After installing KB5001342, the Cluster Service fails to start because a Cluster Network Driver is not found. April 30, 2021

Symptoms

After installing the April 13, 2021 (KB5001342) or later cumulative update for Windows Server 2019 for x64-based systems and restarting, the Failover Cluster Service fails to start.  

The following entry might appear in the Cluster Log:

• WARN  [CS] Service CreateNodeThread Failed, (4319)' because of 'Network interface for NetFT adapter not found.'

 The 4319 code indicates that a device is not ready for use.

 In the System Event Log, you will see the following critical error message:

• Event ID: 1289

• Event Type: Critical

• Event Source: Microsoft-Windows-FailoverClustering

• Event Description: The Cluster Service was unable to access network adapter 'Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Miniport'. Verify that other network adapters are functioning properly and check the device manager for errors associated with adapter 'Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Miniport'. If the configuration for adapter 'Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Miniport' has been changed, it may become necessary to reinstall the failover clustering feature on this computer.

In Device Manager, within the details of the Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Network driver, you will see the following as part of the status:

• Windows is still setting up the class configuration for this device.

• Code 56.

Cause

This issue occurs after installing the April 13, 2021 (KB5001342) or later cumulative update for Windows Server 2019 for x64-based systems and restarting for the first time. The Microsoft Failover Cluster Virtual Network driver is a PnP class driver. When there is an update to PnP class drivers, the Plug and Play components will recreate this driver as a new device at restart.  This process may take longer and the Cluster Service starts to time out.

Resolution/Workaround

This issue should clear up and the Failover Cluster Network driver will complete creation within 20 minutes after restart. This issue will not recur on any subsequent restarts.