Send host to hibernation from within the guest

[Ranguno]

Host: Windows 8.1 Guest: Windows XP VirtualBox: 5.1.8

Hi,

in order to send the host to sleep I want to call the host executable

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe /h

from within the guest. How can I manage this?

[Martin]

Nothing in Virtualbox. You can do it like between standalone PCs with remote execution tools like psexec.

[socratis]

Thank the old gods and the new, you can't. Can you imagine how many Pandora's boxes that would open if you could control the host from a guest?

You didn't tell us what your end goal is, but I'm thinking you're running a long task in the guest, after which you want the host to go to sleep/hibernate. Well, you could do that by having a "file" in a shared folder and check its existence from the host. Something like a "I'm done" flag.

• Once your guest finishes whatever it's doing, you create the file.
• You run a program periodically on your host which checks for that file.
• Once the file is there, you delete it and you put the host to sleep.

EDIT: Plus what Martin said, but I wouldn't trust my guest (especially WinXP) to have "the keys" (credentials) to my host.


PS. You could upgrade your VirtualBox, your version is quite old...

[Ranguno]

@Martin @socratis: Thanks for your efforts.

You're right, socratis, I want to hibernate the host after a backup on the guest, and I intend to implement your ingenious idea.