Inaccessible - Required AttachedDevice/Image element is miss

[g8597963]

I left my VM machine running overnight, work up to find that my host had BSOD and now I cannot access one of my many virtual machines.

Machine says "Inaccessible" under it and to the right it shows:

Error in E:\Local Lab Private\MY-HOST-NAME\MY-HOST-NAME.vbox -- Required AttachedDevice/Image element is missing.
D:\tinderbox\win-4.2\src\VBox\Main\src-server\MachineImpl.cpp[725] (long __cdecl Machine::registeredInit(void)).
Result Code:
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component:
Machine
Interface:
IMachine {22781af3-1c96-4126-9edf-67a020e0e858}


I have searched high and low cannot understand what the problem is.
-Tried replacing the .vbox file with the .vbox-pref but it made no difference.
-I ran the file through an XML verification to check for obvious XML issues.
-My machine and its snapshot files appear to be present
-Machine log files within its folder havent updated since yesterday (no errors that i can see)
-Virtual box application log file (VboxSVC.log) shows:

Loading settings file "E:\Local Lab Private\MY-HOST-NAME\MY-HOST-NAME.vbox" with version "1.12-windows"

ERROR [COM]: aRC=E_FAIL (0x80004005) aIID={22781af3-1c96-4126-9edf-67a020e0e858} aComponent={Machine} aText={Error in E:\Local Lab Private\MY-HOST-NAME\MY-HOST-NAME.vbox -- Required AttachedDevice/Image element is missing.

D:\tinderbox\win-4.2\src\VBox\Main\src-server\MachineImpl.cpp[725] (long __cdecl Machine::registeredInit(void))}, preserve=false

I haven't been able to figure this out - does anyone have any advice? I know I can clone all of my snapshots to new machines but i would prefer to use that as a last resort.


All of my machines are stored on the same drive and in the same folder structure. This is the only machine that was running at the time of the BSOD and is the only machine that is not working today.

[mpack]

Shut the VM down, then post a zip attachment containing the latest .vbox file and one (the latest) VM log file.

[g8597963]

Shut the VM down, then post a zip attachment containing the latest .vbox file and one (the latest) VM log file.

Attached are the requested files. I did not scrub the actual machine name out of it like i did for the messages in my first post hoping that will make it easier to help me. I also made a backup of my .virtualbox folder and removed all my other machines to keep this log clean. If you would prefer to have my working machines mixed in just let me know.

One other thing I noticed this morning (before removing my other machines) is if I go into my media manager it does not even list any of the files for this machine.

[mpack]

Actually, I asked for the VM log file - you provided the VBoxSVC log file instead. I assumed that if you could find your way to the .vbox file you would have noticed the "Logs" subfolder beside it, but oh well.

Never mind, the log file was a luxury item anyway, the critical part in this error is the structure of your ".vbox" file. In this case I think the problem is that the VM is trying to mount an ISO image using a UUID that is not registed in the local media registry. It was probably registered in another VM - did you recently delete or unregister another VM?

In any case, please find attached a zip file containing a corrected .vbox file - use this to replace your existing .vbox file and report whether this fixes the problem.


Incidentally... your .vbox file has a very unusual structure. It has something like a dozen levels of nested differenced VDIs, but only one snapshot. Are you making heavy use of linked clones? Are you sharing disks across VMs - etc? All of those would be highly error prone. If I was you I would make a stand alone (no snapshots or shared disks) clone as a robust backup.

[g8597963]

Actually, I asked for the VM log file - you provided the VBoxSVC log file instead. I assumed that if you could find your way to the .vbox file you would have noticed the "Logs" subfolder beside it, but oh well.

Never mind, the log file was a luxury item anyway, the critical part in this error is the structure of your ".vbox" file. In this case I think the problem is that the VM is trying to mount an ISO image using a UUID that is not registed in the local media registry. It was probably registered in another VM - did you recently delete or unregister another VM?

In any case, please find attached a zip file containing a corrected .vbox file - use this to replace your existing .vbox file and report whether this fixes the problem.


Incidentally... your .vbox file has a very unusual structure. It has something like a dozen levels of nested differenced VDIs, but only one snapshot. Are you making heavy use of linked clones? Are you sharing disks across VMs - etc? All of those would be highly error prone. If I was you I would make a stand alone (no snapshots or shared disks) clone as a robust backup.

I apologize for missing the requested log file. It is now attached. Please note that its last modified date is from 8/25 - it is not updating when launching virtual box \ selecting the machine.

I closed out of of Virtual Box -> applied your file -> started -> same problem persists. I do however see the disk in media manager now but none of its sub items.

None of my machines are linked clones they were either all installed from scratch with 1-2 being a full clone of another.

My machine normally looks like this:

EDIT - alignment on the machines did not come out right.

NAME
-----MAJOR VERSION 1
----------MINOR VERSION A
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION B
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION C
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
-----MAJOR VERSION 2
----------MINOR VERSION A
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION B
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION C
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
-----MAJOR VERSION 3
----------MINOR VERSION A
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION B
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z
----------MINOR VERSION C
---------------Changes X
---------------Changes Y
---------------Changes Z

I deleted some snapshots Friday or Saturday but used this machine fine on Sunday. When I delete snapshots I do it from the lowest level to the highest level so that there is no "merging".

I believe my problems were caused by my PC blue screening while the guest was running. If you have any further advice it would be greatly appreciated. I think my only other alternative would be to use clonevdi tool on all my snapshots and sift through identifying what is what.

[mpack]

If what I provided didn't help then I'm out of suggestions. The media registry in this VM is a nightmare which seems to bear no relationship to the snapshot structure.

[g8597963]

If what I provided didn't help then I'm out of suggestions. The media registry in this VM is a nightmare which seems to bear no relationship to the snapshot structure.

I understand and I do appreciate the help you provided. I will re-build and buy a third drive for redundant backups.

[mpack]

I've made one final attempt at a repair: the error message in the log file has to do with a missing ISO, not one of the hard disks, therefore I've removed every mention of ISOs from the media registry in this VM - i.e. it should no longer care about missing ISOs.

Still, even if this fixes it, if I was you I would clone the current state only of this VM to get rid of all those difference file fragments.

[g8597963]

I've made one final attempt at a repair: the error message in the log file has to do with a missing ISO, not one of the hard disks, therefore I've removed every mention of ISOs from the media registry in this VM - i.e. it should no longer care about missing ISOs.

Still, even if this fixes it, if I was you I would clone the current state only of this VM to get rid of all those difference file fragments.

Thanks! I will give it a try in about 8 hours when I am able to get back in front of the machine.

In general are snapshots to be used as "restore points" ill-advised? Sounds like regardless it would be safer to have multiple machines instead of one big one with snapshots that contain similar but different data.

[mpack]

I avoid all use of snapshots, as does every other experienced user that I know of. To make a backup I simply copy the VM folder to secondary storage. To make a second copy of an existing VM that can be used at the same time I make a full clone (not "linked clone"). The idea is to keep each state as simple, robust and independant of other states as possible. If one working state gets damaged I can nearly always repair it because it's so simple, but in any case the damage can't affect other clones and backups.

[g8597963]

Sorry for the wait - I was just now able to test this and the same error persists. All is not lost - I can use the original base and re-build with a more stringent backup process (never delete existing backup until i have a new one made). Thanks again for your help I do appreciate the time and effort.

[Super Duper Strong]

forums.virtualboxDOTorg/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=80852


See the last post in this link.It might be helpful.