[Solved] can't see shared folders

[studoc]

I understand there a are a few topics around this title, which relate to updating windows 10, but I haven't even got that far...

This is all massively new to me and not something I would have anticipated doing 12 months ago, basically I am reluctantly leaning another language..

I have installed Virtual box and within that have installed windows XP.

Now, I would like to install some software into XP.

I have loaded/run guest additions, I think this is correct, because I can now resize the screen, where I couldn't before.

Within the VM settings, I have shared a folder on the host, that contains a bunch of useful stuff, not the least of which being some software.

So, the process seemed to be: go to the guest, find my network places, search the entire network for the path to the shared folder.

Perhaps not unsurprisingly to some, my network places is unequivocally empty....

How do I get this and any folder, visible to the guest operating system...?

thanks for listening..

Stuart.

[socratis]

find my network places, search the entire network for the path to the shared folder

Don't search. Go to the "VBOXSVR" and there you should see your shared folder. If now, we're going to need to see a VM log from a complete VM run:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
• 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).

[studoc]

thanks..

Starting at the beginning..

I found "VBOXSVR" in a dos command string, in the notes, as an alternative method to connecting to a shared folder. If I was to "go to" VBOXSVR, how would I get there..?

[socratis]

I'm not even sure what you're trying to say in your reply, so let me start from the basics.

• Open Windows Explorer, make sure the tree shows on the left.
• On the left, go to Network, Entire network, VirtualBox Shared folders, "VBoxSvr".
• In there you should see your share.

I'm not sure what DOS command you refer to. VirtualBox does not run on DOS. And if you make a reference in the notes, please be more specific. There are a lot of notes, even more references...

[studoc]

Indeed..

I have a screen shot of the manual attached... "Manual mounting"
"Command line"... looks a lot like the old Dos prompt I remember...

Back to "My networking places", as I was trying to allude to in my first post: it's empty, there is absolutely nothing in there to see...

I'll see what I can do about addressing the following items in your first reply...

thanks..
[Mod edit: Screenshot of a section of the User Manual removed. Absolutely no need for it, got to be more "green"]

[socratis]

...we're going to need to see a VM log from a complete VM run:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
• 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).

[studoc]

Right then... that was fairly uneventful...
no real error.. VM picked up that I had removed an external drive, when I went back to work earlier..

Have the log attached...

[socratis]

00:00:02.070159 OS Release: 10.0.15063

That's a really rare, insider build. Why haven't you updated your host?

VirtualBox VM 5.1.28 r117968 win.amd64 (Sep 13 2017 10:02:48) release log

Same thing for VirtualBox.

00:00:02.798950 Host path 'D:\', map name 'D_DRIVE', writable, automount=true, create_symlinks=false, missing=true

Your shared folder is missing. And you're wondering why you don't see a shared folder? Hmm...

[studoc]

Updates..?

I am generally loathe to update anything, as it always affects my workflow adversely somewhere else...
With this computer being a few months old I thought I could stave off such procedures a bit longer..

I have, however, updated the host operating system and VirtualBox.

D drive was probably a bad call on my part, it was part of a gaggle of drives/folders that I couldn't see, in the end I reduced this to one, in order to work on the problem..

Since the upgrades, I have retraced my steps and can now see the host's local drive in the VM. reattaching the D drive, I can find this by drilling down into the network..

thanks for having a look at this with me..

[socratis]

and can now see the host's local drive in the VM

I can find this by drilling down into the network

Glad you got it going. Marking as [Solved].