In the German VMware forum (vmware-forum.de) I got the following workaround which solved the problem for me.
Change the type of the hard disk from NVMe to SCSI. So the NVMe driver seems to cause the problem.
Step-by-step:
- Power down the VM.
- Backup the VM.
- Edit VM settings.
- Remove the hard disk (the VMDK-File is not deleted!).
- Add a new hard disk. Choose "SCSI" as disk type and "Use an existing virtual disk". Select the "old" VMDK file and click "Finish".
- Power on the VM. It will run into a BSOD (INACCESSIBLE BOOT DEVICE) two times and then the automic repair starts.
- (I only have German Win10, so maybe my English translations of the following options do not have the same wording as used by Microsoft.) After some time you can choose between "Restart" and "Enhanced options". Select "Enhanced options", then "Trouble shooting" and again "Enhanecd options", then "Start-up aid" (the first selection option in the upper left corner). Again after some time it says that it can't repair your PC. But, if you choose "Shut down" and power on the VM again, it will start normally.
- After that I could install all Windows updates without any problems.
