Ubuntu VBox upgrade prevents guest OS startup

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pez
Posts: 2
Joined: 5. Dec 2017, 08:21

Ubuntu VBox upgrade prevents guest OS startup

Post by pez »

Since upgrading my kubuntu to v.17.04 (Zesty) my vbox (with Win10 guest) stopped recognizing USB devices (external drive and scanner). The USB choice in the "devices" menu disappeared completely.
After much poking around on the web (especially here) I eventually tried upgrading vbox.
My apt-get system insisted that I had the latest version of vbox but the Oracle/Virtualbox website offered a newer one.

It insisted that I first remove my existing virtualbox (still regarded by apt as the latest version) and guest extension software, which I did.
It then permitted me to install a slightly newer version of virtualbox: virtualbox-5.2_5.2.2-119230~Ubuntu~zesty_amd64.deb and Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.2.2-119230.vbox-extpack.
Now, when I try to bring up either of my windows virtual disks, I get a rather opaque error message:
The virtual machine 'Win10' has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1).
Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine {85cd948e-a71f-4289-281e-0ca7ad48cd89}
I tried creating a new virtual disk for windows10, using my old virtual disk file, and that didn't work.
My Windows7 virtual disk doesn't work either.

I have no idea what to do now.
My bill paying software lives in my Windows10 virtual disk and I'll soon need to use it.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks
pez
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: Ubuntu VBox upgrade prevents guest OS startup

Post by socratis »

Unless you've configured your repositories as described in the Linux Downloads section of the VirtualBox website, apt-get goes in the Ubuntu repository and gets the forked version of VirtualBox, not the official one. That's why you have the discrepancies.

You need to completely uninstall/delete/purge everything and anything VirtualBox related from your system. Excluding your VMs of course, they will be unharmed from the whole procedure. Then follow the instructions in the link that I gave you and install the official VirtualBox. And the same version of the Extension Pack, because it seems that you're going to need the added USB functionality.
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.
pez
Posts: 2
Joined: 5. Dec 2017, 08:21

Re: Ubuntu VBox upgrade prevents guest OS startup

Post by pez »

Thank you very much Socratis!
I deleted every virtualbox related file I could find and followed the instructions that you suggested.
I now have my windows10 virtual drive back and I will be able to pay my bills on time!

Now I just need to figure out why, even with the upgraded virtualbox (plus updated extensions and guest additions) windows10 still does not think any USB devices are attached.
As before, I am using a USB wireless mouse and have a shared USB remote disk drive for backups. Windows uses these but still, if I hover over the little USB icon at the bottom of the vbox window, it still reports, "No USB devices attached"
I just bought a nice new Epson V370 (USB) scanner which windows cannot detect.

Also, I my CD/DVD drive used to be accessible to the vbox and now it is not.

Strangely, after poking around in various linux sites, I was able to get the scanner to do simple document scanning on the linux side.
But nothing more.
If I can get windows10 to detect the presence of the scanner, there are lots of fancy features that I will be able to use.

In any case, I really appreciate your help with this!
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: Ubuntu VBox upgrade prevents guest OS startup

Post by socratis »

Please read the following thread: USB basics and troubleshooting, all of the posts, to get a general understanding of the USB subsystem in VirtualBox. If you still have a problem after reading through the whole thing, please follow the advice of the last post.
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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