Minikube: open <user>.minikube\machines\minikube\config.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Created on 13 Mar 2019 · 20Comments · Source: kubernetes/minikube

Command:
minikube start
Returns

o minikube v0.35.0 on windows (amd64)
! Unable to start VM: Error loading existing host. Please try running [minikube delete], then run [minikube start] again.: filestore: open C:\Users\goodw.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:

https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

minikube delete

! Failed to delete cluster: open C:\Users\goodw.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:

https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

I've tried deleting the .minikube file manually and no luck. Says I require permission from DESKTOP-UTI3DC7/username to make changes to this folder. I'm assuming that's the VM? It seems like minikube is in some half installed state and I would like to just start from scratch again.

minikube logs
returns

! api load: filestore: open C:\Users\goodw.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:

https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

Using windows 10 pro.

I tried to start minikubes originally with
minikube start vm-driver=hyperv hyperv-virtual-switch=my_network_switch
It seemed to have made the cluster but then hung. And then I couldn't run any minikube commands.

Let me know if there is any other information I can provide.

help wanted kinbug lifecyclrotten owindows prioritimportant-longterm 2019q2

Source

goodwinmcd

Most helpful comment

By the way, it is the GitHub markdown that is taking out the folder slash in something like:
C:\Users\ianro.minikube\configconfig.json
It does happen here too. The line here was taken from that block, near the top. You can see that the \ is missing there too, but it isn't in my original in Powershell. So don't consider that this is where the error is, it is a red herring. :-)

idrobinson on 17 Jun 2019

👍2

All 20 comments

Two issues:

Is it possible that minikube was started with elevated privileges (Administrator Rights) before? It may be that running it in the same manner now might help.

The permissions should all be outside the VM - if you grant yourself privileges locally in Windows, it should also address this problem.

One quirk I notice here is that the path is listed as C:\Users\goodw.minikube\ instead of C:\Users\goodw\.minikube\. That seems like a bug, if true.

tstromberg on 13 Mar 2019

Hey, thanks for the quick response. I believe I originally tried running the minikube start command without privileges and ran into a access issues. So I reran it with admin rights. All the commands in the original post were run with administrator rights.

That was a typo. The file is in C:\Users\goodw\.minikube\.

goodwinmcd on 14 Mar 2019

Hi, I have just reached a halt due to this issue. I am running Win 10 Enterprise. I have Administrator rights. I have Hyper-V feature enabled. I am running Docker Desktop ok. I have created an External Virtual Switch (via the Hyper-V manager). I ran Windows Powershell (admin) from the menu gained via a right click on the Start icon. In that I ran the command: minikube start --vm-driver hyperv
I got the error above that others get, that it could not find the config.json file. The file does not exist. Something in the start up stops it being created. Now minikube appears to have a cluster which never goes away (whatever I try). I cannot use minikube delete or any minikube cmd (like status). I am working in a commercial situation and am now stuck. I would appreciate a fix soon, perhaps there is a label: priority/important-now ? ;-) and perhaps this can be assigned to someone.
Any response would be welcome. I am also here to help with any details or actions that I can.

idrobinson on 28 May 2019

I have arrived at the office and this thread is the first thing that I have looked at. I see no comments yet. Can there at least be a comment posted to say that this has been read?
There are labels attached to this issue: if you wish more evidence or information - ask me.

This morning the cmd produces:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube start --vm-driver hyperv

minikube v1.1.0 on windows (amd64)
E0529 09:25:49.543546 35484 start.go:529] StartHost: Error loading existing host. Please try running [minikube delete], then run [minikube start] again.: filestore: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

X Unable to start VM: Error loading existing host. Please try running [minikube delete], then run [minikube start] again.: filestore: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

and then:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube delete

X Failed to delete cluster: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

This does not seem to be a privileges issue, as I have Admin rights and all was done with Powershell (admin). To repeat, the config.json file appears never to have been created.
It is a non-graceful weakness that the 'minikube delete' command does not delete even if the config.json file is missing. Also, other commands should not fail under these circumstances, such as 'minikube status'. It should say something like 'missing config.json file' instead we get:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube status

X Error getting host status: load: filestore: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

and we also get:
PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube stop

X Unable to stop VM: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

The system seems too dependent on this config file being present and crashes if it is not. So apart from solving the bug as to why the file does not created in the first place, there should be extra tasks created to make the behaviour more graceful is such circumstances.

I have also tried:

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube start --vm-driver hyperv --hyperv-virtual-switch "Primary Virtual Switch"

minikube v1.1.0 on windows (amd64)
E0529 10:31:21.236042 33364 start.go:529] StartHost: Error loading existing host. Please try running [minikube delete], then run [minikube start] again.: filestore: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machinesminikubeconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

Also fails.

Yes, it is unexpected, not sure if you love to hear from me ;-) (or do you hear at all?).

These seem to be the same messages that others had above, except these commands were run after the first time start attempt. Did anyone else get success?

idrobinson on 29 May 2019

All I can add right now is "Me Too"!

johnnyfrx on 29 May 2019

Yup, never solved the issue. Started pursuing alternative cluster management software.

goodwinmcd on 29 May 2019

Raising the priority on this. Could someone who runs into this please share the output of:

minikube start <options> --alsologtostderr -v=8

I suspect the bug is here:

https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/blob/db37c03063359eb0955b95f4b16cfecfdb7e9a2f/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go#L78

or:

https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/blob/db37c03063359eb0955b95f4b16cfecfdb7e9a2f/pkg/minikube/constants/constants.go#L110

But it looks right to me. Help wanted!

tstromberg on 30 May 2019

All of the example output above looks broken, like it "forgot" to add the directory when joining ?

open C:\Users\goodw.minikube\machines\minikube\config.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\machines\minikube\config.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

So it looks like something goes horribly wrong in the "filepath.Join" call, on the Windows platform ?

afbjorklund on 30 May 2019

Cannot reproduce, works fine in Wine.

func main() {
    path := filepath.Join(homedir.HomeDir(), ".minikube")
    fmt.Printf("Join: %s\n", path)
}

Some noise, but the filepath.join is OK:

$ GOOS=windows go run join.go 
err:winedevice:ServiceMain driver L"WineBus" failed to load
fixme:process:SetProcessPriorityBoost (0xffffffffffffffff,1): stub
Join: C:\users\anders\.minikube
$ GOOS=linux go run join.go 
Join: /home/anders/.minikube

afbjorklund on 30 May 2019

Hi, I was also facing the same issue and was not able to delete the .minikube folder manually as well.
On deleting .minikube folder It deleted all the files but was not able to delete the machine folder under .minikube.

So I found a workaround of this issue:

First I did shut down the Virtual machine that I created in the Hyper-V Manager and then delete that machine so it deleted all the virtual machine under the machine folder.
And following that, I was successfully able to delete the .minikube folder manually.
Finally, I ran the initial command: minikube start --vm-driver hyperv --hyperv-virtual-switch="" and it was successful.

Hopefully, it helps!

AyushiHarkawat on 9 Jun 2019

👍2

Well, things have improved. I used the steps above (1-3 AyushiHarkawat), added step 2.5 Turn Hyper-V back on again (Docker Desktop won't run without it).
It is true that after manually deleting the .minikube folder minikube and the VM did attempt to be installed and created. But the start failed. The initial default RAM was 2048. I increased this to 6144 but still it would not start - not enough memory. Anyone have ideas for how much RAM is actually required? I have 8192 in total, so the limit is close.

idrobinson on 17 Jun 2019

PS C:\WINDOWS\system32> minikube start --vm-driver hyperv --hyperv-virtual-switch "Primary Virtual Switch" --memory=4096 --alsologtostderr -v=8

>
W0617 13:14:52.171285 22292 root.go:151] Error reading config file at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\configconfig.json: open C:\Users\ianro.minikube\configconfig.json: The system cannot find the file specified.
I0617 13:14:52.175382 22292 notify.go:128] Checking for updates...

minikube v1.1.1 on windows (amd64)
I0617 13:14:52.663283 22292 downloader.go:60] Not caching ISO, using https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/iso/minikube-v1.1.1.iso
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: gcr.io/k8s-minikube/storage-provisioner:v1.8.1 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\gcr.io\k8s-minikube\storage-provisioner_v1.8.1
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/etcd:3.3.10 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\etcd_3.3.10
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/k8s-dns-kube-dns-amd64:1.14.13 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-kube-dns-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kube-proxy:v1.14.3 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-proxy_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kube-scheduler:v1.14.3 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-scheduler_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kubernetes-dashboard-amd64:v1.10.1 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kubernetes-dashboard-amd64_v1.10.1
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kube-controller-manager:v1.14.3 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-controller-manager_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/k8s-dns-dnsmasq-nanny-amd64:1.14.13 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-dnsmasq-nanny-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/coredns:1.3.1 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\coredns_1.3.1
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kube-apiserver:v1.14.3 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-apiserver_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/kube-addon-manager:v9.0 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-addon-manager_v9.0
I0617 13:14:52.666285 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/k8s-dns-sidecar-amd64:1.14.13 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-sidecar-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:52.667286 22292 cache_images.go:305] Attempting to cache image: k8s.gcr.io/pause:3.1 at C:\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\pause_3.1
I0617 13:14:52.667286 22292 start.go:721] Saving config:
{
"MachineConfig": {
"MinikubeISO": "https://storage.googleapis.com/minikube/iso/minikube-v1.1.1.iso",
"Memory": 4096,
"CPUs": 2,
"DiskSize": 20000,
"VMDriver": "hyperv",
"ContainerRuntime": "docker",
"HyperkitVpnKitSock": "",
"HyperkitVSockPorts": [],
"XhyveDiskDriver": "ahci-hd",
"DockerEnv": null,
"InsecureRegistry": null,
"RegistryMirror": null,
"HostOnlyCIDR": "192.168.99.1/24",
"HypervVirtualSwitch": "Primary Virtual Switch",
"KvmNetwork": "default",
"DockerOpt": null,
"DisableDriverMounts": false,
"NFSShare": [],
"NFSSharesRoot": "/nfsshares",
"UUID": "",
"GPU": false,
"Hidden": false,
"NoVTXCheck": false
},
"KubernetesConfig": {
"KubernetesVersion": "v1.14.3",
"NodeIP": "",
"NodePort": 8443,
"NodeName": "minikube",
"APIServerName": "minikubeCA",
"APIServerNames": null,
"APIServerIPs": null,
"DNSDomain": "cluster.local",
"ContainerRuntime": "docker",
"CRISocket": "",
"NetworkPlugin": "",
"FeatureGates": "",
"ServiceCIDR": "10.96.0.0/12",
"ImageRepository": "",
"ExtraOptions": null,
"ShouldLoadCachedImages": true,
"EnableDefaultCNI": false
}
}
I0617 13:14:52.695284 22292 cluster.go:95] Skipping create...Using existing machine configuration

Tip: Use 'minikube start -p ' to create a new cluster, or 'minikube delete' to delete this one.
[executing ==>] : C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive ( Hyper-V\Get-VM minikube ).state
I0617 13:14:52.705288 22292 cache_images.go:302]
I0617 13:14:53.373284 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\gcr.io\k8s-minikube\storage-provisioner_v1.8.1
I0617 13:14:53.472282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-sidecar-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:53.664282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-addon-manager_v9.0
I0617 13:14:53.677282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\coredns_1.3.1
I0617 13:14:53.684282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kubernetes-dashboard-amd64_v1.10.1
I0617 13:14:53.689282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-apiserver_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:53.699285 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-controller-manager_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:53.702290 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-dnsmasq-nanny-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:53.702290 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-proxy_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:53.718284 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\kube-scheduler_v1.14.3
I0617 13:14:53.738282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\k8s-dns-kube-dns-amd64_1.14.13
I0617 13:14:53.738282 22292 cache_images.go:329] OPENING: \?\Volume{14fda315-5c1e-4a53-9a93-fe9ed841b05a}\Users\ianro.minikube\cache\images\k8s.gcr.io\etcd_3.3.10
[stdout =====>] : Off

[stderr =====>] :
I0617 13:14:55.289286 22292 cluster.go:114] Machine state: Stopped
* Restarting existing hyperv VM for "minikube" ...
[executing ==>] : C:\Windows\System32\WindowsPowerShell\v1.0\powershell.exe -NoProfile -NonInteractive Hyper-V\Start-VM minikube
[stdout =====>] :
[stderr =====>] : Hyper-V\Start-VM : 'minikube' failed to start.
Not enough memory in the system to start the virtual machine minikube.
Could not initialize memory: Ran out of memory (0x8007000E).
'minikube' failed to start. (Virtual machine ID C7916CFA-3CE3-4787-B1F3-3FA4EE78DC95)
Not enough memory in the system to start the virtual machine minikube with ram size 4192 megabytes. (Virtual machine
ID C7916CFA-3CE3-4787-B1F3-3FA4EE78DC95)
'minikube' could not initialize memory: Ran out of memory (0x8007000E). (Virtual machine ID
C7916CFA-3CE3-4787-B1F3-3FA4EE78DC95)
At line:1 char:1
+ Hyper-V\Start-VM minikube
+ ~~~~~
+ CategoryInfo : FromStdErr: (:) [Start-VM], VirtualizationException
+ FullyQualifiedErrorId : OutOfMemory,Microsoft.HyperV.PowerShell.Commands.StartVM

E0617 13:14:57.165347 22292 start.go:529] StartHost: start: exit status 1
I0617 13:14:57.166349 22292 utils.go:122] non-retriable error: start: exit status 1
W0617 13:14:57.167347 22292 exit.go:100] Unable to start VM: start: exit status 1

X Unable to start VM: start: exit status 1

Sorry that minikube crashed. If this was unexpected, we would love to hear from you:
- https://github.com/kubernetes/minikube/issues/new

An example...

idrobinson on 17 Jun 2019

👍2

In my case.
I am running minikube in windows using Hyper-V. I also stuck at this error and cannot create new cluster with same name as deleted (but minikube start work because the folder inside C:\Users\username\.minikube were not existed.)

And when I tried to remove the C:\Users\username\.minikube folder and its sub, the windows pop-up told me that Hyper-V is using some file and it cannot be remove. This made me noticed something, the files were locked by Hyper-V so minikube cannot delete it completely. So, it come to my solution to fix this.

Stop Hyper-V service.
remove C:\Users\username\.minikube and C:\Users\username\.kube
run minikube start --vm-driver hyperv --hyperv-virtual-network <hyperv-ext-net> --logtostderr again to start a new cluster

And now my minikube cluster is working properly.

knumchoke on 24 Jun 2019

👍1

If you're on Windows and trying to user Hyper-V make sure systeminfo outputs:

Hyper-V Requirements:     VM Monitor Mode Extensions: Yes
                          Virtualization Enabled In Firmware: Yes
                          Second Level Address Translation: Yes
                          Data Execution Prevention Available: Yes

I was getting:

* Retriable failure: Error loading existing host. Please try running [minikube delete], then run [minikube start] again.: filestore "minikube": open C:\Users\tucker\.minikube\machines\minikube\config.json: The system cannot find the file specified.

I did a bios update recently and it defaulted VT-d off and that was causing the config file error since the VMs weren't starting. For example, Virtualization Enabled In Firmware: Yes was set to No.

Anyway, make sure VT-d is enabled in your BIOS if you've done an upgrade recently or haven't checked. Then open Hyper-V and delete any VMs minikube tried to make and do a minikube delete. After that, I did minikube start --vm-driver hyperv and its working like a charm.

I only say this after being _certain_ that I had VT-d on...

tuckerthomas on 25 Sep 2019

Hi, maybe it will help someone but in my case my "host" does not had enough memory to start minukube VM (I had 3gb with dynamic allocation).

What I've done to find it out:

minikube start
just after creating my VM I stopped minikube
in hyperv manager I tried to run "minikube" VM on my own and get info that I dont have enough memory.

Hope it will help someone.

szymczakk on 21 Oct 2019

ran into same issue on windows, got over this, by
delete and start.

If you see error while deleting, go to Hyper-V Manager (through start) and remove minikube Virtual Machine, and try a delete couple of times.

Srinivas289 on 3 Dec 2019

Issues go stale after 90d of inactivity.
Mark the issue as fresh with /remove-lifecycle stale.
Stale issues rot after an additional 30d of inactivity and eventually close.

If this issue is safe to close now please do so with /close.

Send feedback to sig-testing, kubernetes/test-infra and/or fejta.
/lifecycle stale

fejta-bot on 2 Mar 2020

Stale issues rot after 30d of inactivity.
Mark the issue as fresh with /remove-lifecycle rotten.
Rotten issues close after an additional 30d of inactivity.

If this issue is safe to close now please do so with /close.

Send feedback to sig-testing, kubernetes/test-infra and/or fejta.
/lifecycle rotten

fejta-bot on 2 Apr 2020

This no longer occurs in minikube v1.9.

tstromberg on 2 Apr 2020

Was this page helpful?

0 / 5 - 0 ratings