Hi,
Yes whether you start from a fresh image or a saved image you always need to check that the LASR servers are started and the tables are loaded.
You would not have to do this in a production environment but on Amazon we cannot keep the servers running when the image is down. So when the image comes up, you need to make sure that the LASR servers are started and the tables are loaded. That is why we have the required setup instructions as the first item in the Table of Contents for the course -- because this is something you have to check every time you start to work with VA when you're in the Virtual Lab.
Here's a video
http://youtu.be/jxMyZgqjQjw?hd=1that shows how to fix errors like the one you included.
Cynthia