diff --git a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/kvm.pm b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/kvm.pm
index 1274a3d16..be9c1d4d0 100644
--- a/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/kvm.pm
+++ b/xCAT-server/lib/xcat/plugins/kvm.pm
@@ -693,8 +693,8 @@ sub getcons {
 sub getrvidparms {
     my $node=shift;
     my $location = getcons($node,"vid");
-    unless ($location) {
-       return (1,"Error: Unable to determine rvid destination for $node");
+    unless (ref $location) {
+       return (1,"Error: Unable to determine rvid destination for $node (appears VM is off)");
     }
         my @output = (
       "method: kvm"