Windows password for vboxuser

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IanDitchfield
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Joined: 7. Sep 2022, 22:53

Windows password for vboxuser

Post by IanDitchfield »

Running VirtualBox v7.0 on a MacBook under iOS v12.6.3. I haven't changed anything for months, although it is possible that the iOS has upgraded since I last ran VirtualBox.
On opening VirtualBox, it has always chuntered away for a bit and then produced a logon screen for "vboxuser". This is not a logon I have created, it seems to come with VirtualBox. Hitherto I have just hit enter, and the default blank/null password has been accepted.

Now I get "The password is incorrect. Try again". Leaving the password null/blank is no longer deemed valid. What is the password please? Or alternatively, how can I set up my own account with my own password.
(Bear in mind that this VirtualBox application is only running on my own personal MacBook which is fully protected, so no further password is necessary.)
granada29
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by granada29 »

I am pretty sure you mean macOS 12.6.3 - i.e. macOS Monterey. iOS is the operating system used on iPad and iPhone devices.

You have not indicated the OS being run in your VM and it is not clear if this login request is coming from your host system (macOS 12.6.3) or from your VM.

It would really help if you could post the log of a session that has failed.

1. Start your VM from a non saved state and let it run until the error occurs.
2. Shutdown the VM completely.
3. Right click the VM name in VirtualBox Manager and choose 'Show in Finder'
4. Open the Logs folder and then right-click the file VBox.log. Choose the Compress option in the popup menu.
5. Attach the file VBox.log.zip to a new post in this thread.
IanDitchfield
Posts: 4
Joined: 7. Sep 2022, 22:53

Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by IanDitchfield »

Quite right, I meant MacOS. Hadn't appreciated the name was different on Mac and phone.

Back to Box. Subtle difference this time. It told me my password had expired. But I still need to know what the password is before it will allow me to set a new one. log zip attached
Attachments
VBox.log.zip
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multiOS
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by multiOS »

There are some configuration issues with the VM, but the main problem is likely to be the limited resources provided by your Host System, i.e. running 2 64-bit Operating Systems on a MacBook Air with a Dual-Core processor and 8GB RAM presents a challenge.

If you can adjust the following settings the VM might be able to run, but I'm not sure how stable the setup will be.

1. Increase the CPU Cores allocated to the VM from 1 to 2 in the VM Settings. This will leave the Host system to balance the allocation when your CPU only has two Cores, but both 64-bit Operating Systems would normally expect to have at least a dedicated dual-core CPU, so try to limit the processes running on the Host system as much as possible when using the VM.

2. The Box.Log also shows:
00:00:03.711567 Host RAM: 8192MB (8.0GB) total, 3064MB (2.9GB) available

0:00:04.378563 RamSize <integer> = 0x0000000100000000 (4 294 967 296, 4.0 GiB)
00:00:04.379225 VRamSize <integer> = 0x0000000008000000 (134 217 728, 128.0 MiB)
You shouldn't allocate RAM to the VM that isn't available, so I would suggest you reduce the RAM allocation to 2GB and leave the VRAM setting at 128MB, which should be sufficient for Windows 10 VM basic use.

Please make these changes in the VM's settings and then try to start it again? If it doesn't start up, or there are further problems, please let us know what happens; and attach the new VBox.Log.
Last edited by multiOS on 31. Jan 2023, 21:04, edited 1 time in total.
granada29
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by granada29 »

A couple of things in your VM configuration:

Code: Select all

00:00:03.711567 Host RAM: 8192MB (8.0GB) total, 3064MB (2.9GB) available
.
00:00:04.378563   RamSize           <integer> = 0x0000000100000000 (4 294 967 296, 4.0 GiB)
1. You have allocated 4GB to the VM but only have 2.9GB available in your host. This is not likely to end well. You need to either reduce the VM allocation or shutdown other applications that you are running (e.g. web browser)
2. You have only 1 CPU core allocated to to the VM. Usually it is recommended to allocate 2 cores to a Windows 10 installation, but your machine has only 2 cores (+ 2 hyper thread). I would try giving 2 cores to the VM, but this may be detrimental to the host OS.

I gather it is Windows that is prompting you for a password. This user login must have been created at the time you installed Windows 10. How did you install the Windows OS in your VM? I am guessing you used the Unattended Guest OS Installation

From the VirtualBox User Manual Section 1.8.2 Unattended Guest OS Install, it appears there is a default user of vboxuser with a default password of 'changeme'. Please try this password (without the quotes).

If this default password works, then you should immediately do as suggested by its name and change it.
Last edited by granada29 on 31. Jan 2023, 21:05, edited 1 time in total.
multiOS
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by multiOS »

@granada29,

SNAP! Plus your added password solution.
granada29
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by granada29 »

@multiOS
SNAP indeed :)
I found the default password by creating a new VM using the wizard and clicked the little 'eye' icon next to the password field. I am sure this issue of users accepting the default will come up again in the future, so maybe it should be documented in the user manual. Security by obscurity never works.
multiOS
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by multiOS »

A good point. I haven't used that feature yet, but must try it out.
IanDitchfield
Posts: 4
Joined: 7. Sep 2022, 22:53

Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by IanDitchfield »

Now working for me :D The key thing is knowing the default password, which the system has hitherto been filling in for me without me knowing.

Thanks for your help.
multiOS
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Re: Windows password for vboxuser

Post by multiOS »

Ian,

Glad you're sorted.
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