Can't show/view any VMs

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Strange issue here.

Windows 10 64 bit host
Vbox Version 7.0.4 r154605 (Qt5.15.2)
Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-6700
32gb ram

I have several guests windows, linux and bsd, 3 of them run headless, using the official service configuration.
Most of the guests have the latest integration pack and I've installed the latest extensions.
They run great as do all other guests, however....

I can't actually show/view them on the host.
When I right click a headless VM in VirtualBox Manager or start a new one and choose "Show", nothing happens, no window opens.
When I click a running VM in VirtualBox Manager, on General details, I can see a live preview of the running guest.

So the guest is running AND is relaying video to VBOX, it just can't seem to open the VM in a window.
This just happened recently when I upgraded from an older version of v6 to the current V7 version of VBOX.

EDIT: It looks like I picked a very early date to jump to v7 as it's just out of beta. Hoping this issue is known and patched soon. The VMs are running fine now, so I can probably wait for the next patch instead of rolling back to v6.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by scottgus1 »

Thanks for letting us know how your situation turned out. Personally, I wasn't sure where to start troubleshooting this one, except to suggest trying 6.1 and see if proper operation is restored. Yes, 7.0 still has bugs to find, it'll get stable soon.
VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Thanks for checking in.
Should I submit a bug report?
Or is posting this give it the same visibility?

Appreciate your and everyone's work on this hypervisor.
It's suprisingly awesome and flexible.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by scottgus1 »

You can put this on the Bugtracker. But let's see if some forum guru knows how to check this out first.
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by fth0 »

Please reproduce the issue with a Windows guest (*) and provide a zip file with the VBoxHardening.log, VBox.log and VBoxUI.log files.

(*) With a Linux guest on a Windows/Linux host, starting the VM headless and showing it later never worked for me with VirtualBox 6.1.x (for the few x that I tried from time to time). The behavior was somewhat different than what you described, me getting a blank preview and a blank VM window both with the 800x600 resolution.
VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Sorry I can't find any log called VBoxUI.log in the VM folder.
Just Vbox.log and VBoxHardening.log

Is there a secure way I can send these to you?
Lot's of private data in these logs.

Appreciate the help.
Regarding 6.1, I could always open a window with "Show", regardless of the guest OS.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by scottgus1 »

VMgroot wrote:Lot's of private data in these logs.
Only the host's IP address might be in there, and would only be hackable if it wasn't a private IP address handed out and firewalled by a router. The rest is unhackable: it's all virtual. Even the user account name is unhackable: Where in the 4 billion IPv4 addresses and the galaxy's worth of IPv6s would we try it?

If you feel the need to obfuscate something, please tell us what you obfuscated, so we know what data to not trust.

Please zip the logs requested and post them via the forum's Upload Attachment tab.
VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Here you are

I removed 3 lines that showed the windows username
00:00:04.511339 GlobalInitScript <string> =
00:00:04.511340 HistoryFile <string>
00:00:04.511341 Path
Attachments
W7vm.7z
(40.96 KiB) Downloaded 12 times
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by fth0 »

VMgroot wrote:Sorry I can't find any log called VBoxUI.log in the VM folder.
The VBoxUI.log file is only created in separate/detachable mode, which can also be reached when starting in headless mode and using the Show button. The provided VBox.log file shows a start in normal/default mode.

The VirtualBox Guest Additions (GA) 6.1.26 are installed in the guest OS. This may or may not play a role here. When trying VirtualBox 7.0.4, I'd suggest to uninstall the old GA before installing VirtualBox 7.0.4.

Other than that, the VBox.log file shows an VERR_HGCM_SERVICE_NOT_FOUND error, which indicates another problem.
VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Thanks for the input fth0.

I have a workaround:
I had to move the VMs to a new drive in preparation for Proxmox.
Once they were moved, they would display again on the host.

The way I moved them (if it matters):
1) Shut down VMs
2) Remove VM (but don't delete files)
3) Close VBOX Interface.
4) Copy virtual hdd (vhd) and associated .vbox and config folder (with logs, snapshots, nvram etc) to new drive.
5) Add copied virtual hdd with Virtual Media Manager
6) Open and edit copied .vbox config file to ensure virtual media path and UUID are correct. On one the UUID had changed, on another path had changed.
7) Double click .vbox file and MV is imported in place. Everything working!!

Now to add guest additions.

One big lesson learned.
Keep your VM HDD in the same folder as the .vbox and config files. This way the path entry is relative and will work even when moved to another location.

I still don't know why VBOX seems to change the UUID of an imported virtual HDD sometimes. Other time it leaves it as is.

So all is working, thanks for the help and hopefully this will help someone! :D

Edit: It seems after rebooting the server and using the VBOX Autostart service, I can no longer connect to the VMs in a Guest window on the host.
Something to do with background services and how the VM was started.
If started with autostart, guest window is not working.
FW100
Posts: 1
Joined: 13. Dec 2022, 05:09

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by FW100 »

I had the same problem. Virtualbox System Service was set to manual and not running. Changed to automatic and started it. VMs now showing. Hope this helps.
VMgroot
Posts: 6
Joined: 2. Dec 2022, 21:58

Re: Can't show/view any VMs

Post by VMgroot »

Thanks, I'll try that.
I moved this system over to Proxmox, but still have other VBOX machines running.
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