Allow guest WinXP to use host's Bridge over Airport (macOS host)

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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AndreaGRC
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Mar 2021, 16:20

Unable to ping the host machine with a bridge virtual network interface

Post by AndreaGRC »

scottgus1 wrote:On a Windows host, Bridged requires the 'Virtualbox NDIS Bridged Networking Adapter' on the network card
Would you mind to share how or where to download this 'Virtualbox NDIS Bridged Networking Adapter'?
It seems not to be present in the VirtualBox Guest Additions.

Andrea
AndreaGRC
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Mar 2021, 16:20

Allow guest WinXP to use host's Bridge over Airport (macOS host)

Post by AndreaGRC »

Hello,

My first post here. I did a little summary of what I want and its status. Basic problem: My WinXP guest does not connect to internet in macOS host.
Screenshot 1
Screenshot 1
Captura de pantalla 2021-03-15 a la(s) 14.03.25.png (116.5 KiB) Viewed 1553 times
  • I need to access servers in WinXP guest (from macOS host)
  • I need to access internet in WinXP guest.
The Host:
  • macOS host has normal Wi-Fi connection through DHCP.
  • macOS host bridge is disabled.
  • macOS host virtual interfaces list "Thunderbolt Bridge" (bridge0) ???? with included interface Thunderbolt 1. If I check Wi-Fi here the whole Wi-Fi connection is disabled.
The guest:
  • WinXP guest already provisioned with Intel PRO/1000 network drivers.
  • WinXP could have static or dynamic IP (doesn't matter to me).
  • WinXP now is configured to get IP from DHCP.
  • WinXP network adapter attached to Bridged adapter (name: en0 WIRELESS (AirPort)). Adapter type: PCnet-FAST III
  • WinXP has not the 'Virtualbox NDIS Bridged Networking Adapter' (if needed, I don't know where to download from)
VirtualBox
  • VBox has no NAT interfaces defined.
  • Version 6.1.18

Code: Select all

VBoxManage list bridgedifs

Code: Select all

Name:            en0: Wi-Fi (AirPort)
GUID:            00306e65-0000-4000-8000-d0817a9f0c5a
DHCP:            Disabled
IPAddress:       192.168.0.58
NetworkMask:     255.255.255.0
IPV6Address:     
IPV6NetworkMaskPrefixLength: 0
HardwareAddress: d0:81:7a:9f:0c:5a
MediumType:      Ethernet
Wireless:        Yes
Status:          Up
VBoxNetworkName: HostInterfaceNetworking-en0

Name:            p2p0
GUID:            30703270-0000-4000-8000-02817a9f0c5a
DHCP:            Disabled
IPAddress:       0.0.0.0
NetworkMask:     0.0.0.0
IPV6Address:     
IPV6NetworkMaskPrefixLength: 0
HardwareAddress: 02:81:7a:9f:0c:5a
MediumType:      Ethernet
Wireless:        No
Status:          Up
VBoxNetworkName: HostInterfaceNetworking-p2p0

Name:            awdl0
GUID:            6c647761-0030-4000-8000-12cd343f584d
DHCP:            Disabled
IPAddress:       0.0.0.0
NetworkMask:     0.0.0.0
IPV6Address:     
IPV6NetworkMaskPrefixLength: 0
HardwareAddress: 12:cd:34:3f:58:4d
MediumType:      Ethernet
Wireless:        No
Status:          Up
VBoxNetworkName: HostInterfaceNetworking-awdl0

Name:            en1: Thunderbolt 1
GUID:            00316e65-0000-4000-8000-9a0012262350
DHCP:            Disabled
IPAddress:       0.0.0.0
NetworkMask:     0.0.0.0
IPV6Address:     
IPV6NetworkMaskPrefixLength: 0
HardwareAddress: 9a:00:12:26:23:50
MediumType:      Ethernet
Wireless:        No
Status:          Up
VBoxNetworkName: HostInterfaceNetworking-en1

Name:            bridge0
GUID:            64697262-6567-4030-8000-9a0012262350
DHCP:            Disabled
IPAddress:       0.0.0.0
NetworkMask:     0.0.0.0
IPV6Address:     
IPV6NetworkMaskPrefixLength: 0
HardwareAddress: 9a:00:12:26:23:50
MediumType:      Ethernet
Wireless:        No
Status:          Up
VBoxNetworkName: HostInterfaceNetworking-bridge0
What I could be missing?

Andrea
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Unable to ping the host machine with a bridge virtual network interface

Post by scottgus1 »

I merged these two topics and moved to Mac Hosts, since the problem is likely on the host, not with the VM.
AndreaGRC wrote:where to download this 'Virtualbox NDIS Bridged Networking Adapter'?
It seems not to be present in the VirtualBox Guest Additions.
The Virtualbox NDIS driver is not in the Guest Additions. It comes with a full installation of Virtualbox and only goes in the host OS, not in the VM. So you won't see it inside XP, only in the Mac, if NDIS drivers go on the Mac OS in the first place. I am not skilled in Mac, so I don't know how Virtualbox Bridged is set up in a Mac.

It is possible to turn off Bridged networking during an installation of Virtualbox. If Bridged is turned off then you wouldn't get the NDIS driver. If you don't have it now, re-install Virtualbox, taking special care with the options, and be sure Bridged is On. Also make sure the host OS is not blocking drivers, you'll need to web-search how to do this or wait for a Mac guru to come in on this topic.

Bridged does not always work over Wi-Fi. See Virtualbox Networks: In Pictures: Bridged Adapter. Some have reported that setting a static IP address in the VM in the correct IP address range for the Wi-Fi network might get the VM attached through Bridged. Web-search how to set a static IP in XP.

If static IP does not get your XP on the network, you can test with wired Ethernet, and Bridged to the Wired adapter, XP should probably get an IP address through DHCP.

XP is very old and most websites are too advanced for XP to talk to. If you ping Google at 8.8.8.8 and get good responses then XP is connected to the internet. After that, you have to find browsers and software that is compatible with modern internet security protocols.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Allow guest WinXP to use host's Bridge over Airport (macOS host)

Post by mpack »

scottgus1 wrote:XP is very old and most websites are too advanced for XP to talk to.
Absolutely not a endorsement because I have not used either of the recommended browsers, but I was recently watching this YouTube video talking about browsers available to XP in 2021:

Browsing the Web on Windows XP in 2021!.

As I said, I have not used either of the recommended browsers, however he does at one point mention that both are forks of Pale Moon (itself a fork of an older version of Firefox), and Pale Moon was my go-to until just a few weeks ago, because I absolutely hate Chrome. I used to use Firefox but abandoned it when it became clear that they were trying to evolve towards emulating Chrome (how does that make commercial sense? If people prefered the Chrome interface then why were they ever using Firefox?).

My own XP VMs use an older version of Pale Moon, but that is no longer receiving XP updates, so eventually it won't be usable on the web.
AndreaGRC
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Mar 2021, 16:20

Re: Unable to ping the host machine with a bridge virtual network interface

Post by AndreaGRC »

scottgus1 wrote:I merged these two topics and moved to Mac Hosts, since the problem is likely on the host, not with the VM.
AndreaGRC wrote:where to download this 'Virtualbox NDIS Bridged Networking Adapter'?
It seems not to be present in the VirtualBox Guest Additions.
The Virtualbox NDIS driver is not in the Guest Additions. It comes with a full installation of Virtualbox and only goes in the host OS, not in the VM. So you won't see it inside XP, only in the Mac, if NDIS drivers go on the Mac OS in the first place. I am not skilled in Mac, so I don't know how Virtualbox Bridged is set up in a Mac.

It is possible to turn off Bridged networking during an installation of Virtualbox. If Bridged is turned off then you wouldn't get the NDIS driver. If you don't have it now, re-install Virtualbox, taking special care with the options, and be sure Bridged is On. Also make sure the host OS is not blocking drivers, you'll need to web-search how to do this or wait for a Mac guru to come in on this topic.
Ok, so I uninstalled completely VirtualBox with the uninstall script, then I tried to enable Bridged networking on, but it seems to be kind of difficult in macOS without an Ethernet connection. Basically, there is no "switch on" bridge button. Maybe creating a virtual interface and linking some device... but that's too way out of my domain.

As you said, there is no easy way to find the NDIS driver for my macOS host either.

I also setup a fixed IP in the guest, with a Host-only network attached to vboxnet0 + Intel PRO 1000 MT Desktop driver, and I had access from my host to the guest servers. However, as expected, Internet is not accessible from the WinXP guest.

I guess this is not a common use case?

Thanks
granada29
Volunteer
Posts: 691
Joined: 3. Mar 2015, 07:27
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Linux, macOS, Windows

Re: Allow guest WinXP to use host's Bridge over Airport (macOS host)

Post by granada29 »

@AndreaGRC

Did you try the workaround discussed in Re: Vb 16.1.16 bridged network problem with wifi after Big Sur update?
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