var/ doesn't exist" error for Linux VMs. I have never had this issue with RHEL virt manager. When I reboot the VM, the error gets fixed.
Click to expand...
Please look at your guest os log messages.

libtech said:
Are there configuration settings that I missed?
Click to expand...
We don't know what you did, so we cannot answer that. Yet I can say that PVE is used in hundred thousands of installs worldwide and is a great product.
 
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LnxBil said:
No, must be something on your end. I would suggest to check your network.


That depends not on the guest but on the used storage technology. Please share what you used there. screenshots of the UI or cmd line output (CODE tags) of the contents of the file /etc/pve/storage.cfg


Please look at your guest os log messages.


We don't know what you did, so we cannot answer that. Yet I can say that PVE is used in hundred thousands of installs worldwide and is a great product.
Click to expand...
I have two subnets: vmbr0, with IP address 192.168.1.100, is for the Proxmox server, and the second interface, vmbr1, with 192.168.50.1/24, is for VMs. By the way, I have never had this issue with VMs. I'll check the network.

2. Here are the logs for the/var issue.
Code: 
[899303.192866] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#237 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.193061] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#237 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=209s
[899303.193114] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#237 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.193154] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#237 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.193192] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#237 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 01 c0 fc b8 00 00 10 00
[899303.193241] I/O error, dev sda, sector 29424824 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x100000 phys_seg 2 prio class 0
[899303.193451] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#229 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.193527] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#229 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=194s
[899303.193610] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#229 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.193663] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#229 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.193712] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#229 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 02 20 3b 1f 00 00 2e 00
[899303.193765] I/O error, dev sda, sector 35666719 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x9800 phys_seg 1 prio class 0
[899303.193843] I/O error, dev sda, sector 35666719 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x9800 phys_seg 1 prio class 0
[899303.193950] XFS (dm-3): log I/O error -5
[899303.193987] XFS (dm-3): Filesystem has been shut down due to log error (0x2).
[899303.194041] XFS (dm-3): Please unmount the filesystem and rectify the problem(s).
[899303.194624] dm-3: writeback error on inode 315, offset 196608, sector 56504
[899303.195780] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#230 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.195789] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#230 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=193s
[899303.195789] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#241 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.195793] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#230 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.195801] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#230 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.195805] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#230 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 02 22 54 88 00 00 10 00
[899303.195804] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#241 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=193s
[899303.195808] I/O error, dev sda, sector 35804296 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x100000 phys_seg 2 prio class 0
[899303.195812] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#241 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.195818] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#241 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.195824] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#241 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 02 53 f9 10 00 00 08 00
[899303.195828] I/O error, dev sda, sector 39057680 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x100000 phys_seg 1 prio class 0
[899303.196067] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12583827, offset 16097280, sector 6435976
[899303.197056] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#231 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.197063] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#231 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=189s
[899303.197071] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#231 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.197074] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#231 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.197077] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#231 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 02 20 8c 90 00 00 18 00
[899303.197079] I/O error, dev sda, sector 35687568 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x100000 phys_seg 3 prio class 0
[899303.197092] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#245 timing out command, waited 180s
[899303.197816] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12583827, offset 16101376, sector 6435984
[899303.198888] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#245 FAILED Result: hostbyte=DID_OK driverbyte=DRIVER_OK cmd_age=188s
[899303.199644] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12846598, offset 2879488, sector 6319248
[899303.200682] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#245 Sense Key : Aborted Command [current]
[899303.200689] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#245 Add. Sense: I/O process terminated
[899303.201376] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12846598, offset 2883584, sector 6319256
[899303.202417] sd 0:0:0:0: [sda] tag#245 CDB: Write(10) 2a 00 01 c5 5b d0 00 00 08 00
[899303.202423] I/O error, dev sda, sector 29711312 op 0x1:(WRITE) flags 0x100000 phys_seg 1 prio class 0
[899303.217833] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12847433, offset 0, sector 9689360
[899303.217842] dm-3: writeback error on inode 12583833, offset 2433024, sector 342992
[899303.218944] dm-3: writeback error on inode 315, offset 200704, sector 56512
[899303.404165] dm-3: writeback error on inode 4194447, offset 0, sector 3142072
[899303.404424] dm-3: writeback error on inode 4194446, offset 0, sector 3142080

3. Here is a screenshot of the Windows snapshot hardware tab.

Thanks,
 

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Check your disk using SMART, for example:

Code: 
smartctl -a /dev/sda

Pay attention to parameters such as Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Pending_Sector, and Uncorrectable_Error_Ct. These can indicate whether the disk has physical issues. From the logs you shared, it looks like your problem is related to storage. You could try reinstall host with ext4 or zfs fs.
 
timeouts for writing and lots of I/O errors for writing shows you have a failed disk and no ext4 or zfs would help you there ...
:)
 
jjadczak said:
Check your disk using SMART, for example:

Code: 
smartctl -a /dev/sda

Pay attention to parameters such as Reallocated_Sector_Ct, Pending_Sector, and Uncorrectable_Error_Ct. These can indicate whether the disk has physical issues. From the logs you shared, it looks like your problem is related to storage. You could try reinstall host with ext4 or zfs fs.
Click to expand...
The package is not available, and I can't install it since /var is not accessible. Thanks
Code: 
[root@server-02 ~]# smartctl -a /dev/sda
-bash: smartctl: command not found
[root@server-02 ~]# dnf install smartmontools
error: cannot open Packages database in /var/lib/rpm
Error: Error: rpmdb open failed
 
waltar said:
timeouts for writing and lots of I/O errors for writing shows you have a failed disk and no ext4 or zfs would help you there ...
:)
Click to expand...
Does it mean something is wrong with the physical hard disk of the Proxmox server or VM? A couple of months ago, I was running out of space. I added an additional Hard drive to the Proxmox server and moved the VM's disk to the new disk.
 
bbgeek17 said:
Yes, your physical disk (sda) is failing. It could be a bad cable, a faulty motherboard slot, or even a power issue, but most likely it’s simply a dying disk.

Blockbridge : Ultra low latency all-NVME shared storage for Proxmox - https://www.blockbridge.com/proxmox
Click to expand...
Thanks, I'll take a look at the disk and also do a clean-up and move it to a different slot. The server has two hard drives, and this is the latest one, which I purchased last October. Thanks
 
LnxBil said:
No, must be something on your end. I would suggest to check your network.


That depends not on the guest but on the used storage technology. Please share what you used there. screenshots of the UI or cmd line output (CODE tags) of the contents of the file /etc/pve/storage.cfg


Please look at your guest os log messages.


We don't know what you did, so we cannot answer that. Yet I can say that PVE is used in hundred thousands of installs worldwide and is a great product.
Click to expand...
1- I figured hanging is happening because both the server and VMs are not in the same subnet where I am SSHing to the server. There are two interfaces, interface1 vmbr0 with subnet 192.168.1.0/24 and the second interface vmbr1 with subnet 192.168.50.0/24. I was using the second subnet for VMs, and I was using one of the VMs (192.168.50.222) to SSH to the Proxmox server (192.168.1.100). For testing, I switched the VM's interface, and it didn't hang. I have a weird theory. It might have something to do with routing when VM 192.168.50.222 connects to Proxmox (192.168.1.100:22), the packet goes from VM -> firewall -> Proxmox. Proxmox receives it on vmbr0. Proxmox replies to VM. Since Proxmox also has a direct connection to 192.168.50.0/24 (via vmbr1), it bypasses the firewall and tries to talk directly back to the VM.

2- Here is the content of /etc/pve/storage.cfg. Is there a setting that needs to be tweaked to enable snapshots for Windows VMs?

Code: 
dir: local
        path /var/lib/vz
        content iso,backup,vztmpl

lvmthin: local-lvm
        thinpool data
        vgname pve
        content rootdir,images

dir: disk1
        path /mnt/pve/disk1
        content backup,vztmpl,snippets,images,rootdir,iso
        is_mountpoint 1
        nodes prox

pbs: pbs
        datastore backup1
        server 192.168.50.18
        content backup
        fingerprint some:finger:print:here;which:I:removed
        prune-backups keep-all=1
        username root@pam

For the disk issue, I'll test it by cleaning the disk slot, moving it to a different slot, moving the storage to a second disk, etc, worst case, I'll replace the disk.
Thanks
 
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