Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

I'm running VirtualBox v6.1.36 with guest additions installed on two computers, both of which are running Windows 10 Pro 64-bit v21H2.

The first computer is old, an I5-650 processor, and has a working VM of Windows XP SP-3, which I use to run an app which hasn't been updated to work on anything newer than Windows XP. This is running perfectly and is not the problem.

The second computer is being setup to replace the first. It has an I9-10900 processor, a 1TB SSD, and 64GB of RAM. It's Network adapter is an Intel Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V. I want to install a copy of the VM of Windows XP SP3 on this computer.

On the I5-650 computer, I cloned the Windows XP SP-3 VM. It is named Windows XP SP-3 Clone. It starts and runs correctly on the I5-650 computer. When cloning the VM, I used these settings: Clone type - Full Clone. Snapshots - Everything. MAC address policy - Generate new MAC address for all network adapters. Keep disk names - checked. Keep hardware UUIDs - Unchecked.

I copied this VM clone to the VirtualBox VMs folder on the I9-10900 computer. I edited it to change the Network setting to "Intel PRO/1000 T Server (Bridged Adapter, Intel Ethernet Controller (3) I225-V)".

When I try to start the cloned VM on the I9-10900 computer, I get this error message:
==================
Failed to open a session for the virtual machine Windows XP SP3 Clone.

Not in a hypervisor partition (HVP=0) (VERR_NEM_NOT_AVAILABLE).

VT-x is disabled in the BIOS for all CPU modes (VERR_VMX_MSR_ALL_VMX_DISABLED).

Result Code: E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component: ConsoleWrap
Interface: IConsole {872da645-4a9b-1727-bee2-5585105b9eed}
==================
Here is where I need the help. I have no idea how to interpret this error message. What do I need to do to get this working?

I am attaching the VM log file, VBox.log The VBoxHardening.log is 333 KB, and this board won't let me upload it because it is too large.

Thanks in advance for your assistance!

John
VBox.log
(30.61 KiB) Downloaded 4 times
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

One additional bit of information: The I9-10900 computer is built on an ASUS PRIME Z590-A motherboard.
scottgus1
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by scottgus1 »

Either your computer's "virtualization technology" (VT-x) is not on in the BIOS or Hyper-V is active. Go through everything in:

I have a 64bit host, but can't install 64bit guests

If you find that VT-x is enabled (as it is in most modern BIOSes) then try disabling Hyper-V. See HMR3Init: Attempting fall back to NEM (Hyper-V is active)
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

> Either your computer's "virtualization technology" (VT-x) is not on in the BIOS or Hyper-V is active.

Hyper-V was not active, but VT-X was not enabled either. Changing that setting in the BIOS to ENABLED was
all that was necessary to get it running. Thanks very much for the help.

I did note that the startup time for the VM seemed to be about the same, if not longer, on this new computer
than it was on the old one. I find that surprising, but I can live with it if necessary. The Windows XP app that
I need to use is working fine. Any suggestions on improving the VM startup time?
BillG
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by BillG »

You told us about the processor on the new PC, what about the disk storage? The best way to speed up a vm is to make sure that it is stored on a fast disk, preferably an SSD.
Bill
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

The New computer, the I9-10900, has a 1TB M2 SSD.

Here are some startup time comparisons of the Windows XP VM between the two computers, measured from the moment Normal Start is clicked:

Old (I5-650 CPU)
Windows GUI appears: 8 seconds
Windows XP logo appears: 15 seconds
Welcome logo appears: 21 seconds
Background screen appears: 51 seconds
All desktop icons appear: 149 seconds

New (I9-10900 CPU)
Windows GUI appears: 6 seconds
Windows XP logo appears: 11 seconds
Welcome logo appears: 16 seconds
Background screen appears: 46 seconds
All desktop icons appear: 143 seconds

Considering how much faster the I9-10900 box is compared to the I5-650 box, I was hoping
the Windows XP VM would start much faster.

John
BillG
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by BillG »

I would say that you still have not solved the Windows hypervisor problem. See the link Scott gave you earlier. When the vm is running, do you see a green turtle with a V on its back?

I have found Windows XP very slow to boot in "turtle" mode.
Turtle.PNG
Turtle.PNG (11.66 KiB) Viewed 2144 times
Bill
mpack
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by mpack »

Please provide an updated VM log file. Make sure the VM is fully shut down, then right click it in the manager UI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip file. Attach the zip here.
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

BillG: There is NO turtle icon.

mpack: Zipped VBOX.log attached.
Windows XP SP3-2022-08-08-10-51-53.zip
(29.91 KiB) Downloaded 3 times
John
mpack
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by mpack »

Hyper-v is not enabled, VirtualBox is running using VT-x. So all that is fine.

The VM reaches the desktop in 9 seconds, I'd say that's not bad when only one CPU core has been allocated (note: XP is not plug and play regarding CPU cores, so if it wasn't originally installed with the "ACPI Multiprocessor PC" HAL then adding cores is pointless until the HAL is replaced, which can be a bit involved. See viewtopic.php?f=1&t=24823&start=15#p111502.

It's also normal for a new Windows install to do a lot of indexing etc on a new install, and I suspect also when it notices a significant hardware change. Again, this will be especially noticable to someone used to a multi-core PC.
fth0
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by fth0 »

mpack wrote:The VM reaches the desktop in 9 seconds
Not really. Please read on for the relevant indicators:
Windows XP SP3-2022-08-08-10-51-53.log wrote:
00:00:09.465650 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 5.1.30 r118389 '5.1.30'
00:00:11.607669 Display::i_handleDisplayResize: uScreenId=0 pvVRAM=000000000bc80000 w=800 h=600 bpp=32 cbLine=0xC80 flags=0x1 origin=0,0
00:02:20.662270 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x1 -> 0x5) seamless: yes, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: yes
After 9 seconds, the VirtualBox Guest Additions 5.1.30 (GA) were started. After 11 seconds, the VM's window was displayed in its final resolution. But only after 2 minutes and 20 seconds, the contents were shown in the VM's window.

I'd suggest to start Windows XP in Safe Mode and to uninstall the obsolete GA version. Afterwards, install the GA 6.1.36 matching your VirtualBox version.
johnb3030
Posts: 13
Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

I originally configured this VM in 2016, so that's why there is a very old version of the VirtualBox Guest Additions. I hadn't noticed that until you pointed it out.

I have to admit my understanding of the VirtualBox Guest Additions is minimal. Every time I update the program, it asks me if I want to install the updated VirtualBox Guest Additions, and I do so.

What functionality, if any, do the VirtualBox Guest Additions add on a Windows XP VM?

> I'd suggest to start Windows XP in Safe Mode and to uninstall the obsolete GA version.

I have no idea how to start the Windows XP VM in safe mode. But if I start the Add or Remove Programs app in the XP VM, the VirtualBox Guest Additions are listed, so perhaps they can be un-installed without being in Safe Mode?

If I succeed in removing the obsolete GA version from the XP VM, how do I then install the version matching my Virtual Box version?

Virtual Box releases updates fairly often. Is it desirable to always have the same GS version in the XP VM?

Thanks in advance for your help!

John
scottgus1
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by scottgus1 »

johnb3030 wrote:I have no idea how to start the Windows XP VM in safe mode.
Please see start XP in safe mode.
johnb3030 wrote:if I start the Add or Remove Programs app in the XP VM, the VirtualBox Guest Additions are listed, so perhaps they can be un-installed without being in Safe Mode?
Theoretically. If you don't have any running problems aside from being slow, that may work.
johnb3030 wrote:how do I then install the version matching my Virtual Box version?
Please see section 4 in the Virtualbox manual. (Note that XP has some kind of time-out when installing the Guest Additions that will delay the install some 10's of minutes, but disconnecting the VM's network "cable" causes the time-out to not occur.)
johnb3030 wrote:Virtual Box releases updates fairly often. Is it desirable to always have the same GS version in the XP VM?
Not necessarily. Out-of-date GAs inside the VM aren't necessarily a problem, unless 3D acceleration is being used for the VM. But XP VMs no longer have 3D acceleration available. So if the new version of Guest Additions does not have any bug fixes or new features, you should be able to use old GAs in the XP VM for some time.
johnb3030
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Joined: 6. Sep 2016, 23:06

Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by johnb3030 »

> https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/UserManual.html

I should have looked at this before my last post. Sorry! Section 4.2.1 will answer some of my questions. But not all! So feel free to elaborate on that which is not obvious!

FWIW, I'm a retired EE. When I was in school, computers ran with punch cards and electronics courses were still transitioning from tube design techniques to transistor design techniques. Integrated circuits...unknown in those days. Everything I know about modern computer technology I have picked up on my own. I assembled and configured the two computers I've been talking about here, and several more in addition over the last 24 years.

John
fth0
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Re: Relative newbie trying to clone a working VM for new computer

Post by fth0 »

scottgus1 wrote:use old GAs in the XP VM for some time
I'm wondering what you consider "for some time": 5.1.30 -> 6.1.36 (~5 years) ...

From my POV, I'd consider missing some minor updates ok (if you don't mind security issues, of course). But I wouldn't expect a major update to stay compatible on the long run, even if the developers try hard not to break compatibility on purpose. ;)
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