Host Only Adapter stopped working

[joeller]

BTW any idea why the windows for setting network preferences look so different in your screen shots from my screen shots?

[Perryg]

from what I see in your screen shot you never got to the section where you could edit it. You were just in the window that says it is there. Click the screw driver icon on the right and it should look close.

[joeller]

Whoops. Thought I attached it. Here it is.

VBoxNetworkPreferencesEditHost.png (119.46 KiB) Viewed 4644 times

[Perryg]

And if you click on the DHCP server tab what does it say?

[joeller]

OMG;

All of a sudden the DHCP server is no longer enabled and the values we had for the Host-Only adapter were very changed.

Altered Adapter tab

VBoxNetworkPreferencesEditHost_2.png (9.57 KiB) Viewed 4644 times

Altered DHCP Server tab

VBoxNetworkPreferencesEditHost_2a.png (9.29 KiB) Viewed 4644 times

And the PING looks like this!! How did this happen?

VBoxPINGHost_Error.png (11.75 KiB) Viewed 4643 times

[Perryg]

That's right. And pretty much what I said would happen if not done correctly.
Are you able to manually set them using the information I gave you? If not you will need to wait for your IT person to fix this.

[joeller]

I was able to set the DHCP server values back to where they were but it still won't let me alter the adapter values.

So how did these values get altered when All I did was open them to get screen shots for you? I didn't touch anything because I knew I did not have the rights.

[Perryg]

The setting for this is stored in the VirtualBox.xml file and if you don't use the proper method it does not get stored properly and you also must take into account that Windows wants some control over this too. That is why you changed it once and it worked but not after a boot.

The easiest way I have seen this fixed when it gets this messed up is to delete the host-only adapter, shut down VirtualBox for 20 seconds and then start the main manager and create a new one (sometimes doing this a couple of times since Windows usually is not too happy about these changes). Since you don't have the proper permissions you will need to wait for IT or someone that has administrative access to the PC.

[joeller]

Well I will wait until tomorrow. (I still don't get how adapter's IPv4 address was changed just now to something toatally unrelated, when not only did I not touch anything, but I am not even allowed to change anything.)

I wish he was an IT person, but the Navy does authorize any of use to operate as IT people. It can only be done by centralized NMCI help desk people. All we have is a person with what they call developer rights, (i.e. a few admin rights rights but missing some very crucial ones.) Hopefully when we replace the adapter it will reset IP address to the standard defaults without any problems.

[BillG]

169.254.x.x are called APIPA addresses. If a Windows machine is set to get its IP address automatically and the DHCP server cannot be found, Windows will generate an APIPA address. Windows does this so that, if a network does not have a DHCP server but the machines are set to get their network config automatically, they will be able to communicate using APIPA addresses.

So it has nothing to do with VirtualBox really. It will happen whenever a DHCP server is not available for whatever reason.

[joeller]

Actually it has a little to do with Virtual Box because it deleted the network adapter's DHCP server itself. So when the network adapter is removed and re-added with its default IP address then windows will revert to the proper IP address for that network?

[joeller]

Just a line to keep you in the loop. Finally got the person with admin rights to do some work on this machine.

1. Closed VM
2. Deleted Network adapter.
3. Readded Network adapter.
4. Network Adapter added with IPV4 address of 194.168.56.1 but with DHCP server not enabled.
5. Deleted Network Adapter.
6. Turned off Virtual Box for 1 minute.
7. Turned on Virtual Box.
8. Readded Network adapter. Same as # 4 above.
9. Realized that VM had been turned off but was in saved state. At this point, I lost the services of the admin.
10. This morning, just for fun and giggles, I started VM and knocked off the user who had the VM locked (I have admin rights on the VM, but not the host.)
11. Shutdown VM.
12. I checked the setting on the Network adapter. The IPv4 address was the default but the DHCP Server was still not enabled. I enabled the DHCP Server and set the settings to be those displayed in your first post.
13. I restarted VM.
14. I tried to connect from outside the host. "Internet explorer cannot display web page."
15. I opened the network adapter. Somehow the default IPv4 address was changed from the 192.168.56.1 to 192.168.48.1.

So now I am waiting the admin to again become available for a few minutes so I can delete the Network Adapter with the VM off and NOT saved to see if that makes a difference.

[joeller]

Admin came back we did the following.

1. Closed VM. Made sure it was shutdown not saved.
2. Deleted Network Adapter.
3. Closed Virtual Box.
4. Waited 3 minutes.
5. Opened Virtual Box
6. Added Network Adapter. Setting for default showed 192.168.48.1 DHCP server not enabled.
7. Entered settings that perryG reported as being the default settings. 192.168.56.1 for IPv4 of adapter and 192.168.56.100 for DHCP server IPv4 255.255.255.0 for DHCP server mask, 192.168.56.1 as lower bound of DHCP server and 192.168.56.254 as upper bound DHCP Server.

8. Turned off Virtual Box. Waited 2 minutes.
9. Turned on Virtual Box. Checked network preferences. Values still the same as above.
10. Turned on VM. Checked IPv4 of VM value is 0.0.0.0
11. Found out network admin had saved power point with screen shots of original network settings of the host and the VM as set up by the wizard.
12. Original settings Network adapter IPv4 192.168.56.102, DHCP server IPv4 192.168.56.100, host IP on VBox network Adapter 192.168.56.101 Guest IPv4 address 192.168.56.102 See Below.

So it was never set to the defaults cited above.

Network information of VB network adapter on host Original

VBoxHostNetworkOrig.png (94.51 KiB) Viewed 4627 times

Network Preferences Original

VBoxNetworkPreferencesOrig.png (37.56 KiB) Viewed 4627 times

DHCP settings Original

VBoxNetworkPreferencesDHCPOrig.png (37.92 KiB) Viewed 4627 times

[joeller]

More Settings

Network Config Host Original

VBoxHostNetworkOrig_ B.png (111.73 KiB) Viewed 4626 times

Network Cofig Guest Original

VBoxNetworkConfigGuestOrig.png (5.51 KiB) Viewed 4627 times

So I am not clear why VBox VM wizard did not use the defaults as defined?

[Perryg]

From the looks of it whom ever set this up decided to use custom settings. At that point all attempts to repair would be at the hands of the person that set it up as they are the only ones that would have known what needed to be done. Remember this going forward and if you have another issue please mention it.