Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

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BobCrandell
Posts: 10
Joined: 28. Jan 2021, 17:46

Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

Post by BobCrandell »

I've seen questions about this fairly often. Occasionally one or the other suggestion works however the fall back is to reboot the host. That is not a good thing in a busy office.
How about adding an option to forcibly unlock a troublesome VM? This can be buried down in the menu system or even a separate add on program if there is concern about breaking the VM.

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

Re: Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

Post by scottgus1 »

Here are some ways that don't involve rebooting the host:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=46446
viewtopic.php?f=7&t=50590

From my web-searching, this error happens when one tries to remove a VM from Virtualbox while the process running the VM is still running. Note that the process may still be around for a short time after the VM reports being shut down. Maybe a delay before the unregister is needed.
BobCrandell
Posts: 10
Joined: 28. Jan 2021, 17:46

Re: Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

Post by BobCrandell »

In a couple of cases I was able to work on a customer's server after hours so rebooting the host was only annoying. I fought with a particular VM for several minutes which is well over the several seconds required for a normal shutdown.
To allow for impatient techs, In my suggestion, the programmer would have a 10 second countdown before activating the button to forcibly unlock the troublesome VM.
This way you can work on 1 VM without bringing the whole company to it's knees.
Thanks
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

Post by scottgus1 »

One other thing that came to mind recently why a VM might be locked and unregisterable is when the VM is a base for a linked clone. If the base VM were removed, the linked clone couldn't run either.

Of course, a VM that is running can't be unregistered. :D

A full understanding of the situation of the VM in question would be needed before we could say why it was locked.
BobCrandell
Posts: 10
Joined: 28. Jan 2021, 17:46

Re: Cannot unregister the machine 'Name' while it is locked

Post by BobCrandell »

Thanks for trying to help but I was trying to make a suggestion not solve a problem, that is make a way to forcibly unlock a VM that is not running.

In my case completely shutting down VirtualBox is functionally the same as rebooting the host, referring to the links you gave above.

Not being able to frame a question or suggestion I believe is the reason Google hates me. It takes forever to figure out how to find an answer.

Thanks for being there.
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