How to remove "Ghost" NIC devices from Windows

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Article ID: CTX221733

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Description

Unidesk 2.X releases before 2.8.3: After Desktops have been backed up and restored to a new CachePoint, the NIC doesn't come up. Even after restarting to apply changes and rediscovering the disks, the driver does not appear to install correctly. This can also happen during layer changes on a desktop.

For all versions of Unidesk & App Layering: The underlying problem is that every new instance of a VMXNet3 network device is detected by Windows as a completely separate device. Unlike E1000-compatible devices, which re-use the same device nodes, every new MAC address on a VMXNet3, even if it's in the same virtual PCI location, causes a new device detection. So these devices accumulate in the registry as no-longer-present devices. When Unidesk is attempting to merge multiple VMXNet3 device nodes from multiple layer sources, we sometimes fail to merge them properly. This can result in Windows not being able to bring up any network interface until the excess nonpresent device records are removed.

VMware is aware of the VMXNet3 proliferation problem. They may recommend an MS patch referenced in this VMware KB: http://kb.vmware.com/kb/1020078. However, Unidesk has observed this patch to break the VMXNet3 driver when included in an OS layer update, so we do not currently recommend it. If you apply this patch in an OS layer version, you may wind up with desktops with a non-functional VMXNet3 device, and uninstalling it from the device manager does not actually remove it.

Resolution

Removing Ghost VMXNET3 Adapters:

In environments where VMware VMXNET3 network adapters have been replaced, reconfigured, or are no longer present, Windows may retain entries for non-present (ghost) devices.

These stale device can occasionally lead to network-related issues and should be removed.

Important: Remove only non-present (ghost) VMXNET3 adapters that appear as grayed-out devices. Do not remove the active VMXNET3 adapter that is currently installed and functioning.

Starting with Windows 8 and Windows Server 2012, it is no longer necessary to launch Device Manager in Non-Present Devices mode.

  1. Open Device Manager (devmgmt.msc).
  2. Select View > Show Hidden Devices.
  3. Expand Network Adapters.
  4. Identify any grayed-out VMXNET3 adapters. 

 

    • Remove only the grayed-out (non-present) VMXNET3 adapters.
    • Do not remove the active VMXNET3 adapter currently in use.
    • Do not select Delete the driver software for this device when prompted.
    • Select Action > Scan for Hardware Changes.

Windows will rediscover the active VMXNET3 network adapter and complete device registration if required.

When using Citrix App Layering, perform this cleanup within the OS Layer

Because the device configuration is stored within the operating system, removing the ghost adapters from the OS Layer ensures that the remediation is inherited by all images and machines deployed from that layer.

Issue/Introduction

How to remove "Ghost" NIC devices from Windows

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