Virtual machines no longer start

[lostontheplane]

I have a windows 8.1 host machine. When I left Australia on Sunday I had 3 working virtual linux.

If I try to open any of them in the UK for the first time the machine hangs before it opens. ie I click on start and get a black screen with 0% opening showing. The only thing I can do a that stage is kill it using the Task Manager.

I created a new vm and it also hung when it tried to open for the first time at exactly the same place.

I have no idea how to even start trouble shooting this. I have found a similar topic but that talked about changing the machines to a different computer. All I did was fly half-way around the world.

[loukingjr]

Minimum information needed for assistance.

[loukingjr]

While we are waiting for the info requested, I assume this is a laptop of some sort and it may have been scanned, maybe twice, some part of the storage may have been damaged that happens to affect VirtualBox. You could always try reinstalling VirtualBox. It won't affect your VMs.

[lostontheplane]

I am using VB 5.0.4 and I have installed the Guest Additions

host is windows 8.1 64 bit ( Computer is 8 GB so does that mean 6 GB when virtual machine is running?

Guest is Ubuntu 14.0.4 64 bit 2gb

[loukingjr]

That's the correct file but it's incomplete. Shutdown the guest before attaching the VBox.log and don't rename it please.

edit: I should have mentioned compress it if it's too large to attach. Sorry.

[lostontheplane]

The file is too big to upload (348kb). Should I split into parts or is there some other way to make it available to you.

[loukingjr]

yes, compress it.

[lostontheplane]

BTW I thought I might try the suggestion to reinstall VB, but I got an error doing that (Couldn't uninstall old version of 5.0.4 was the error message I believe so for know that approach is on hold.)

Edit: I am downloading 5.0.6 in preparation for an update to try a reinstall - Should I try that now or wait to see what others can see in the startup log?

[loukingjr]

That's not the file you sent before.

With the VM fully shut down, right click it in the VB GUI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (ONLY) to a zip file. Attach the zip here.

As far as reinstalling, you should be able to just reinstall on top of the installed one.

Are you absolutely certain nothing changed from the time you left until you arrived? It's extremely odd that 3 VMs would all fail at the same time in the same way without changing anything on the computer.

[lostontheplane]

I wonder if you can tell that I am operating at the limit of (or perhaps beyond) my abilities.

I am inclined to think it might be something was corrupted doing the airport scanning in the main program. I think perhaps is is not 3 machines that don't work, but one manager that doesn't work. If I create a new VM then the first time it runs (when it is meant to install the guest operating system) it hangs at the same place.

I am now downloading 5.0.6 to try an upgrade to that.

( It is possible that there was an upgrade Windows when I last shut down in Australia _ I really can't remember, but will try to see if there is a log that will tell me.)

[loukingjr]

This log isn't from the same vM you sent before.

I have to run for a bit but someone may take over from where we left off.

[lostontheplane]

Sorry, about the file confusion. I have tried to many times to start the machines that I don't know if I can retrieve the original file I attached. I will have another look.

Re trying to reinstall 5.0.4 or upgrade to 5.0.6 I get an error.( 2 screens associated with it.) that I have attached.

EDIT: That original log file is no longer available. The last log file I attached results from an attempt to start the VM that ended with exactly the same problem

[lostontheplane]

Thanks you loukingjr for the time you spent trying to help me. I was in a panic as I was in a training session I came all the way from Australia for and I needed the vm for that.

In the end a very knowledge friend unexpectedly arrived.

His solution was to change something in BIOS. Bearing in mind that I am not very technical, I will record my understanding of what he did here in case someone else has the same problem.

My recall of what he said was

There are two parts to the virtualization setup in BIOS, one is to do with processing and the other with IO. I disabled the the virtualization IO. That has forced the computer to work in a less slick but more stable way

.

It has indeed solved my problem.

[loukingjr]

Glad it's working. Although I'm not sure what is meant by Virtualization IO. Plus, I don't know how the BIOS settings could have changed by flying from Oz to the UK. But glad it worked out.

[Martin]

"one to do with processing" = VT-x
"the other with IO" = VT-d

VT-d would only be needed for PCI passthrough, which I've never seen used in a notebook.