virtualbox.org

Hi everyone! I've been trying to install a Windows 2000 system on a virtual machine for a couple weeks now, and I'm at wit's end. I start it with a Windows 2000 install disc ISO and then install it on a NTFS formatted partition. It doesn't give any errors and restarts normally. But then it fails to start, freezing for eternity at the screen with the Windows logo. When I start in Safe Mode it gets to the Windows 2000 Setup box, but it won't move past the words Please Wait. I've tried two different ISOs, reinstalled multiple times with each one, even deleted the machine and created a brand new one. What else can I do?

Take a look at Ch. 12.3.4 Windows 2000 installation failures of the User Manual. If that doesn't help:

• Follow a "start the VM from cold-boot" / "observe error" / "shutdown the VM" cycle.
• With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
• Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response (see the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form).

Thanks for the reply! I tried the command and it doesn't appear to have worked, so I'll attach the log file. Hopefully it shows what's going on.

00:00:06.618462 GUI: UIFrameBufferPrivate::handleNotifyChange: Size=640x480
00:00:06.618471 GUI: UIFrameBufferPrivate::performResize: Size=640x480, Directly using source bitmap content
00:00:12.101937 PIIX3 ATA: LUN#0: IDLE IMMEDIATE, CmdIf=0xc4 (-1 usec ago)
00:00:12.101953 PIIX3 ATA: LUN#0: aborting current command

This is from my VBox.log. Our VMs seem to be booting similarly up to that point. Yours does NOT have the lines in red, which is when trying to access the virtual HD, so something related to that IDE controller (in the troubleshooting link I gave you) might have something to do with it. Did you try to change the values for the "IRQDelay"? But, on the other hand, you have already installed W2K and the article talks about installation issues.

Another thing that I noticed is that you have a really new CPU, the i7-7700HQ. I recently troubleshooted a problem with the same CPU, by faking the CPU presented to the VM. So, with the VM shutdown, please issue the command:

• VBoxManage modifyvm "<VM name>" --cpu-profile "Intel Core i7-6700K"

and see if that helps...

Another possibility is 3rd party security software, for instance a Windows 2000 VM will not start if Avast anti-virus is installed (disabling it makes no difference, you have to uninstall) although other Windows VMs don't seem to be affected.

Thanks again! Sadly the CPU change command didn't work, and neither did setting the delay to 5. :/ I do have Avast installed, I'm reluctant to uninstall it but might consider trying if nothing else works.

Complain to Avast. Please!