Machine continually reboots

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thomson
Posts: 3
Joined: 28. Jan 2010, 12:20
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: windows xp pro

Machine continually reboots

Post by thomson »

Have imported windows xp pro guest machine on windows 7 host new computer. Starting the VM for first time works fine but starting anytime after & the VM boots up to the initial main screen for less than 1sec then reboots & starts the process again & again.
Have reinstalled virtualbox (latest version) & different xp pro machines, all do the same
Any suggestions ?
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by mpack »

Research how to start the VM in safe mode. Once that is done, reconfigure the PC to not reboot automatically after a BSOD. Then see what the cause of the crash is.

Of course, this all assumes that it can boot in safe mode, which it probably can't, since you probably didn't run MergeIDE before the P2V migration.
a7t7d
Posts: 3
Joined: 28. Jan 2010, 19:29
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: xp, linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by a7t7d »

I'm getting the same issue with a non p2v XP (clean install inside Virtualbox) exported appliance.

When you first import the machine from .ovf it will boot the first time and run as normal. After the first reboot it goes into constant reboot cycle. This happens on 2 of 4 machines I've tried it on, miraculously works on the other 2. Same Virtualbox settings on all machines. Same machine settings on all machines. Working hosts: one win7x64, one xp pro x86. Nonworking hosts: one win7x64, one xp pro x86. All with plenty of RAM (3-8 gig) and HD space. All intel cpu, none with VT. All running virtualbox 3.1.2r56127.

I tried re-exporting the original VM (which is still up, running, stable) and same results on the same machines. Any ideas?

Is there a better way to clone than export/import appliance? I've searched forums and what I thought I found was that the export/import functionality superceded the older methods of cloning; is that incorrect?
mpack
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Posts: 39156
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Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by mpack »

a7t7d wrote:I'm getting the same issue with a non p2v XP (clean install inside Virtualbox) exported appliance.
The important factor in this is not that the migration was a P2V, the important factor is that a migration took place at al, from one (maybe virtual) PC to a different one - the same issues arise with P2P, P2V, V2V (your case) and V2P.

I've never used export/import appliance, but my understanding is that it may not preserve all VM settings, and it's particularly worth checking that the IDE hard disk controller type is exactly the same after as it was before. If you ran MergeIDE on that VM then the HDD controller change may matter less: however hardware changes can also trigger reactivation, so it's worthwhile to check the settings carefully before running the VM.
a7t7d
Posts: 3
Joined: 28. Jan 2010, 19:29
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: xp, linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by a7t7d »

As I stated, all settings identical, default IDE controller. This is not a reactivation issue, so I'm not clear why you're bringing up MergeIDE. As per my original post, this is a problem with the import/export to ovf functionality.

I repeat, is there a better way to clone these vm's? This forum and others seems to be deprecating the older clone methods in favor of export/import .ovf, but many of us are finding out the hard way that method results in unreliable vm's. I assume that's being worked on.

In the meantime, what is the recommended method to clone a vm that will result in reliable virtual machines? Doing a forum search tells you to use export appliance, which is obviously not working reliably yet.

Thanks for your help-
esproul
Posts: 4
Joined: 29. Jan 2010, 00:33
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by esproul »

FWIW, this exact pathology is happening to me on my OpenSolaris host. I moved a Windows XP guest using export/import per the docs, and now the guest has the reboot problem as described. I can get it to come back up by hitting F8 after the BIOS screen and choosing "Last known good configuration" (can't remember the exact text). However, I lose any changes I've made since the last boot, such as networking changes.
mpack
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Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by mpack »

a7t7d wrote:As I stated, all settings identical, default IDE controller
That statement is ambiguous. Please confirm that you have checked, and that the IDE controller is the same before and after.

There really aren't too many options here. Either a disk corruption has occurred (easily tested by mounting the hdd in a different VM and running chkdsk on it), or something is different in the VM settings. How else does the imported VM "know" to crash?
esproul
Posts: 4
Joined: 29. Jan 2010, 00:33
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by esproul »

mpack wrote:That statement is ambiguous. Please confirm that you have checked, and that the IDE controller is the same before and after.

There really aren't too many options here. Either a disk corruption has occurred (easily tested by mounting the hdd in a different VM and running chkdsk on it), or something is different in the VM settings. How else does the imported VM "know" to crash?
I'm not the OP, but I've checked my VM settings on the source and destination hosts, and both have the IDE controller as PIIX4. At first I started up the guest in safe mode and tried to check the disk-- it wanted to schedule the check and restart, which I did. The check appears to run to completion with no errors, but when it finishes I see a BSOD flash by then the VM resets. When it comes back up, it wants to do the filesystem check again and if I let it, it will BSOD just as before and I'll be in a loop. I also attached the disk to another WinXP guest and ran another filesystem check on it-- also fine.

As far as I can tell, the settings are identical. Additionally, a Linux guest that I exported/imported in the same operation works fine.

Does anyone know how to get Windows to stop on the BSOD and not reset the machine? It goes by so fast I can't read it.
esproul
Posts: 4
Joined: 29. Jan 2010, 00:33
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by esproul »

I figured out how to get the guest to stop on crash and not reset. From safe mode, I did:

Control Panel > System > Advanced tab > Startup and Recovery...Settings button

uncheck System Failure...Automatically restart > click OK.

I then let it boot normally and when it crashed I got the BSOD. I'll attach a screenshot, but for the benefit of search engines:
------
The problem seems to be caused by the following file: intelppm.sys

DRIVER_UNLOADED_WITHOUT_CANCELLING_PENDING_OPERATIONS
...
*** STOP: 0x000000CE (0xF88B58F8,0x00000000,0xF88B58F8,0x00000000)

intelppm.sys
------
Edit: a search for this error shows this ticket: http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/420. I'll try the workaround it describes and post my result. It might be an important data point that I exported this guest from an AMD-based system and imported on an Intel-based one, so it may well be related to the processor model.
Attachments
Screenshot of BSOD on imported WinXP guest crashing on startup under VirtualBox 3.1.2 on OpenSolaris host.
Screenshot of BSOD on imported WinXP guest crashing on startup under VirtualBox 3.1.2 on OpenSolaris host.
Screenshot.png (45.19 KiB) Viewed 9916 times
esproul
Posts: 4
Joined: 29. Jan 2010, 00:33
Primary OS: Solaris
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by esproul »

esproul wrote:Edit: a search for this error shows this ticket: http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/420. I'll try the workaround it describes and post my result. It might be an important data point that I exported this guest from an AMD-based system and imported on an Intel-based one, so it may well be related to the processor model.
The workaround mentioned by "xok" in the above bug report worked for me. My guest now starts normally.
mpack
Site Moderator
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by mpack »

The problem with intelppm.sys is a common one following a migration to host which uses a different CPU (eg. from P4 to Core 2 Duo). The steps to deal with it are described here. Basically, install recovery console and "disable processor" or find and delete intelppm.sys itself.

Incidentally, although that tutorial is called "How to migrate a Windows installation to VirtualBox", in fact the same issues potentially arise in any migration. However once a particular installation has been prepared to be "migration friendly" the problem should not arise again.

Although VBox virtualizes most hardware components of a PC, the guest still sees the native CPU. I guess you changed hosts, which included a change of CPU, in between your export/import steps and forgot to mention it.
a7t7d
Posts: 3
Joined: 28. Jan 2010, 19:29
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: xp, linux

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by a7t7d »

esproul, thanks very much - that took care of the problem. On my system the BSOD was so fast it wasn't even visible as a flicker, so I didn't think to try the System Failure checkbox.

Ironically, I was going between physical hosts with the exact same CPU, in fact the exact same model HP computers configured identically, so I'm not sure why this fix worked, but I'm glad it did. However, I'm still stuck with an exclamation point for Intel Processor in Device Manager (because it's looking for a driver I just deleted) and Update Driver won't pick up a replacement from MS Update. On the other hand the VM seems to be working smoothly and quickly, so I guess that's ok.

mpack, you obviously have a great amount of experience in the deep workings of Virtualbox, and I appreciate your attempts to help, but I got the impression you may have inadvertently skipped over some of the information I provided in my first posts. My original post was very detailed on the settings used, then in the next post I reiterated that "all settings [are] identical", which seems quite specific to me, and added the information that "default IDE controller" was used (PIIX4) on all hosts. I'm sorry if that seemed somehow ambiguous.

I still think there is an issue with export to .ovf. The CPU's in my host machines were all identical down to the stepping version, so removing the CPU driver should not have been necessary, and certainly should not have been necessary only on some machines. And yes, I did check for corruption on the VHD's, and all copies were ok.

Thanks again, esproul-
thomson
Posts: 3
Joined: 28. Jan 2010, 12:20
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: windows xp pro

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by thomson »

Thank you all for your help but xok's posting 9/9/09 quoted below worked for me too, just deleting the intelppm.sys files, nothing else. Thank you esproul for putting me onto it.

2009-09-09 02:48:05 changed by xok ¶

This problem happened to me.

The fastest fix is to boot in Safe Mode + Networking (F8 at startup)

- Go to %Systemroot%\Inf\ and delete all OEM#.inf

- Search for intelppm.sys in the c:\windows\ (search for hidden directories and system files) - Delete the 3 results of intelppm.sys

- Reboot the Guest normally

That's it :)
lapoo
Posts: 2
Joined: 10. Feb 2010, 02:11
Primary OS: MS Windows XP
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: MS Windows Xp

Re: Machine continually reboots

Post by lapoo »

Same problem ,,,,same solution
thomson wrote:Thank you all for your help but xok's posting 9/9/09 quoted below worked for me too, just deleting the intelppm.sys files, nothing else. Thank you esproul for putting me onto it.

2009-09-09 02:48:05 changed by xok ¶

This problem happened to me.

The fastest fix is to boot in Safe Mode + Networking (F8 at startup)

- Go to %Systemroot%\Inf\ and delete all OEM#.inf

- Search for intelppm.sys in the c:\windows\ (search for hidden directories and system files) - Delete the 3 results of intelppm.sys

- Reboot the Guest normally


That's it :)

Thomson but after solution the exclamaion point under processor in device manager still exsist... any solution?
When i restart after solution the system work, but If close the machine, and then start it,the problem appear newly.... :oops:
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