/dev/sdb

[th1bill]

I have version 2.2.4 VirtualBox installed installed on my homebuilt, AMD dual core, k8m800 MB and I'm running Ubuntu 8.04 with a winXP guest that runs perfectly. Now I have created the second virtual machine to test openSuSE 11 for possible recommendation to friends but when I start the VM I recieve the quoted message.

quote...
Failed to start the virtual machine Suse.
Cannot open host device '/dev/sdb' for read/write access. Check the permissions of that device ('/bin/ls -l /dev/sdb'): Most probably you need to be member of the device group. Make sure that you logout/login after changing the group settings of the current user (VERR_ACCESS_DENIED).
Unknown error creating VM (VERR_ACCESS_DENIED).
/quote...

I can't even the device address that's given.

[Perryg]

Please send the guest settings along with the host memory.

[th1bill]

The guest settings are as follows;


?
General
Name:Suse
OS Type:openSUSE
Base Memory:1039 MB
Video Memory:12 MB
Boot Order:Floppy, CD/DVD-ROM, Hard Disk, Network
ACPI:Enabled
IO APIC:Disabled
VT-x/AMD-V:Enabled
Nested Paging:Disabled
PAE/NX:Disabled
3D Acceleration:Disabled
Hard Disks
IDE Primary Master:SUSE.vdi (Normal, 5.33 GB)

CD/DVD-ROM
Host Drive:TSSTcorp CDDVDW SH-S203N (/dev/scd0)
Floppy Host Drive:TEAC FD-05PUW (/dev/sdb)

Audio
Host Driver:PulseAudio
Controller:ICH AC97

Network
Adapter 1:PCnet-FAST III (NAT)

Serial Ports Disabled

USB
Device Filters:0 (0 active)

Shared Folders None

Remote Display Disabled

The host memory is as follows;
th1bill@th1bill-desktop:~$ cat /proc/meminfo
MemTotal: 2062104 kB
MemFree: 879860 kB
Buffers: 33652 kB
Cached: 791068 kB
SwapCached: 0 kB
Active: 556792 kB
Inactive: 540164 kB
HighTotal: 1178496 kB
HighFree: 199596 kB
LowTotal: 883608 kB
LowFree: 680264 kB
SwapTotal: 0 kB
SwapFree: 0 kB
Dirty: 84 kB
Writeback: 0 kB
AnonPages: 272236 kB
Mapped: 74484 kB
Slab: 62000 kB
SReclaimable: 49040 kB
SUnreclaim: 12960 kB
PageTables: 2668 kB
NFS_Unstable: 0 kB
Bounce: 0 kB
CommitLimit: 1031052 kB
Committed_AS: 800684 kB
VmallocTotal: 114680 kB
VmallocUsed: 8200 kB
VmallocChunk: 104948 kB

Thank you for you help, already.

[Perryg]

So I take it that you have already installed the OS and it will not boot because it says it can not find the CD/DVD, correct?
If so put the CD/DVD back in the drive or remount it in the guest settings until you get it to boot. For some reason it wants to finish something. You should be presented with whether you want to boot to the hard drive or the Live CD, select Hard Drive. Once this is finished you should be able to run it without the CD/DVD, but you may also need to find out why it wants it and then take care of that first. Either way let me know.

PS I edited your post to make it a little easier to read.

[th1bill]

No, penSuSE has not been installed. I created the VM and have gotten no further. The WinXP VM works perfectly.

[Perryg]

So how are you mounting the iso file that has OpenSUSE on it? Are you using a CD/DVD that you burned, or are you attaching an image to the CD/DVD?
Also since you have installed Xp you should be good to go, but check that you are in the vboxusers group anyway.

[th1bill]

I am listed in the VBox users and I wrote the .iso file to CD. I place the cd i the drive and start the SuSE VM and that is when I receive the message and can advance no further.

[Perryg]

Well then I suspect that the CD may not be good. You can try to burn it at a slower rate but you must be sure to burn it as an iso file and not a copy file, or if it is on the same PC just mount the file you downloaded to the CD/DVD in the settings window of the guest.

[th1bill]

I'm sorry, I had already placed the CD into the drive and started the WinXP VM and it went right into the desk top with no problem. I did not install it over the WinXP because I help people with their crashed systems over the phone, the same folks I'm attempting to move into the Linux World. I also tested the disk from the Host by doing a clod start with the disk inserted.

Further history that might be of interest is the fact that I attempted to test Fedora on the VirtualBox with the same results but ended up testing it on my much older spare unit.

[th1bill]

/dev/sdb is the address to my floppy drive that is not present because I use a external as needed. I had mistakenly mounted it and as soon as I unchecked the box it tok off ad loaded the OS.