Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

Dear all,

we have a Windows XP Pro 32-bit VM here that originally had been set up under VMWare. In the meantime, we have migrated many VMs from VMWare Player to VirtualBox without any issue, but this one has already cost a lot of time and nerves, and now we're completely stuck. What we did:

- Convert the VMDK to VDI -> SUCCESS.
- Create a new VM in VirtualBox, based on the VDI -> SUCCESS.
- Boot the new VM in VirtualBox -> SUCCESS.
- [ Amusing anecdote: Of course, XP then has detected changed hardware, so we had to activate it via phone, which still was possible to our surprise. ] -> SUCCESS.
- Uninstall all VMWare software via Control Panel -> Software -> SUCCESS.
- Remove all hidden and nonpresent devices from device manager (set DEVMGR_SHOW_NONPRESENT_DEVICES=1 as system environment variable, reboot the VM, open the device manager, check "Show Hidden Devices", and remove every device that was not currently present), and reboot again -> SUCCESS.

At this stage, everything was working in the VM, except the network adapter and the graphics adapter, and the guest additions were not installed. Here is where the problem begins:

Installation of the guest addition every time hangs forever as shown in the attachment, always at the same place (please excuse the bad attachment quality, but the system didn't allow me to post a picture bigger than 128 kB). Could somebody please give a hint how to solve the problem?

We have studied the messages shown in the attachment and have come to the conclusion that the problem may have something to do with certificates. We researched and found thread / topic 102393 here in this forum (sorry for the missing link, but the system doesn't allow me to post URLs yet). We have read the posts in that other thread carefully and have carried out every step that is mentioned there to solve the problem, but to no avail.

We are using VirtualBox 7.0.6 and the guest additions that are part of it. Interestingly, when we instead try to install guest additions 6.1.30 (desperation can be a strong force ...), the process hangs as well, literally at the very same place the screenshot in the other thread mentioned above shows.

Now we're really out of ideas.

Thank you very much in advance!
Clipboard01.jpg
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scottgus1
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by scottgus1 »

Disconnect the VM's network cable before starting the Guest Additions installer:

A. right-click the Network icon in the VM's Status Bar at the bottom, click "Connect Network Adapter".

or

B. Devices Menu, Network, "Connect Network Adapter"
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

At first, thank you very much!

Unfortunately, we have tried that already, because it was one of the proposed solutions in the other thread mentioned above (topic 102393). We also tried the other solutions that are mentioned there, notably: Give a static IP address to the NIC, or deactivate the NIC in the guest, or install the VB certificates from the command line before beginning the GA installation. Nothing helped so far.

In the meantime, I have also tried it on another PC that still has VB 6.1.36 installed. On that PC, the installation of the GA in the VM gets stuck exactly at the same point that is shown in the screenshot in that other thread. I am quite sure that the reason is the same. Regarding that problem, it's just the logging output that has changed from 6.1.36 to 7.0.6.

Any further ideas?
scottgus1
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by scottgus1 »

No, unfortunately. Disconnecting the "cable" before starting the installation has done it in the issues I've heard about.

If you leave it stuck, does it eventually finish? The other poster's GAs install did when it was left to tick away.
jorgensen
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by jorgensen »

A solution might be to install GA in safe mode of XP!
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

scottgus1 wrote:No, unfortunately. Disconnecting the "cable" before starting the installation has done it in the issues I've heard about.
Thanks a lot. Too sad ...
scottgus1 wrote:If you leave it stuck, does it eventually finish? The other poster's GAs install did when it was left to tick away.
I have left it stuck for more than a night (approximately 16 hours), but to no avail.

I guess I'll have to live with it. Thanks again for your help!
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

jorgensen wrote:A solution might be to install GA in safe mode of XP!
Thank you very much! That idea is brilliant, and obviously it solves the problem in some cases. At least, some guys mention Windows XP safe mode together with VirtualBox, e.g. here: https://superuser.com/questions/55168/h ... mac-os-x-h

Unfortunately, in my case, the GA additions installer gets stuck at exactly the same place regardless of whether or not I am in safe mode.
fth0
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by fth0 »

Can you provide a zip file with the complete contents of the installation log (shown in your screenshot)?
Rotator
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

fth0 wrote:Can you provide a zip file with the complete contents of the installation log (shown in your screenshot)?
Thank you very much for caring!

I have attached two files: xxx.1.zip should contain the log file from an installation in safe mode, and xxx.2.zip from an installation in normal mode.

However, I am afraid that those files do not contain everything due to the following problem:

After the installation has got stuck, I cannot end it (the screenshot in the first post shows that the cancel button is greyed out). I also cannot shut down the VM in a normal way then. Everything in the VM works fine, but the stuck installation prevents it from normal shutdown. The only way to shut it down is to turn it off in VirtualBox. This eventually keeps VB / the VM from writing the log file completely or from closing it in a clean way.
Attachments
VBox.log.2.zip
(31.01 KiB) Downloaded 3 times
VBox.log.1.zip
(31.73 KiB) Downloaded 3 times
fth0
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by fth0 »

Thanks for the VBox.log files!

Perhaps there was a misunderstanding: The installer's window in your previous screenshot shows the last lines of the Guest Additions installation log, ending with "WinVerifyTrust returns 0x0" and having a small scrollbar. I'm interested in seeing it completely. Can you export it out of the VM somehow?

@scottgus1:
Do you have a Windows XP guest, where you can install the VirtualBox Guest Additions (version doesn't really matter) successfully and provide the installer's log for comparison?
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

@fth0
Thank you very much again!

I have copied the whole text from the installation progress dialog box in the guest and have attached it.

I can give some additional details:

- This is from an attempt to install the GA in normal mode (not safe mode).
- I am usually logged in as administrator in that VM, i.e. I started the installation as administrator.
- I have some other Windows XP VMs that do not show this problem (in those guests, I could install the GA without issues).
- And finally:

When I start the GA installation in that VM and wait until it gets stuck, the task manager in the VM shows two processes related to the installation. One process obviously is the UI (the installation progress dialog box), the other one seems to be a background process that actually tries to install a driver. If I kill that background process, the installation progress dialog box comes back to life for a short time and outputs some more lines, until it gets stuck again after the next background process for driver installation has been spawned. If I kill that background process, the same game begins. After repeating it three or four times, the installation seems to be finished (of course, it isn't because of the killed driver installations).

When I then try to restart the VM (via start menu), the shutdown hangs forever.
Attachments
guest-log.zip
(212.55 KiB) Downloaded 2 times
fth0
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by fth0 »

Thanks for the installation log. It doesn't show any error and ends prematurely, but it gives a hint where to look next. Please provide the following files from your problematic VM and from one of the VMs not showing the problem:

Code: Select all

"C:\Programme\Oracle\VirtualBox Guest Additions\install_drivers.log"
"C:\Windows\INF\setupapi.dev.log"
Regarding your detailed installation description: The GA consists of drivers and programs, and you're seeing the individual driver installation processes one after another.
scottgus1
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by scottgus1 »

fth0 wrote:Do you have a Windows XP guest, where you can install the VirtualBox Guest Additions (version doesn't really matter) successfully and provide the installer's log for comparison?
Yes, here you go! I just ran these. The XP VM existed already, so I don't know if that had an effect.

It had 6.1.36 GAs installed, which I uninstalled then rebooted. I also went to "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox Guest Additions" and made sure the folder was empty (it wasn't, there was a "cert" folder left over, with VBoxCertUtil.exe and a .cer file inside; I deleted this folder). Then I ran the 7.0.6 GAs install. Network remained connected throughout. The install took about 5-ish minutes to do, with a lot of looking for WinVerifyTrust tests and some 20-ish second delays for each test.
Attachments
XP GAs 7.0.6 install logs.zip
(27.16 KiB) Downloaded 8 times
fth0
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Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by fth0 »

scottgus1 wrote:Yes, here you go!
Thanks for the test and the log files. Comparing them to Rotator's logs shows that the installation hangs while calling UpdateDriverForPlugAndPlayDevices(). IIUC, this function checks if any of the Plug'n'Play devices of the guest can be driven by the newly installed VBoxGuest.sys driver. Unfortunately, the WinVerifyTrust callbacks do not tell anything about the last and next PnP devices checked, so it's a dead end considering my current knowledge about Windows driver installers.

My last hope are the setupapi.dev.log files ...
Rotator
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Joined: 16. Mar 2023, 13:34

Re: Installation of Guest Additions in a Windows XP VM hangs

Post by Rotator »

fth0 wrote:Thanks for the installation log. It doesn't show any error and ends prematurely, but it gives a hint where to look next. Please provide the following files from your problematic VM and from one of the VMs not showing the problem:

Code: Select all

"C:\Programme\Oracle\VirtualBox Guest Additions\install_drivers.log"
"C:\Windows\INF\setupapi.dev.log"
Regarding your detailed installation description: The GA consists of drivers and programs, and you're seeing the individual driver installation processes one after another.
Thank you very much again! Please excuse the delay; I have been out of office for a few days.

In the problematic VM, after trying to install the GA, I have found the first file you mentioned ("C:\Programme\Oracle\VirtualBox Guest Additions\install_drivers.log"), but not the other one. Instead of the other one, I have found "C:\Windows\setupapi.log" which eventually contains the information you are looking for.

I have packed both files into the attachment. IMHO, both files report the same problem with the driver installation for device VEN_80EE&DEV_CAFE without further comment. Hopefully you can make something from it :-)

I'll also try to get these files from a VM where the GA install correctly, but I am not yet sure when exactly I can do that.
Attachments
setupapi.zip
(40.34 KiB) Downloaded 6 times
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