Fatal: No bootable medium found! System halted.

[Tattoo89]

I just downloaded VirtualBox 5.0.4 for OS X hosts and the VirtualBox 5.0.4 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack. My Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager opens with no problem, so I can view the settings, etc. When I click Start, I get the "Fatal: No bootable medium found! System halted." error and don't know where to go from here. I downloaded Windows 10 (64-bit) as my VM onto Mac OS X 10.10.5 (Yosemite). I also reviewed the user's manual but couldn't find the error or associated troubleshooting recommendations.

Can someone please provide some feedback? I definitely need this to work.

[noteirak]

Moving to "Using VirtualBox".

VirtualBox creates virtual computers and just like any computers, you need to install an operating system on it. Just setting the VM OS type to Windows 10 is not enough. It only tells VirtualBox how to best present the virtual hardware so it's most compatible with the OS you will install.
You need to get an ISO of Windows 10 and attach it to the VM configuraiton. Then you'll be able to boot and continue.

[Tattoo89]

Does that mean I have to download Windows 10 and save it to a thumb drive, for example, so I don't have a copy taking space on my hard drive?

[BillG]

You are getting close. Have you ever installed an OS on a physical machine? As you were told above, it is pretty much the same on a vm.

If you have downloaded the Windows 10 install media to your host machine, just assign that file to the virtual CD/DVD drive of the vm (from the settings page storage section) and then boot the vm. If will boot from the DVD drive and run the install, just like a physical machine does.

[Tattoo89]

Sorry it took a while to get back to you. I have downloaded Win 10 ISO and saved it onto a thumb drive. I have added the USB Device Filter under Settings-->Ports-->USB. It shows my thumb drive name and is checked. Since my machine is a MacBook, I am unsure how to boot. I get various messages depending on the file that I try to open. I still get the same "No bootable medium found error" when trying to open the VPN. I tried reading through the user's manual, but I'm still a bit confused.

I tried attaching a couple of screenshots so you can see my current settings and the files currently on my thumb drive, but the files are too big. After trying to resize them to the max of 128Kb, the files become too blurry.

Please provide feedback and/or let me know if you need to know other settings.

[noteirak]

The thumb drive is of no use in this case. If you have the ISO file, then attach it to the virtual CD/DVD drive in your VM configuration and then start the VM.

[Tattoo89]

Showing the host drive as my computer's DVD-R drive but still getting the error message.

[BillG]

Why this obsession with thumb drives? Just copy the Windows 10 ISO file to your hard drive.

Open the settings of your vm and go to the storage section. Select the optical drive. Click "Choose Virtual Optical Disk File" and browse to your Win 10 ISO file and select it. Now start the vm and it will boot from the ISO.

[Tattoo89]

Like I stated in my last post, the DVD-R drive is showing as my VM host drive, so the ISO file is already on my hard drive. I still keep getting the error message when I try to open the VM. I could not click "Choose Virtual Optical Disk File", unless it's somewhere else in Settings. Is it located somewhere else? I tried looking for it.

[dlharper]

Forget thumb drives, DVD-Rs and everything like that. Just use the ISO file. And it is wherever you downloaded it to. Simply navigate to that and select it.

[mpack]

the DVD-R drive is showing as my VM host drive, so the ISO file is already on my hard drive.

? I have no idea what that sentence means.

BillG gave you simple and explicit instructions on what to do with the ISO. Put your preconceptions aside and read (and follow) his instructions carefully.

[Tattoo89]

Thanks for your feedback, mpack. I don't have any preconceptions whatsoever. Just getting a bit frustrated with the issues I'm having, especially since I'm pretty technical. Maybe I need to be clearer with my explanations.

I followed BillG's advice exactly but still came up with the error upon start. Since the screenshot I want to send is too large (>128Kb), below is what I see in my settings (Oracle VM VirtualBox Manager):

Left Side
"Windows Virtual
Saved"

Right Side
Storage
Controller: SATA
SATA Port 0: Windows Virtual.vdi (Normal, 4.99GB)
SATA Port 1: [Optical Drive] Host Drive 'MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868'

When I go into Settings-->Storage, I see both of the above (SATA Ports). Since I have confirmed that I downloaded my ISO into the location associated with (attached to) Windows Virtual.vdi, I select it and click OK. Another small screen appears showing that the settings saved. I then click Start but get the black screen and associated error message (same as original).

Hopefully, this clears things up. If it's easier, I can send my screenshots via email if you provide it. Thanks for your patience.

[mpack]

So, you have not followed BillG's instructions. If you did then you would have the ISO selected in the VM, not a host drive. With the (virtual) optical drive selected in the left side of the storage dialog, click the little CD icon on the right side of the dialog, beside where it currently says "host drive". Then, instead of selecting the host drive, select the ISO.

The virtual optical drive can be empty, mapped to a host drive, or mapped to an ISO. You currently have it mapped to a host drive.

[dlharper]

Thanks for your feedback, mpack. I don't have any preconceptions whatsoever.

I'm afraid there are preconceptions here. You are insisting on not doing what has been suggested.

Storage
Controller: SATA
SATA Port 0: Windows Virtual.vdi (Normal, 4.99GB)
SATA Port 1: [Optical Drive] Host Drive 'MATSHITA DVD-R UJ-868'

When I go into Settings-->Storage, I see both of the above (SATA Ports). Since I have confirmed that I downloaded my ISO into the location associated with (attached to) Windows Virtual.vdi, I select it and click OK. Another small screen appears showing that the settings saved. I then click Start but get the black screen and associated error message (same as original).

This is wrong. I have no idea what you mean by saying the ISO is associated with or attached to Windows Virtual.vdi. Forget that. Also, there should be no refernece to Host Drive at all. What you should have is:
SATA Port 0: Windows Virtual.vdi (Normal, 4.99GB)
SATA Port 1: <The ISO file you have downloaded>

[loukingjr]

Not to add to the confusion but, there is no way Windows 10 will install on a 4.99GB .vdi. It requires 8GB just to install.

FWIW, on my Windows 10 guest the virtual CD is under the IDE controller.