Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

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ChrisSl
Posts: 2
Joined: 20. Jan 2018, 20:10

Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

Post by ChrisSl »

Hello
Appreciate some assistance

Symptoms Vbox 5.2.6

Host : WIndows 10

Guest : Windows Server 2012 with all patches and fixes applied, uptodate VirtualBoxAddditions installed.

Issue : Mounting ISO from Shared Folder does not work

I want to provision a box with some software from a .ISO
The usual approach is to just mount the ISO file and run the installer, as you would expect.

1. Mount Shared Folder using VirtualBox to Guest . All documents, PDFs from the shared folder are accessible in guest no issue .
2. Now try and Mount .ISO file from shared folder
3. Error "Sorry - there was a problem mounting the file'
4. Checked ISO by mounting on the Host - no issues, ISO is good
5. CHecked a different ISO file - same issue " Sorry - there was a problem mounting the file"

Tried large and small ISOs no issue.

Copying the ISO from the shared folder to the guest filesystem works and is indeed a workaround but this is a PITA from a provisioning point of view if I want to do this every time.

Tried much googling but no real answer.

I suspect it is the way Windows tries to mount a remote ISO . Checking in procmon seems to show an invalid parameter deep in the logic.

Is anyone else hitting this issue, please, and if so do you know how I can fix it, or is it just me ?

tHanks in advance

Chris.
socratis
Site Moderator
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: Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

Post by socratis »

ChrisSl wrote:Copying the ISO from the shared folder to the guest filesystem works and is indeed a workaround
It's not a workaround, it's your only option, you'll have to live with that. VirtualBox's shared folders present a very simplified file system implementation, just enough to read/write files from/to the guest. Many applications can error when using shared folders, because they expect advanced features, like file locking or access controls, which don't exist for shared folders.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
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BillG
Volunteer
Posts: 5102
Joined: 19. Sep 2009, 04:44
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows 10,7 and earlier
Location: Sydney, Australia

Re: Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

Post by BillG »

If you want to avoid the problem, use Windows file sharing between host and guest, not shared folders.
Bill
ChrisSl
Posts: 2
Joined: 20. Jan 2018, 20:10

Re: Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

Post by ChrisSl »

Thanks folks


Using network shares wont work in a NAT environment cos the guest can;r really see the host, or am I missing something .

I'm doing this in a Vagrant provisioning environment so I need a NAT adapter first. May need to add a second one just for the network sharing then, or just do the file copying.
socratis
Site Moderator
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: Shared Folder ISO Mount issues

Post by socratis »

ChrisSl wrote:can;r really see the host, or am I missing something
The latter.
ChrisSl wrote:May need to add a second one just for the network sharing then, or just do the file copying.
The former. ;)

Please read the following: User Manual, ch. 6.2. Introduction to networking modes including the Overview table, which shows quickly what kind of connection is required to achieve what you want. And remember, you can always have more than one network card in your guest to cover multiple scenarios.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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