No internet connection on Ubuntu Host, XP Guest

[Logan]

I've been looking for a solution to this for days now. Sasquatch, you seem to be the most helpful around here, maybe you could take a look at it?

I'm no professional or anything, and I don't know what info you need, so here's what I know how to find. I installed Edubuntu 7.10 from the disk I got from Canonical and downloaded all the updates until now. Strange to me, but Sytem->About Edubuntu now says its version 8.04, so I must have totally upgraded.

The machine itself has an AMD Athlon 64 X" Dual Core Processor 4200+ with 2.19 GHz and 2GB RAM

It has the latest VirtualBox 1.6.4 installation, done literally 3 days ago, so it must be up to date, right?

I then installed Windows XP Professional into a Virtual Machine, with 192MB RAM and only 2GB Hard Drive (expandable)

The installation went very quickly and I tried to access the internet, but explorer said:

Cannot find server or DNS Error

As for the Network Settings in VirtualBox, I am using PCnet-FAST III (NAT) I have also tried Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (82540EM) all on Adapter 0.

As I am just looking to access the internet through Windows, I don't need any special internetworks between several virtual machines (not yet, anyway) I basically just want another computer that runs windows so I can use certain programs without having to reboot all the time. All the documentation I have read says that NAT is the easiest and most simple way to connect to the internet as a guest, but I just can't get it!

Help?

Logan

[TerryE]

First things first. Since you are aware of Sasqatch, you should also know that the first thing we say is read the Forum Posting Guide for help in framing Qs!

This one comes up very frequently. If you connect to http://66.102.9.99/ in your guest explorer and this brings up Google then it is a DNS problem. Here is a post that I just discussed this on: VB 1.6.2 can't connect to the internet. OK this one is linux but the fact in recent posts you have one which is about "can't connect to the internet" is a bit of a give away.

[Sasquatch]

*Blushes*
I'm flathered that you ask for me specifically.

As your setup is now, I don't see why it wouldn't work, other than that there is a DNS error on your Host. Only the first DNS entry is served to the Guest VM. You did set your IP configuration on the Guest to be DHCP?

Does Edubuntu still have internet? And does it have a firewall running on it or do you use a proxy to connect to the internet?

Also, setting the hard disk to be 2 GB for XP is a bit small. Dynamic Disks can't be expanded in size, they only grow if data is written to the hard disk up to the set size. As a fully updated XP can use at least 1,5 GB these days, it's not advised to use a 2 GB disk, use at least 5 so there is enough space for programs. My Host XP has a Windows folder of 2,28 GB, though there are some programs installed, as opposed to my virtual XP that is 1,17 GB with only Office 2007 and OOo 3 beta (total disk usage including pagefile is 3,7 GB). So create a larger disk and reinstall your Guest.

Damn you Terry, why did you have to ruin this?

[Logan]

@TerryE: There was no need for the lecture. I was clear and detailed to the best of my knowledge. Your answer, on the other hand, was quite vague.

@Sasquatch: Thank you for the advice! I was a little ridiculous giving the poor thing only 2GB, I've started again with 10GB and we'll see how it goes!

...and you were both right, some problem with the DHCP and I still have no idea how it got fixed, but being new to this, I'll probably be back here looking through the forums again.

[TerryE]

There was no need for the lecture.

Logan,
I am allowed to lecture because I am a forum moderator and its my job to police the forum. I am also one of the half-dozen people who answer 80% of the questions like yours. You clearly haven't read the Forum Posting Guide as I asked you to. I could have left it there and locked this topic as you could have found the answer easily by searching as the guide recommends. I've answered a few versions of this myself over the last few weeks, and it does tend to get a little tedious repeating the same answer to the same Q over-and-over again.

However, I did answer your Q and took the time to give you a link that provided a detailed explanation of why DNS can fail if your host is in relying on the 2nd or 3rd entry in your DNS search list, and how to fix this permanently. This wasn't vague; I just expected you to click on a link and to read it. However, since you haven't done as I suggested it will probably fail again.

[Logan]

What part of this did I miss?

• Please familiarize yourself with the relevant sections of the User Guide (UG) before you ask a question to avoid asking about information already given in the UG, and so that you can understand any answers that you get.
• This is a community service
• Search the forums before posting
• This forum is about VirtualBox
• You must register before you can post
• Use a sensible title and location
• Frame your question in a way to make it easy to answer
• Remember one issue, one thread.

• I have downloaded and read the Manual.
• I understand this is a community service, though I don't especially get that "community feeling" from yourself, TerryE
• I have searched the forums for something relevant to my particular situation, before I posted, no less.
• I registered.
• The title was sensible and fit to my particular situation, It was exactly what I was looking for, and could be clearly understood by others. The location seemed to also fit.
• I expressed my needs according to the problem that I had.
• I only included one issue in the thread.

While you are certainly "allowed to" lecture. I still don't believe it was necessary. I am completely new to this, and tried to follow all the rules. I simple:

"Logan, maybe you missed this post (URL) it also applies to your situation, you can check the DHCP configuration by doing such and such in your Windows box and check by going here in your Ubuntu box." and then closed the thread.

I feel sorry for the other new guys who are just trying to get an idea of how all VirtualBox works, only to have high and mighty guys like you pushing their weight around these forums.

[TerryE]

Logan, if you don't mind, I've changed your formatting (but not the content) to make it a little easier to read. Also just a small point: you quote the intro to the PG but it does go into a full eight sections. Since you feel that I lecture, that I am vague in my answer and that I am pushing my weight around, perhaps you help me to improve the way I respond by explaining where I went wrong in my first post from your point of view:

• The reason for my referring you to the posting guide was the answer to your Q had been recently posted and the guide contains some very useful tips on how to search the forum. Could suggest a better phrasing for how this reference be made?
• Your error "Cannot find server or DNS Error" could either have been due to IP connectivity issues or DNS problems. My suggestion that you "connect to http://66.102.9.99/ ..." simply and immediately tells you which of these two alternatives it is. Did you try it?
• In the link that I provided I do go into some detail on why the DNS error occurs and specifically what you need to do to avoid this problem in the future. Did you in fact read it?
• OK, I had a gentle tease pointing out that since your post was about problems connecting to the internet and that if you had looked at recent posts, there was a post half way down the page with "can't connect to the internet" in the title which in fact answered your Q. Was this unreasonable? Do you think I was hostile in my phrasing?

I am genuinely at a loss to understand why this was a vague answer in that I explained how to diagnose your problem and how to fix it. We accept that every so often we get a poster who goes around flaming people for no good reason. However, I just don't think that you fall into this category. I would genuinely like to understand why you thought my answer was vague and unsatisfactory. I must spend 3 or 4 hours a day answering questions like yours on this forum. Sasquatch and I sometimes get upset when the people that we are trying to help feel that we are doing them a disservice.

The problem with this forum is that there are very few of us who are willing to take the time to answer peoples question. The vast majority of people who come to this forum are seeking information. VirtualBox is a complex product. Answers are rarely simple and often require research to make them -- even if it is just looking up which section in the UG or searching for that post you made on the same subject a month ago. So very few people are willing to make this commitment. Trying to keep on top of the unanswered Q does become a burden. Should we just give up posting? Would you prefer no answer to the one that I gave you?

[Logan]

TerryE

This is getting off topic, but I think it's important enough for both of us to clear things up.

Thanks for reformatting my post - again, I'm pretty new, so that kind of sloppiness in posts was bound to happen. Thanks for fixing it.

Your solution to check http://66.102.9.99/ was spot on, it turned out to be a DNS issue. The trouble is, I am so new that it took me another half hour of looking all over Windows XP to figure out how to change it! Luckily I'd already learned how to find the DNS Servers on my Ubuntu host from somewhere else (I forget where now) so add them when I found it.

I didn't mind so much, because I want to learn, but being chided for not framing the question correctly, when I'm sure it was a damn sight better than others you've had to put up with e.g. "My pc dont have tha intrnetz -hlp plz" and the like.

Your "tone" didn't sound aggressive or like flaming, but rather a little patronising. OK, so what, right I should have dealt with it, people have bad days. The thing is, when I went to the link you posted, I realised I had already read it, but the language this guy "jfl" was using was way over my head, it was late, and I missed your reply.

I guess the real complaint is that it is difficult to learn the "language" for newer people. Now I'm not exactly your suburban grandma who's just getting the hang of the concept 'double-click' I can use a computer, but networks are a different thing. I said I was new in my post, and expected an answer which understood that I might have missed a few things that were right in front of me.

At the end of the day, you actually helped me get online, plus I took Sasquatch's advice and made a larger, 10GB machine, which is also running fine (touch wood). All I really wanted was some patience. Maybe you (collective 'you') could have a "watered-down, step-by-step" solution for some of these common problems? Then all you have to do is refer new threads to that post and close it off.

So, to end, thanks for the help, and I apologise for my 'lecture' just now!

Logan

[TerryE]

Logan,

Thank-you. I guess that one of the challenges that Sun faces is that the PC Mags and Sun are now pushing VM technologies like VBox hard. A few years ago it was only geeky types and hardened IT pros like me that used VM technologies and the current UG is really written in a language that suits this audience.

However maintaining a PC is still hard work for the average non-IT trained user. Windows XP and Linux packages like Ubuntu and SuSE have made some inroads into making PC management more user friendly. The problem remains that not only is using VM technologies hard, you could almost describe it as "hard squared". The "techie" orientated documentation is very difficult for most users, and needs rewriting for this new audience. There are some areas such as the network configuration which need rearchitecting to make them simple and easy to use.