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Projects fail after a Windows update

windows updateruntimestartup

What you see

  • Your projects started fine until Windows installed an update.
  • Now no project starts. The message starts with "Container start failed:" or "Container creation failed:", for example "The container operating system does not match the host operating system."
  • Every project on the computer is affected, not just one.

Why it happens

Levee runs each project in a sandbox built on a Windows image, called the runtime image. That image must match the version of Windows on your computer. A Windows update, especially a move to a new Windows 11 release, can put your computer ahead of the runtime image Levee has installed. Until the image is updated, projects cannot start.

This is a Microsoft rule for Windows containers. Your project folders and files are not affected.

What you can try

  1. Restart your computer, so the Windows update is fully installed.
  2. Open the Levee app and start the project again.
  3. If it still fails, look for an amber banner in the Levee app that says "Container image update available". If you see it, a newer runtime image exists.
  4. Contact your IT team. Tell them projects stopped starting after a Windows update, and copy the exact error message.

There is nothing else you can safely change yourself. Levee never replaces its runtime image on its own, so your IT team decides when to move to a new one.

For your IT team

1. Confirm the Windows build

$cv = Get-ItemProperty 'HKLM:\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows NT\CurrentVersion'
"{0} build {1}.{2}" -f $cv.DisplayVersion, $cv.CurrentBuild, $cv.UBR

Compare it with the builds listed in System requirements. Levee needs Windows 11 22H2 (build 22621) or later.

2. Check the runtime image

levee doctor
levee runtime status

levee doctor shows Image present: with the installed image, and Update available: when a newer runtime image has been published. The app shows the same as the amber banner "Container image update available".

3. Move to the runtime image that matches the build

Levee sandboxes use process isolation: the container shares the host's Windows kernel, so the image must be compatible with the host build. See Microsoft's Windows container version compatibility.

Send Vediram Support the output of the two commands above and your Windows build. Support confirms the image that matches your build and how to roll it out:

  • Connected machines: set Container & Runtime > Base image in policy (container.baseImage) to the version Support confirms, and sync policy. Levee downloads the version the policy names. See Container runtime.
  • Offline machines get the image archive and its checksum file to stage in %ProgramData%\Vediram\Levee\images\. See Runtime image won't download.

Then confirm readiness:

levee runtime ensure --wait

If the policy pins an image version that is not installed, projects fail with an image version mismatch until that version is in place. See Project won't start.

4. Prevent it next time

  • Stage Windows updates. Roll Windows updates, and especially new Windows 11 releases, to a pilot ring that runs Levee first. Confirm projects still start, then widen the rollout.
  • Watch the Doctor banner. "Container image update available" is your early signal that a newer runtime image exists.

See Planning for update-ring recommendations.

Before you open a request

See Collecting logs for support.