Installer reports "xyz is not a valid short file name"

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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shadowmite
Posts: 1
Joined: 21. Mar 2017, 10:07

Installer reports "xyz is not a valid short file name"

Post by shadowmite »

Hi,

I'm trying to install newest update of virtualbox 5.1.18 over my 5.1.14 install. Unfortunately it failes with a popup windows saying "marc.elser is not a valid short file name". I also tried running installer as administrator with same error. Also trying a "repair" in the 5.1.14 installer brings up the same error. The problem is that "marc.elser" is my user directory given by the windows domain, so the full name is "C:\Users\marc.elser" so I'm unable to change this. I just wonder where this error comes from. I also don't dare to reove virtualbox for the moment as I need it to be working for my work cause I fear that I'm unable to reinstall if I would uninstall it first.

The question is, where is this coming from and why was the install of 5.1.14 working perfectly but now also the old installer throws this error. What I know is that recently I added the "HOME" environment variable for the "minGW Git Bash" to set the home directory env. Does this also affect the installer?

Maybe also interesting is the env variable "VBOX_USER_HOME" which points to "C:\Users\marc.elser\.Virtualbox" where the Virtualbox.xml lies.

I already tried renaming those 2 env variables teporarily to something else but installer still throws the same error. Any solutions here?
socratis
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Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Installer reports "xyz is not a valid short file name"

Post by socratis »

Follow the steps below. If there is a failure, please state exactly which step failed:
  1. Log in as another user, or create a new account that is "virgin". No variables, no environmental issues, nothing.
  2. Uninstall VirtualBox. Your VMs are going to be untouched.
  3. Download (if you haven't already) the latest VirtualBox and its matching ExtPack (5.1.10 as of this writing). Store them in a common location, i.e. not on "Desktop", or "Documents", but to "Public/Downloads" for example.
  4. Right-click on the installer and select "Run as Administrator". At the end of the installation, choose to "Start Oracle VM VirtualBox". Do not worry if your VMs do not show.
  5. Go to File » Preferences » Extensions. Click on the icon with the orange, down-pointing arrow on the right. Select the ExtPack from the previous steps.
  6. Quit VirtualBox.
  7. Login as you. Re-start VirtualBox as you would normally, i.e. from the Desktop shortcut or the Start menu.
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