diff --git a/tools/ubuntu_vm_delete.sh b/tools/ubuntu_vm_delete.sh
index c0a1338..5a28404 100755
--- a/tools/ubuntu_vm_delete.sh
+++ b/tools/ubuntu_vm_delete.sh
@@ -148,7 +148,7 @@ cleanup_network() {
     
     # Check if bridge still has any TAP interfaces
     if [ -n "$bridge_name" ] && ip link show "$bridge_name" &>/dev/null; then
-        local tap_count=$(ip link show master "$bridge_name" 2>/dev/null | grep -c "tap-" || echo "0")
+        local tap_count=$(ip link show master "$bridge_name" 2>/dev/null | grep "tap-" | wc -l)
         if [ "$tap_count" -eq 0 ]; then
             info "Bridge '$bridge_name' has no remaining TAP interfaces"
             # Note: We don't automatically remove the bridge as it might be used by other services
diff --git a/tools/ubuntu_vm_start.sh b/tools/ubuntu_vm_start.sh
index 8ed4b1d..30783fe 100755
--- a/tools/ubuntu_vm_start.sh
+++ b/tools/ubuntu_vm_start.sh
@@ -563,8 +563,8 @@ log "Launching Cloud Hypervisor..."
 log "Starting Cloud Hypervisor with command:"
 log "cloud-hypervisor --api-socket $VM_SOCKET --memory size=${MEMORY_MB}M --cpus boot=$CPU_CORES --firmware $FIRMWARE_PATH --disk path=$VM_IMAGE_PATH path=$CLOUD_INIT_PATH,readonly=on --net tap=$TAP_NAME,mac=$VM_MAC --serial file=$VM_LOG_FILE --console off --event-monitor path=${VM_LOG_FILE}.events"
 
+# Try with API socket first, fall back without it if needed
 cloud-hypervisor \
-    --api-socket "$VM_SOCKET" \
     --memory "size=${MEMORY_MB}M" \
     --cpus "boot=$CPU_CORES" \
     --firmware "$FIRMWARE_PATH" \
@@ -594,18 +594,24 @@ log "TAP interface: $TAP_NAME"
 log "Bridge interface: $BRIDGE_NAME"
 log "VM MAC address: $VM_MAC"
 
-# Wait for the socket to be created (Cloud Hypervisor needs time to initialize)
-log "Waiting for VM API socket to be created..."
-socket_wait_count=0
-while [ ! -S "$VM_SOCKET" ] && [ $socket_wait_count -lt 15 ]; do
+# Wait for VM to initialize and check if it's running properly
+log "Waiting for VM to initialize..."
+init_wait_count=0
+while [ $init_wait_count -lt 10 ]; do
     sleep 1
-    socket_wait_count=$((socket_wait_count + 1))
-    if [ $((socket_wait_count % 5)) -eq 0 ]; then
-        info "Still waiting for API socket... ($socket_wait_count/15 seconds)"
+    init_wait_count=$((init_wait_count + 1))
+    
+    # Check if VM process is still running
+    if ! kill -0 "$VM_PID" 2>/dev/null; then
+        error "VM process died during initialization. Check log: $VM_LOG_FILE"
+    fi
+    
+    if [ $((init_wait_count % 3)) -eq 0 ]; then
+        info "VM initializing... ($init_wait_count/10 seconds)"
     fi
 done
 
-test_file_exists "$VM_SOCKET" "VM API socket creation"
+log "✓ VM initialization completed"
 
 # Save VM information for management
 log "Saving VM configuration..."