VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
Post Reply
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

I have this weird problem where when I remote into my Windows 10 PC from another Windows 10 PC, the PC that I connect to crashes eminently. I have VirtualBox installed on that PC, and apparently that's enough to crash the system. Note that I don't have to be running VirtualBox on it, it's enough that it's installed. The VBoxMouse.sys driver has been pinned as the source of the problem. Sure enough, uninstalling VirtualBox solves the issues. Reinstalling it reintroduces the issue.

I have tested a preview version of VirtualBox for Windows but the issue persists. I think this issue has developed recently, because I have updated VirtualBox to a newer version not too long ago and I did not have this problem with VirtualBox prior to that.

I have currently uninstalled both VirtualBox and Guest Additions for that version. Remoting to this PC works again and does not crash it. So where do I go from here? It seems I have a choice between A: not using VirtualBox and remoting as usual, or B: using VirtualBox and not remoting. Tough choice!

As if that was not enough I have been experiencing connection issues with the VirtualBox download server for the last few hours.
Secure Connection Failed

An error occurred during a connection to http://www.virtualbox.org. PR_CONNECT_RESET_ERROR

The page you are trying to view cannot be shown because the authenticity of the received data could not be verified.
Please contact the website owners to inform them of this problem.
For example when visiting this URL: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_6_0

More on that error here: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/se ... =inproduct

But never mind that. I have some older binaries I can try, even if I currently can't connect to the main site. More importantly, how do I stop VirtualBox from crashing my PC? Uninstall it?
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

The website works again. I have downloaded this: VirtualBox-6.1.30-148432-Win.exe

And this: Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-6.1.30.vbox-extpack
An newer version of the extension pack is already installed, would you like to downgrade?

Extension packs complement the functionality of VirtualBox and can contain system level software that could be potentially harmful to your system. Please review the description below and only proceed if you have obtained the extension pack from a trusted source.

Name: Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
New Version: 6.1.30r148432
Current Version: 6.1.31r148916
Description: Oracle Cloud Infrastructure integration, USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 Host Controller, Host Webcam, VirtualBox RDP, PXE ROM, Disk Encryption, NVMe.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by scottgus1 »

The Virtualbox website has been having some intermittent problems. It is reported to have been fixed at this time.
SamirG wrote:I have currently uninstalled both VirtualBox and Guest Additions for that version.
VboxMouse.sys should not be on the host PC. This file is part of Guest Additions, and goes inside the guest, the VM, not in the host PC. (Otherwise they'd be called Host Additions.)

Since you report having uninstalled Guest Additions from your host PC (however you were able to get them installed in the first place) stop installing Guest Additions on the host. Install only Virtualbox and the Extension Pack, then you should be good.
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

Downgrade? Yes, please.

There you have it, 6.1.31r148916 is the preview version I used to test if it's any smarter than the previous one. Then uninstalled, and 6.1.30r148432 is now installed again. I think this is the one I had upgraded to previously. And yes, I have downgraded the corresponding extension pack to match the current version (6.1.30r148432). And guess what? It worked! Until I blew it by installing VBoxMouse.sys manually.

I found a good lead here from 2019:
viewtopic.php?t=89121#p442072
I was able to fix that by extracting the file VBoxMouse.sys from the VBoxGuestAdditions_5.1.32.iso extract VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64.exe
But make note that these people are talking about actually using VirtualBox in a VM context. They have a Mac, I have a PC. They have to use VirtualBox to get Windows 10 to run on their Mac, I don't; my PC is a Windows 10 host system already. So it's quite a different scenario, but the recipe for disaster is the same. I wanted to follow up on that lead and see what happens. Now I know. In summary, on this Windows 10 installation (which is not a VM), I went from unbroken, to broken, back to unbroken, and now back to broken again by manually installing that SYS file following the suggestion above.

I have an idea now how I ended up here in the first place. I think at one point during the initial upgrade of VirtualBox (to 6.1.30r148432 from whatever was the previous version), I somehow installed guest additions on the host system, instead of installing it on the guest OS. I know I was having issues with a Ubuntu VM that I have with VirtualBox, which was giving me issues related to guest additions and I was reinstalling it. As I recall it, every time I upgrade Ubuntu (or is it VirtualBox?...) the guest addition integration gets screwed up, and you have to reinstall it to fix it or something like that. I know I was following some crappy YouTube instruction on how to sort the issue (I may check later to see if I can find it again).

So this all leads me to following question: is it possible to install GUEST additions on HOST OS? And, would that break the system by any chance? I think yes, absolutely. I may be wrong, but I think I have a pretty good idea now on what's going on. I have evidently broken it again by manually installing that SYS on the host, it was working fine just minutes ago, before I did that. I will try to unscrew the screwup again and test to see if it checks out.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by scottgus1 »

SamirG wrote:I somehow installed guest additions on the host system
Please read my post above.
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

scottgus1 wrote:The Virtualbox website has been having some intermittent problems. It is reported to have been fixed at this time.
Thanks for confirming. It seems to be OK now.
scottgus1 wrote:VboxMouse.sys should not be on the host PC. This file is part of Guest Additions, and goes inside the guest, the VM, not in the host PC. (Otherwise they'd be called Host Additions.)
As I suspected then. Thanks for confirming! I'll see what I can do to undo this now once more and test again. I know... I should know better not to follow bad instructions on YouTube by some Indian guy serving up content as clickbait. I was very frustrated at the time (wanted a quick fix) because drag and drop between Windows (host) and Ubuntu (guest) was not working. This has been a common problem for many months, at least for me.
Last edited by SamirG on 6. Jan 2022, 13:37, edited 1 time in total.
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

It works again. I didn't have to reinstall Guest Additions.

It was enough to just run this: uninst.exe
From the folder where I extracted Guest Additions EXE: \VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64

For good measure, I also removed them from these locations:
C:\Windows\System32\DRVSTORE\VBoxMouse_2FBDE0AB2FD1BE15EA505017F791D49DB9D4917A
C:\Windows\System32\DRVSTORE\VBoxMouse_C6FF32E1A98ECA4DA98961A8C713F3D5B3F4D280

This one is stubborn:
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\vboxmouse.inf_amd64_001ba0e124d489ec

Only the SYSTEM user can remove it. I will give it another try later.

There are a bunch of other drivers in these locations relating to VirtualBox as well, but I dare not touch those. I will assume they are safe to keep and that those that relate to Guest Additions have been unregistered from the system.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by scottgus1 »

There are up to 5 .sys files starting with 'Vbox' that can be in the host's C:\Windows\Systen32\Drivers folder:

VBoxDrv.sys
VBoxNetAdp6.sys
VBoxNetLwf.sys
VBoxUSB.sys
VBoxUSBMon.sys

These are valid files for supporting Virtualbox. Other vbox files in C:\Windows may be from Guest Additions.
SamirG
Posts: 11
Joined: 19. Feb 2014, 23:31

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by SamirG »

I have now removed the stubborn one as well:
C:\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\vboxmouse.inf_amd64_001ba0e124d489ec

You have to boot with Command Prompt to be able to remove this.

This is the video I was "following" instructions from:
https://youtu.be/jQNaGADuaa0

As it turns out the mistake is entirely on me, because I was not following instructions as well as I thought I was (frustration can have that effect). He did install it in the guest VM, whereas I installed it in the host. I'm not sure how I was even able to make this mistake. The EXE file is inside an ISO. Which in turn is inside a VBOX-EXTPACK file which you import from using VirtualBox. I must have gone to the installation folder and mounted the ISO file from there on the host OS and then ran the EXE.

Anyway. I blame this entirely on myself. The issue is fixed now. Thanks for your help!
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: VBoxMouse.sys crashes my PC

Post by scottgus1 »

Glad to be of help!

BTW, the Guest Additions is not inside the Extension Pack.

The Guest Additions ISO comes with the Virtualbox installer, both being under a GPLv2 license.

The Extension Pack is a separate download and it has a more restricted license.
Post Reply