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ERROR_VMCOMPUTE_IMAGE_MISMATCH
Windows process-isolated containers share the host kernel contract
ERROR_VMCOMPUTE_IMAGE_MISMATCH is a compatibility failure between the Windows container base image and the host operating system. With process isolation, the container uses the host kernel, so the image user-mode binaries must belong to a Windows build combination that Microsoft supports.
Hyper-V isolation changes this boundary by running the container inside a utility virtual machine and can support version combinations that process isolation rejects. The image tag, host build and chosen isolation mode are therefore more relevant than the application layer added by the Dockerfile.
Evidence and corrective action
- Record the full host version and the base-image tag or image OS version, including the build number rather than only the product name.
- Confirm whether the runtime requested process isolation or Hyper-V isolation.
- Use Microsoft’s compatibility table for the exact host and image releases instead of assuming that all Windows Server Core tags are interchangeable.
- Pull a current supported base image and rebuild the application image when the stored layer chain refers to an obsolete release.
- Do not attempt to repair this error by reinstalling application dependencies inside an otherwise incompatible image.
References
- Microsoft: Windows container version compatibility
- Microsoft: update Windows Server containers
- Microsoft: Windows container base images
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