Windows 2012 R2 SYSTEM_THREAD_EXCEPTION_NOT_HANDLED (xen.sys)

You are trying to start a Windows 2012 R2 server on a VMware infrastructure.

What you do (or don’t) realize is that this VM is heavily tainted by a Citrix Xen basket of fun.

Procedure to fix this tediosity:

1.  Snapshot the VM
2. Boot into Safe Mode
3. Open Device Manager (Show Hidden Devices)
4. Go through each section and delete all Xen devices (yes, to delete driver)
5. Reboot.   The machine should boot normally without safe mode.
6. Control Panel -> Remove Programs
7. Remove ALL of the Citrix programs and drivers
8. Install VMware tools

You have just been saved hours of agony.

Are you looking to migrate your XEN VMs to VMware? Contact VMDK Hosting.