Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

On my iMac (OSX 10.6.8) 2TB systemdisk I have a 50 GB FAT32 partition.
It will not be recognized and/or mount as shared folder in my Win10 Pro installation in VirtualBox (VB 4.3.30)
Tried all I can think of in "setting" before firing up the VB....
("older" versions I know, but for other reasons can't cross the OSX 10.6.8 limit (PowerPC compatibility) -
BUT same issue with other machine, MacBook OSX 10.13.6 with VB version 5.2.28)
Best regards
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by mpack »

If the FAT volume is recognized by the host OS then the guest can (and should) access it as a shared folder.

Better yet, have the guest limit itself to a single folder on the partition, if you don't care to have everything in that partition potentially exposed to the internet.

If you need to continue the discussion then please post a VM log file. With the VM fully shut down, right click and "Show Log" in the GUI, save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip, and attach the zip here.
pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

Hi mpack. Thanks for response.
The requested .zip fil is attached...

FAT32 partition works fine within the MacOSX filesystem...
TRIED: from the FAT32 partition selected a single folder as "shared machine folder"
No luck - either the FAT32 Volume OR the specific folder is visible/accessible from the VB Win10 machine.

Looking forward to your good advice :-) Best Regards Peter
Attachments
Win10iMac-2019-03-14-16-41-05.log.zip
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mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by mpack »

First, VirtualBox 4.3.30 is very old. The 4.3.x branch was created in 2013, support ended in late 2015 - that is 6 and 4 years ago respectively. It is not the ideal platform to host a Windows 10 VM, though I don't know that the present problem is due to this.

Otherwise: the log shows that two shared folders are made available to the VM. My only comment on that is that the folder share involves a complex share name, which I wouldn't advise. My own share names are single words consisting of letters and digits and don't mix case. So IMHO "FAT32" is fine as a share name, "RunesGo_billed_BU" is not. I would change the latter to "Runesgo".

Next question: where are you looking for this share inside the guest? In a Win10 guest it should be visible in file explorer in Network -> VBOXSVR -> \\VBOXSVR\<sharename>.

As an aside: I see you have allocated all of the host CPU cores to the VM. Search the forums to find out why that is not good.
pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

> mpack. Get your point on CPU'2, now modified to 2
Ref "Next question: where are you looking for this share inside the guest? In a Win10 guest it should be visible in file explorer in Network -> VBOXSVR -> \\VBOXSVR\<sharename>."
Pls see attached screen-dump.... VBOXSVR does not show up in explorer as a network ressource

You're right.... OSX and VB are older versions on my iMac :-)!
Will run your suggestion on logfile on my MacBook Pro (OSX 10.13.6 & VB 5.2.26)
Same "shareproblem" on that macine. Will post it's logfile later today.
Regards
Attachments
Skærmbillede 2019-03-15 kl. 11.45.59.png
Skærmbillede 2019-03-15 kl. 11.45.59.png (53.4 KiB) Viewed 2108 times
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by mpack »

Which Win10 edition is it? E.g. 1803?

As it happens I spent this morning myself trying to get a Win10 Pro 64bit (1803) physical PC to show a local NAS in the "Networks" branch. I can access the control webpage of the NAS, I can access shares by typing an IP address, but the server name doesn't appear. I notice that you seem to be having the same problem: you have a NAS manually mapped to a drive letter (using an IP address?), but the NAS is not listed in the Network resources list on the left.

On the address bar in Windows Explorer, try typing "\\VBOXSVR\" and see what the result is (note the spelling, it is xxxSVR not xxxSRV). Unfortunately GA shared folders are not really on a network, so you can't get to them using an IP address.
pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

(With only 2 out of 4 CPU'e VB runs better9
Guest is: Win10 Pro 64 bit ... (fully licensed) and updated regularly updated (1809 - latest sys-update Jan 5th. 2019)
NAS: Only network NAS is a NETGEAR, which shows up in explorer - and I CAN mount any folder from this network ressource, no problemo
(Mapping the NAS? - From my "old iMac...never had to go to IP, it just shows up "nicely" as a Network ressource (as pr former screenshot). And so does my Brother printer and MacBook (from which I sent you latest logfile) )

Will try "On the address bar in Windows Explorer, try typing "\\VBOXSVR\" and see what the result is (note the spelling, it is xxxSVR not xxxSRV). Unfortunately GA shared folders are not really on a network, so you can't get to them using an IP address."
Stay tuned! Thx mpack
pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

Explorer entry: \VBOXSVR\ - "No computer or device named \VBOXSVR\ was found"
Regards Peter
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mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by mpack »

In that case I'm out of ideas, perhaps it simply doesn't work with a Win10 guest and VirtualBox 4.3.30.
pws_dk
Posts: 6
Joined: 13. Mar 2019, 20:35

Re: Mounting a FAT partition reciding on the Mac Harddisk

Post by pws_dk »

> mpack Many thanks for trying. Will keep on searching... :?
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