cannot find Ubuntu host hard drive in Win7 guest

[tevang]

Greetings,

I have the 5.1.18 r114002 (Qt5.6.1) VirtualBox version on Ubuntu 16.10 64 bit and I have installed a Windows 7 32 bit guest (the Win7 64 bit version does not work on my system). I also installed Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.1.18-114002.vbox-extpack and followed the instructions in the virtualbox website about how to access the linux hard drive from the Windows guest (Settings->Shared Folders->Add new shared folder-> / ROOT). However I cannot see the Linux hard drive from Win7 guest, neither can I see the mounted USB stick. Please, can someone troubleshoot me?

thanks in advance
Thomas

[Perryg]

/ROOT should never be shared nor used.

Post the following information:
Post the guests log file ( as an attachment ). Right click on the guest in the Main Manager then click show log. Save and post as an attachment. Compress if it is too large to post.

And

From the hosts terminal window type VBoxManage showvminfo <VM Name> --details and post here. Replace <VM Name> with the actual name of the VM. Use " " if the name has a space in it.

[tevang]

Thanks for the reply! Here is the information you need:

Code: Select all

Name:            Win7 32bit
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Windows 7 (32-bit)
UUID:            f6df17ff-9312-405a-a8e9-a0f40864b62b
Config file:     /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.vbox
Snapshot folder: /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Snapshots
Log folder:      /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Logs
Hardware UUID:   f6df17ff-9312-405a-a8e9-a0f40864b62b
Memory size:     4096MB
Page Fusion:     off
VRAM size:       256MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
HPET:            off
Chipset:         piix3
Firmware:        BIOS
Number of CPUs:  1
PAE:             off
Long Mode:       off
Triple Fault Reset: off
APIC:            on
X2APIC:          off
CPUID Portability Level: 0
CPUID overrides: None
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): Floppy
Boot Device (2): DVD
Boot Device (3): HardDisk
Boot Device (4): Network
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          off
BIOS APIC mode:  APIC
Time offset:     0ms
RTC:             local time
Hardw. virt.ext: on
Nested Paging:   on
Large Pages:     off
VT-x VPID:       on
VT-x unr. exec.: on
Paravirt. Provider: Default
Effective Paravirt. Provider: HyperV
State:           powered off (since 2017-03-24T18:28:23.712000000)
Monitor count:   1
3D Acceleration: on
2D Video Acceleration: off
Teleporter Enabled: off
Teleporter Port: 0
Teleporter Address: 
Teleporter Password: 
Tracing Enabled: off
Allow Tracing to Access VM: off
Tracing Configuration: 
Autostart Enabled: off
Autostart Delay: 0
Default Frontend: 
Storage Controller Name (0):            SATA
Storage Controller Type (0):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
SATA (0, 0): /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.vdi (UUID: 8e49ac8a-089a-4adb-9ee6-d8c7899b5ee6)
SATA (1, 0): /dev/sr0 (UUID: 00445644-0000-0000-2f64-65762f737230)
NIC 1:           MAC: 080027DD2DC3, Attachment: NAT, Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 1 Settings:  MTU: 0, Socket (send: 64, receive: 64), TCP Window (send:64, receive: 64)
NIC 2:           disabled
NIC 3:           disabled
NIC 4:           disabled
NIC 5:           disabled
NIC 6:           disabled
NIC 7:           disabled
NIC 8:           disabled
Pointing Device: USB Tablet
Keyboard Device: PS/2 Keyboard
UART 1:          I/O base: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4, disconnected
UART 2:          disabled
UART 3:          disabled
UART 4:          disabled
LPT 1:           disabled
LPT 2:           disabled
Audio:           enabled (Driver: PulseAudio, Controller: HDA, Codec: STAC9221)
Clipboard Mode:  disabled
Drag and drop Mode: disabled
VRDE:            disabled
USB:             enabled
EHCI:            enabled
XHCI:            disabled

USB Device Filters:

<none>

Bandwidth groups:  <none>

Shared folders:  

Name: 'ROOT', Host path: '/' (machine mapping), writable

Video capturing:    not active
Capture screens:    0
Capture file:       /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.webm
Capture dimensions: 1024x768
Capture rate:       512 kbps
Capture FPS:        25

Guest:

Configured memory balloon size:      0 MB

[Perryg]

Code: Select all

00:00:03.299353     Host path '/', map name 'ROOT', writable, automount=true, create_symlinks=false, missing=false

Code: Select all

Shared folders: 
Name: 'ROOT', Host path: '/' (machine mapping), writable

This is just can't be what you really want for a lot of reasons. Perhaps if you state exactly what you are wanting to achieve we could give you a better way to accomplish your task.

[tevang]

This is how I used to do it all the time in the past. I want access to my Linux file system from within Win7 guest. Here is how I describe the procedure in my instructions archive:

​

How to access Linux-host shared folders from Windows 7-guest

First download the​​ Extension Pack not VirtualBox ​neither GuestAdditions!​​
To install it go to File->Preferences->Extensions and click on "add package" button.

go to Devices → Install Guest Additions --> run VBoxWindowsAdditions.run

From the VirtualBox's menu go to ​​
Devices → Shared Folders. Press the button with the + symbol, add "/" and name it "ROOT" (if not named automatically). You can also do the same procedure from the Oracle VM Virtual Box Manger windows --> "Virtual Box Name, e.g. Windows 7 32bit" --> Settings --> Shared Folders.

What am I doing wrong?

[Perryg]

Given the fact that 90% of what you would be mapping if you could is not going to be anything that you could use. Why not map your /home instead?

[tevang]

I cannot see the /home either in Win7 guest. See the information below and in the attachment.

Code: Select all

Name:            Win7 32bit
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Windows 7 (32-bit)
UUID:            f6df17ff-9312-405a-a8e9-a0f40864b62b
Config file:     /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.vbox
Snapshot folder: /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Snapshots
Log folder:      /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Logs
Hardware UUID:   f6df17ff-9312-405a-a8e9-a0f40864b62b
Memory size:     4096MB
Page Fusion:     off
VRAM size:       256MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
HPET:            off
Chipset:         piix3
Firmware:        BIOS
Number of CPUs:  1
PAE:             off
Long Mode:       off
Triple Fault Reset: off
APIC:            on
X2APIC:          off
CPUID Portability Level: 0
CPUID overrides: None
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): Floppy
Boot Device (2): DVD
Boot Device (3): HardDisk
Boot Device (4): Network
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          off
BIOS APIC mode:  APIC
Time offset:     0ms
RTC:             local time
Hardw. virt.ext: on
Nested Paging:   on
Large Pages:     off
VT-x VPID:       on
VT-x unr. exec.: on
Paravirt. Provider: Default
Effective Paravirt. Provider: HyperV
State:           running (since 2017-03-24T23:32:09.956000000)
Monitor count:   1
3D Acceleration: on
2D Video Acceleration: off
Teleporter Enabled: off
Teleporter Port: 0
Teleporter Address: 
Teleporter Password: 
Tracing Enabled: off
Allow Tracing to Access VM: off
Tracing Configuration: 
Autostart Enabled: off
Autostart Delay: 0
Default Frontend: 
Storage Controller Name (0):            SATA
Storage Controller Type (0):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
SATA (0, 0): /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.vdi (UUID: 8e49ac8a-089a-4adb-9ee6-d8c7899b5ee6)
SATA (1, 0): /dev/sr0 (UUID: 00445644-0000-0000-2f64-65762f737230)
NIC 1:           MAC: 080027DD2DC3, Attachment: NAT, Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 1 Settings:  MTU: 0, Socket (send: 64, receive: 64), TCP Window (send:64, receive: 64)
NIC 2:           disabled
NIC 3:           disabled
NIC 4:           disabled
NIC 5:           disabled
NIC 6:           disabled
NIC 7:           disabled
NIC 8:           disabled
Pointing Device: USB Tablet
Keyboard Device: PS/2 Keyboard
UART 1:          I/O base: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4, disconnected
UART 2:          disabled
UART 3:          disabled
UART 4:          disabled
LPT 1:           disabled
LPT 2:           disabled
Audio:           enabled (Driver: PulseAudio, Controller: HDA, Codec: STAC9221)
Clipboard Mode:  disabled
Drag and drop Mode: disabled
Session name:    GUI/Qt
Video mode:      1600x1200x32 at 0,0 enabled
VRDE:            disabled
USB:             enabled
EHCI:            enabled
XHCI:            disabled

USB Device Filters:

<none>

Available remote USB devices:

<none>

Currently Attached USB Devices:

<none>

Bandwidth groups:  <none>

Shared folders:  

Name: 'thomas', Host path: '/home/thomas' (machine mapping), writable
Name: 'thomas2', Host path: '/home2/thomas' (machine mapping), writable

VRDE Connection:    not active
Clients so far:     0

Video capturing:    not active
Capture screens:    0
Capture file:       /home/thomas/VirtualBox VMs/Win7 32bit/Win7 32bit.webm
Capture dimensions: 1024x768
Capture rate:       512 kbps
Capture FPS:        25

Guest:

Configured memory balloon size:      0 MB
OS type:                             Windows7
Additions run level:                 0

Guest Facilities:

No active facilities.

[Perryg]

Code: Select all

00:00:04.070996 SharedFolders host service: Adding host mapping
00:00:04.071018     Host path '/home/thomas', map name 'thomas', writable, automount=true, create_symlinks=false, missing=false
00:00:04.071218 SharedFolders host service: Adding host mapping
00:00:04.071227     Host path '/home2/thomas', map name 'thomas2', writable, automount=true, create_symlinks=false, missing=false

This should work, but you need to install the guest additions ( in the guest ) as they are not installed yet.