help with dropped Win 10 shared folder, no longer visible or readable

[marepinta]

We have used Virtual Box for several years very successfully on four machines. All machines started out running Windows 7, then fresh install to Windows 10 2 years ago, and all updates are set to automatic.

Two or three weeks ago all of the VMs (which are the latest version with the toolbox current) stopped being able to see the networked shared folder. I thought initially it was only the folder actually on the network but also the folders on the host machines are now not showing. I've seen some reference here to Guest additions. I don't know what that is or whether I need it.

We run a Windows XP environment with very picky old software installed. Previously we used a CutePDF printer to "print" the output needed to the host folder or a network folder. Since this problem we are unable to print except using a USB cable device, which kicks us out of the VM every time we print. This problem used to be constant but we started printing with the PDF process and also I changed the USB settings in the setup of the VM to USB 1.0 and it seems to almost entirely correct being kicked out. By this I mean the VM shuts down immediately and we are no longer in the environment. When this happens we have to restart the VM, restart the old software, log in again, get back to wherever we were working, and try again.

Obviously this is a total pain and I am writing today to ask about other people's experiences. For the first 18 months or so of using the VM it was picky. It has been stable for at least a few years and now we're having difficulty returning to the challenging times of those early days. I know the folders are set up correctly, they are 'shared' on the host as well. I have them automount. It sees the correct folder in the settings, but when it runs it cannot view. I did try deleting them and re-configuring. This problem is occurring on all of my workstations so I know it is more than just a bad setting. My guess is this is a permissions issue with some new Win 10 upgrade setting. If someone knows which one I will roll that back, although that doesn't seem to be a long-term solution.

Hoping for some ideas. Really appreciate the help

[BillG]

Guest additions are installed in the guest OS. They are basically additions to the guest OS to make it behave better in its virtual environment. It enables obvious things like being able to move in and out of the VM window without needing to capture and release the mouse, being able to resize the vm's window by dragging one corner and lots of other things to make the OS work better in a vm. I would be surprised if you do not already have them installed.

The GAs also give you the ability to share folders between the host and guest, which is why you would find it in your search. I doubt that it is relevant to your case - you appear to be using Windows file and printing sharing.

I have not worked out what OS is running in which devices. You talk about fresh installs of Windows 10, but say that you are running an XP environment. Are the host machines Windows 10 but the guests XP? Are you trying to share files between XP and Windows 10 anywhere? That is a very tricky area (and not because of anything to do with VirtualBox).

[marepinta]

Thank you for the reply BillG ...

I think I must have guest additions as part of the toolbox. I use the standard VirtualBox for windows download, and then install the toolbox. All four workstations are set up the same. Good quality hardware (Intel board, i5 chip, 16G RAM). All four workstations have Windows 10 running as the main operating system. I have the VirtualBox set up to run a Windows XP VM and I set it up once and then exported years back to the other workstations. Then through the VirtualBox settings menu added a shared machine folder. C/Users/[current user]/Downloads. This has always worked well, it stopped working 3 weeks ago.

I am guessing the real problem is Windows 10 deciding not to share with the VM. I just don't know how to research properly. I was hoping others were experiencing similar issues and would be smarter than me about how to correct/change. For the moment I have installed a USB Brother printer to one workstation, added it as a device through the VirtualBox settings menu, and then we are printing everything using this single workstation. This is a crappy solution because every time it prints, which it does successfully, the workstation closes the VM and requires reentry.

I'm hoping this is a better explanation.

Thank you,

[BillG]

Thanks. that makes sense.

The problem is probably SMB1. Windows XP depends on the old SMB1 protocol. This is old and insecure, and Microsoft recommends that you do not use it. In later versions of Windows 10 it is disabled by default. This could account for the sudden failure.

I would try enabling SMB1 on one of your Windows 10 hosts and see if that gets things going again. You enable it from Control Panel>Windows and Features .

SMB1.PNG

[BillG]

I just tried this on my setup. I enabled SMB1 server and client on the Windows 10 host and XP can see the Windows 10 shares again. (I normally have that disabled. I don't trust SMB1.) Windows 10 can also see the shared files on XP.

[marepinta]

YAY BillG. Just the explanation I knew was out there. I will try tomorrow and reply back. Thank you so much.

Re "old and insecure" ... LOL. I am a legacy programmer supporting a product built by a company literally 30 years ago. It was originally an Access 2000 database and cannot be run on anything newer than Win XP. But somehow solutions show up and we carry on. I am expecting the day when the answer is ... we must close because we cannot make this work.

Thank you so much!

[marepinta]

@billg

works again. thank you. so much!!