physical interface not found

[David495]

]I am new to VM. Installed 6.1 and extension pack. Created a vm with Win7 host and Ubuntu 64 guest. Used bridged network adapter and the router which is called 450Mbps Dual-band wireless N Adapter. When i try to power up the VM, an immediate error of "could not start machine because following physical interfaces were not found: 450Mbps Dual-band wireless N Adapter. If I change adapter to NAT, the VM will run BUT I can't connect to it from a browser with any of the IP addresses I can see in ipconfig /all. Seems like I am missing something pretty basic but after a few fruitless hours, I am now asking for help. Log is attached.

[BillG]

That is how NAT is supposed to work. It gives you a one-way connection to the real world. It was designed so that machines behind NAT can see out but uninvited people cannot see in.

Bridged does not always work with a wireless connection. Some work, some don't. It depends on how the manufacturer has written the software for the drivers.

What is the name of the wireless interface of the host? You will find it by looking at the Settings of your vm in the Network section.

Settings.PNG

[David495]

Thanks for the reply Bill. The adapter is called 450Mbps Dual-band wireless N Adapter. It is manufactured by Rosewill their model RNWD-N9003PCE. It is a PCIE adapter that I added to my Win7 computer that originally was not wi-fi enabled. I just removed and then reinstalled the driver for it. Device Manager says it is working properly and I have the latest driver installed.
I am trying to set up a VM to run Home Assistant (HA or HASSIO). This requires two way communication. The HA info on using virtualbox to set up such a system says to use a bridged network. I was successful a couple of months ago in doing this using VMware. I didn't use the VM for a couple of months and then whey I tried this week, I couldn't get a connection to HA via my browser. I figured I would try the Oracle software but am getting the error I mentioned. Any thoughts.

By the way, my niece and her family moved to Sidney. They live on Fifth Avenue in Cremorne

[BillG]

Thanks. That device uses the Atheros chip, and my Dell wireless adapter with that chip works fine.

Interface not found is an odd error message that I have not seen. Usually everything looks fine, but either the vm connection doesn't work or it interferes with the host's connection (because the driver for the physical device and the VirtualBox filter driver which has to work with that driver to share the connection don't co-operate).

There is no simple solution. You could try a different wi-fi device, perhaps a USB. Ethernet always works, if that is possible.

I am on the south-west edge of the city limits, so about 30 miles from the CBD. Even further to Cremorne, which is on the north side of the harbour.

[Martin]

Is the name of the network adapter in Windows the same as shown in the selection box for the bridged adapter in the VM settings?
Is the Virtualbox bridge protocol installed and active in the network adapter settings in Windows?

[David495]

Hi Martin,
To answer your questions, the names are the same. When I go into Windows Contro Panel, there is a " Virtual Box Host Only Network, Enabled, VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter" shown. The status shows no connection, The network connection details shows an IPv4 address as 192.168.56.1 and a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0. If I run the diagnostic, it comes back with "Troubleshooting couldn't identify the problem". I also tried to, through Windows, Bridge this network with the 450Mbps adapter. That eliminated all internet access.

Any thoughts?

[fth0]

I'd like to see some hard facts: Please configure the VM to use the Bridged networking mode, run the VM, and post a zip file containing the d2.vbox file, the VBox.log file, and the output of ifconfig /all in a CMD shell on your Windows host.

[BillG]

I agree. There is something very odd going on here. A I said earlier, I have never seen (or seen reports from others) a case where bridged networking reported it could not find the physical interface, after it had offered that interface as a candidate to bridge to.

[David495]

Thanks for your continued interest. I have attached a zip file with the info you requested. If you need more, or I didn't send what I think you asked for, just let me know.

[fth0]

If you need more, or I didn't send what I think you asked for, just let me know.

Well, you sent even more than I asked for:

The VBoxHardening.log file reveals that you have some Symantec software installed. For a test, uninstall the Symantec software and see if the problem persists.

Additionally, did you spot the difference between the network adapter names? I'll make it easier:

Code: Select all

450Mbps Dual-Band Wireless N Adapter
450Mbps  Dual-Band Wireless N Adapter

For a test, reboot the host, edit the d2.vbox file manually, and try to start the VM. If the error persists, post the new VBox.log file.

[BillG]

Why would the spacing be different?

@ David 495 Did you select the interface from the dropdown list which you were offered, or did you just type it in? VirtualBox should give you a list of all the interfaces which are available for bridging.

@Martin Yes, that worried me too. That's why I have now asked if it appeared in the dropdown list.

[fth0]

Why would the spacing be different?

Yes, that's the interesting question, and I have at least two suspects:

1. VirtualBox enumerates the Windows network adapters when populating the drop-down box in the VirtualBox Manager (a) and when searching it during the VM's startup (b). In the VirtualBox source code, I've looked at (b) and noticed there are internal string handling conversions done between UTF-16 and UTF-8 back and forth, and some of that is done implicitly in C++ constructors. (Before noticing the double space, I also considered that VirtualBox sometimes handles configured numbers as strings, and could possibly misinterpret the network adapter name, but that was probably a red herring.) My suggestion to edit the d2.vbox file would separate (a) and (b), and show if there is a problem in (b) alone.

2. The Symantec security software could intercept the enumeration of the network adapter and deliver its own names (although I haven't heard of this before).

PS: A Google search confirmed that the network adapter really has the double space in its name.

[David495]

You guys are great as you are keeping me from going completely batty over this issue. I did choose the adapter directly from the drop down. Once I have a bit of wine and dinner, I will try the other suggestions. The Symantic program is Norton 360 the standard virus program. I will deactivate it and see if that helps. Back at you soon.

[David495]

Hi Again,
The wine helped. I changed the adapter name in Window network manager. However the new name didn't come up in the drop down list in VB. I didn't see how to manually input a name in VB. Latest log is attached

[fth0]

The wine helped.

I'm not so sure. Maybe you need either more or less of it.

For a test, uninstall the Symantec software and see if the problem persists.

The Symantic program is Norton 360 the standard virus program. I will deactivate it and see if that helps.

Deactivating usually isn't enough, that's why I suggested to uninstall it. The old and new VBoxHardening.log files both only show that the software exists, but not how it interferes, if at all. It's just a matter of experience that such software often interferes.

For a test, reboot the host, edit the d2.vbox file manually, and try to start the VM. If the error persists, post the new VBox.log file.

I didn't see how to manually input a name in VB.

I meant to open the d2.vbox file in a text editor (e.g. Notepad, Notepad++). The suggested reboot is meant to ensure that no VirtualBox software is running while you manually edit the file.