[Solved] VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

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tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

[Solved] VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

When I try to launch the VirtualBox Manager I get the following error:

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Completely failed to instantiate CLSID_VirtualBox: ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND 0x80070002.


Fehlercode:
ERROR_FILE_NOT_FOUND 0x80070002 (0x80070002)
Komponente:
VirtualBoxClientWrap
Interface:
IVirtualBoxClient {d2937a8e-cb8d-4382-90ba-b7da78a74573}
The problem started with VirtualBox 5.1.x, I tried upgrading to 5.2.x, also tried complete un-installation, reboot and installation, issue remains.
I also tried renaming C:\Users\%USER_NAME%\.VirtualBox to C:\Users\%USER_NAME%\___.VirtualBox, it doesn't help, the error remains.

At the moment I'm trying with the version installed from

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VirtualBox-5.2.2-119230-Win.exe
The error says that certain file is not found, how can I figure out which file is missing? Logs which are in C:\Users\%USER_NAME%\.VirtualBox are not updated when I attempt to start the VirtualBox manager.

This doc /manual/ch12.html doesn't seem to contain a good hint on how to debug the VirtualBox Manager itself and not the Guest VM startup.

I think it might be caused by the fact that my host went out of disk space and some files got corrupted. Or my host's battery got empty and it was just turned off, leaving guest in an inconsistent state. But why does the Manager not start after complete reinstall, or better - how can I debug that?
Last edited by socratis on 6. Dec 2017, 01:46, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Marked as [Solved].
socratis
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Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by socratis »

  1. Uninstall VirtualBox. Your VMs are going to be untouched. Reboot.
  2. You may want to clean up your registry and/or filesystem at this point. CCleaner is a freeware utility that could help you. Mind the installation, it comes with "offers" from 3rd parties, known as "bundleware". Also, check out Device Cleanup program that helps you to remove any unused devices from your computer.
  3. Download (if you haven't already) the latest VirtualBox and its matching ExtPack. Store them in a common location, i.e. not on "Desktop", or "Documents", but to "Public/Downloads" for example.
  4. Locate the downloaded file in Windows Explorer. Right-click on the installer and select "Run-as-Administrator", even if you are the administrator. At the end of the installation, choose to "Start Oracle VM VirtualBox". Do not worry if your VMs do not show up.
  5. If you're going to install the ExtPack, go to File » Preferences » Extensions. Click on the icon with the orange, down-pointing arrow on the right. Select the ExtPack from the previous steps.
  6. Quit VirtualBox. Re-start VirtualBox as you would normally, i.e. from the Desktop shortcut or the Start menu.
  7. Update the Guest Additions (GAs) in your guest(s), if the GAs are available for a specific guest.
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tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

I followed the steps above, and after the installation the VirtualBox Manager failed to start with the same error, hence the question still stands, how can I figure out which file is missing?
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Location: Greece

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by socratis »

tonybo wrote:Completely failed to instantiate CLSID_VirtualBox
That seems like an error with the COM server, something must not be correct in your registry, who knows what. Are you changing the installation directory of VirtualBox? Did you run the registry cleaner? As many times as required as to not get any issues? Try it again after uninstalling VirtualBox and making sure that there are no leftover files in your Program Files directory.

Other than that, I'm drawing a blank. I can't possibly know from here what file is missing.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
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tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

@socratis thank you for your effort, let me try to answer your questions:

1. I did run the cc-cleaner after the uninstallation of the virtualbox, not multiple times though.
2. I haven't check if there is anything left in the program files after the virtualbox uninstallation, but I did check and cleanup the temp directories in the program data.

More generally it is ok not to know which file is missing, cause I didn't provide any specific information, but I don't have any more info either.
I'd like to know where is the log file which virtualbox is writing to, so I can open it and see which file it tries to load and fails.
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Location: Greece

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by socratis »

tonybo wrote:I'd like to know where is the log file which virtualbox is writing to, so I can open it and see which file it tries to load and fails.
That would be "VBoxSVC.log" in the directory "C:\Users\YourUsername\.VirtualBox". See ch. 10.1. Where VirtualBox stores its files in the User Manual.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
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mpack
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Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by mpack »

ISTM this an an error you might get when VirtualBox has been installed for one user (e.g. "Administrator") and used by another (e.g. "tonybo").

Otherwise there must be third party interference: Docker, Vagrant etc.
tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

The "C:\Users\YourUsername\.VirtualBox" directory is not created on the virutalbox installation. it is also not created after I first time start it.

> ISTM this an an error you might get when VirtualBox has been installed for one user (e.g. "Administrator") and used by another (e.g. "tonvbo").
It is all happening under my user account, no idea how that could be the case. Before it was working and then suddenly it stopped, I don't see a correlation to something I've done.

> Otherwise there must be third party interference: Docker, Vagrant etc.
I'm on windows host, so no Docker for me :)
I have just removed Vagrant, but it seem to have no effect.

I also checked windows error log and here is what I found:

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Unable to start a DCOM Server: {B1A7A4F2-47B9-4A1E-82B2-07CCD5323C3F}. The error:
"2"
Happened while starting this command:
"C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxSVC.exe" -Embedding
tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

I also tried installing an older version of virtual box: VirtualBox-5.1.30-118389-Win

It gives me error during the installation, saying:

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Error renaming connection

Cannot rename this connection. The requested operation was made in the context of a transaction that is no longer active.
at the same time, I see the following in the Windows Event Log

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Unable to start a DCOM Server: {B1A7A4F2-47B9-4A1E-82B2-07CCD5323C3F}. The error:
"2"
Happened while starting this command:
"C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxSVC.exe" -Embedding

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The server {DABF28BE-F6B4-4E40-8F40-C4FB26F3116C} did not register with DCOM within the required timeout.

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The application-specific permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID 
{6B3B8D23-FA8D-40B9-8DBD-B950333E2C52}
 and APPID 
{4839DDB7-58C2-48F5-8283-E1D1807D0D7D}
 to the user NT AUTHORITY\LOCAL SERVICE SID (S-1-5-19) from address LocalHost (Using LRPC) running in the application container Unavailable SID (Unavailable). This security permission can be modified using the Component Services administrative tool.
tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

If I start an admin shell and go to

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c:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\
and then attempt to start VBoxSVC.exe, windows tells me that

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the system cannot find the file C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxSVC.exe
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
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Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by socratis »

tonybo wrote:The application-specific permission settings do not grant Local Activation permission for the COM Server application with CLSID {6B3B8D23-FA8D-40B9-8DBD-B950333E2C52}
As I said earlier:
socratis wrote:That seems like an error with the COM server, something must not be correct in your registry, who knows what.
I don't know how easy it would be to recover from that, things don't look particularly hopeful for your host's existing installation...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

Ok, I fixed it. What helped me is:

1. De-install virtual box.
2. Rename your VirtualBox folders, to provent possible damage to their configuration i.e:
2.1 .VirtualBox folder in your profile: .VirtualBox -> old.VirtualBox
2.2 The folder that has your VMs (this name is usually very custom).
3. Reboot.
4. Start regedit and remove all entries which mention "vbox" or "virtualbox".
5. Run CCleaner
6. Reboot.
7. Install virtual box VirtualBox-5.1.30-118389-Win
8. Launch it - it works.
9. Upgrade to the latest version, i.e. VirtualBox-5.2.2-119230-Win, and it still works.
10. Rename the VirtualBox folders back, to get the VMs back.

Issue solved, no windows re installation needed, I'm super happy.
Looking back, I think these pages https://social.technet.microsoft.com/Fo ... mgrgeneral https://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/lib ... 51272.aspx gave me the best insight. As I realized that my when I try to start VBoxSVC.exe from the admin console, it was saying that the file VBoxSVC.exe is not found. So I thought there must be a link to file somewhere, which defines it's mapping to the service name, and that mapping was either missing or incorrect. Funny enough the re-installation process was not fixing that problem.
tonybo
Posts: 8
Joined: 1. Dec 2017, 22:43

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by tonybo »

for the sake of history and SEO, here is some info about my system:

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VirtualBox COM Server 5.2.2 r119230 win.amd64 (Nov 22 2017 16:22:28) release log
00:00:00.015623 main     Log opened 2017-12-05T18:00:06.570494000Z
00:00:00.015623 main     Build Type: release
00:00:00.015623 main     OS Product: Windows 10
00:00:00.015623 main     OS Release: 10.0.14393
00:00:00.015623 main     OS Service Pack: 
00:00:00.015623 main     DMI Product Name: 550P5C/550P7C
00:00:00.031249 main     DMI Product Version: P09ABI
00:00:00.031249 main     Host RAM: 8079MB (7.8GB) total, 5554MB (5.4GB) available
00:00:00.031249 main     Executable: C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxSVC.exe
00:00:00.031249 main     Process ID: 12268
00:00:00.031249 main     Package type: WINDOWS_64BITS_GENERIC
socratis
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Posts: 27330
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Location: Greece

Re: VirtualBox Manager doesn't start

Post by socratis »

Great, thanks for the feedback and for including the Microsoft links. Marking as [Solved].
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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