How to network Vista Host with Windows XP Guest

[BradS]

I have read the VB manual and searched the forums relentlessly but I am still having problems networking my Vista 64 host with my Win XP guest using VB 3.0.2. I am trying to share files and a printer between the 2 OS's BOTH ways (from guest to host and host to guest), consequently VBoxes one way host to guest folder sharing only does half the job. But I apparently just don't understand networking well enough. I access the web on my Vista host thru a cabled connection on a Linksys WRT54GL running Tomato firmware. The Linksys is connected to a 2Wire DSL gateway. I will try to provide as much information as possible as I apparently need some step by step help.

The IP to access the 2Wire DSL gateway is: 192.168.2.254

Linksys Router info:
WAN info:
Connection Type DHCP
IP Address 192.168.1.64
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
Gateway 192.168.1.254
DNS 192.168.1.254

LAN info:
The router IP is: 192.168.2.1
Subnet Mask 255.255.255.0
DHCP 192.168.2.100-192.168.2.254

Ipconfig on my Vista 64 host brings up:

Microsoft Windows [Version 6.0.6002]
Copyright (c) 2006 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.

C:\Users\Brad>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::dbc:b170996f%10
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.120
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.2.1

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::e107:f055:a06c:96e1%33
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.56.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 6:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 19:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 11:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IPv6 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 2001:0:4137:9e50:cdb3f57:fd87
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::cdb3f57:fd87%11
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : ::

Tunnel adapter Local Area Connection* 22:

Media State . . . . . . . . . . . : Media disconnected
Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :

Ipconfig on my Win XP guest shows:

Microsoft Windows XP [Version 5.1.2600]
(C) Copyright 1985-2001 Microsoft Corp.

C:\Documents and Settings\Brad>ipconfig

Windows IP Configuration


Ethernet adapter Local Area Connection:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
IP Address. . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.2.15
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.0.2.2

On my Vista 64 host, my local area connection works fine, but the VirtualBox Host-Only Network adaptor shows limited connectivity. When I access the network via explorer on my Vista host I can see both machines and appear to have good access to the Vista host. However, access to the Win XP guest (named XP-VIRTUALBOX) I get the error message: "Windows cannot access: \\XP-VIRTUALBOX Check the spelling of the name, otherwise there might be a problem with your network". (Yeah, no kidding!)

My Win XP Guest is set up with NAT via the VBox settings (I tried bridged but I didnt even get an internet connection). With the XP Guest network set at NAT I can access the internet just fine as well as access shared folders on the XP Guest OS via explorer. However, when I try to access the Vista Host via the network, there is a long delay and I am finally prompted for a password. I am currently not using a password and have no idea what to do here.

Both machines seem to be able to see themselves and each other on network (at least via explorer), but they sure can't communicate with each other the way I have things currently configured. Obviously, I have not set something up correctly and need some step by step assistance. Sorry for the long post and thank you in advance.

[Perryg]

Have you tried to use Bridged, and make sure that you do not have a firewall issue?
Maker sure that the Linksys is set to gateway and not router. I use the same linksys WRT54GL and Bridged works great.

[BradS]

HI Perry: Yes, I have tried bridged mode in VB, however I don't even get an internet connection. I believe my wrt54gl is set up as a gateway, not sure how I can tell for sure though. Although I use it as a wireless access point as well it is also cable connected between the host vista pc and the 2Wire DSL gateway. (PC to WRT54GL to 2Wire)

[BradS]

Sorry, I didnt address your firewall issue question. I am only running windows firewall on each machine (host and guest), so I dont think it would cause an issue...would it?

[Perryg]

Sure the firewall will cause network interference if you do not make an exception for you local network.
Shut them both off for a few and see if Bridged mode works for you then. I know that it will work because that is exactly what I have, only I don't know what you mean by two wire to the router. It takes 4 (2 pair) to make the Ethernet adapters work.

Anyway give it a shot and I will check back tomorrow. Getting late here.

[BradS]

Sorry to be confusing. 2Wire is the brand name of the wired DSL Gateway. The outside DSL (phone) line connects to it. The 2Wire gateway then connects by ethernet cable to my WRT54GL, and my Vista Host PC then connects to my WRT54GL by ethernet cable.

I have since done more experimenting and had some minor success. I played with the firewalls, shutting them off and on (no joy). I did the same with my anti-virus (AVG), still no change. I then decided to try what was suggested in another thread and uninstalled, rebooted, and then reinstalled VirtualBox.

Surprise, after the reinstall, VBox was able to connect my Win XP guest to the network using the bridged network connection now! No idea why. I can now view and access my XP guest system and files etc from my Win Vista Host. It stops there though, because although I can see the Vista Host from the XP guest machine on the network, I still cant access any files. When I try, I continue to get prompted for a non-existent password.

I think I have found a clue though. I can ping both machines IP addresses. ie:Ping from Vista Host to the XP guest and ping from the XP guest to the Vista Hosts LOCAL AREA CONNECTION, but I cant ping from the XP guest to the Vista hosts VIRTUALBOX HOST-ONLY ADAPTOR at all and Vista'S network sharing center still shows this connection to have limited connectivity. (IP addresses are in my original posts above and have not changed)

I went even further and temporarily disabled the VirtualBox Host-Only Connection and found that the Vista Host network couldnt be seen at all by the XP guest until I re-enabled the VBox Host-only connection. I am beginning to believe even more strongly now that something is set incorrectly in the VirtualBox Host-Only adaptor settings. I just dont know what to change to fix the limited connectivity problem it presents. I have left the settings alone since the re installation of VBox. As you can see below they did not change from my original installation.

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

Connection-specific DNS Suffix . :
Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::e107:f055:a06c:96e1%28
IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 192.168.56.1
Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . :

Any other ideas on how to correct the limited connectivity problem with the adapter above? I am willing to bet that when I regain good connectivity, my problems will be solved. Again, thanks for your help.

[Perryg]

The fact that you are using this in host-only is why you can not get to the internet. If you insist on using host-only you will need to setup a second virtual network adapter in the guest settings and set it to NAT to be able to get to the Internet. Ultimately the best thing is to use Bridged mode so you do not need to do this.

[BradS]

I am not using host only mode. Within Virtualbox, I am now using bridged mode successfully (after the reinstall of VBox). However when VBox is installed on my Vista Host system, it also installed a VirtualBox Host-Only network adaptor that resides on my Vista Host machine. This adaptor is the one that has "limited connectivity" and is the one that I believe is creating the problem. In VBox,I am now using bridged mode and I can now access the web and even see my Vista Host machine on the network (when I am working from within the Guest XP os). Problem is that although I can see it, I cant access the Host Machine on the network from the Guest (I continue to get prompted for a non-existent password) and I cant PING the VirtualBox Host-Only network adaptor from the XP guest os.

[Perryg]

Ok I get it. The host-only is installed but unless you use it there should be not problem. Just leave it and don't worry. You will not be able to ping the host-only adapter because you have nothing connected to it.

The easiest way to setup a share is using the VBox shared folder that is setup in the guest. See section 4.6 of the users guide for that. If you can not see the folder in the guest under network places then you will need to map the folder by using the example below
net use z: \\vboxsvr\<sharename> -p
The share name is what you told VBox it was going to be. Remember that you can not use spaces or characters in the actual share name.

Another way for more experienced users:
Now to the access from machine to machine: To be able to access Vista you will need to setup a network share. Vista by default will not allow anyone to open anything without permission. So since you have bridged working you need to set what ever it is you want to share on the Vista machine and it will become visible to the XP guest in the network discovery section of the file manager.
If you know what the administrator password is you can even setup an administrative (ipc) share but using the $ at the end and capture the entire drive.
Example: net use z: \\192.168.1.10\c$ -p
Assuming that is the IP of the PC and you will be prompted for the password. If you have added yourself to the administrator group you can use your Vista login and password.

If you share a single folder in Vista you will need to tell it who can use the shared folder by setting the permissions.

[BradS]

"The easiest way to setup a share is using the VBox shared folder that is setup in the guest. See section 4.6 of the users guide for that. If you can not see the folder in the guest under network places then you will need to map the folder by using the example below
net use z: \\vboxsvr\<sharename> -p
The share name is what you told VBox it was going to be. Remember that you can not use spaces or characters in the actual share name."

I believe what you are speaking about above is standard VirtualBox folder sharing, not true network sharing. The problem I have with that is that I am only able to share a host folder with the guest machine. But I am not able to share a guest folder with the host machine. Hence I wanted to network the 2 machines.

Another way for more experienced users:
Now to the access from machine to machine: To be able to access Vista you will need to setup a network share. Vista by default will not allow anyone to open anything without permission. So since you have bridged working

(I only have bridged networking set up in VirtualBox-do I need to bridge my network connections, ie: bridge the virtualbox host-only adaptor and my local area connection on my Vista Machine or bridge the internet and local area connections on my xp guest as well?)

you need to set what ever it is you want to share on the Vista machine and it will become visible to the XP guest in the network discovery section of the file manager. If you know what the administrator password is you can even setup an administrative (ipc) share but using the $ at the end and capture the entire drive.
Example: net use z: \\192.168.1.10\c$ -p
Assuming that is the IP of the PC and you will be prompted for the password. If you have added yourself to the administrator group you can use your Vista login and password.
If you share a single folder in Vista you will need to tell it who can use the shared folder by setting the permissions.

(I am the only user and I am the administrator on both machines-no password is currently set)

Here lies my problem, I have set up folder sharing within my Vista Host OS. I am the only user and am the administrator on the host machine. Right now, from my XP guest machine I am currently able to see my Vista Host machine using the network discovery section of the file manager. It is currently listed in "My Network Places" as "users on bradsphenompc"(however, when I try to access "users on bradsphenompc" to view the shared folder I have set up in my Vista Host, I get prompted for a non-existent password. (remember that I do not use a password to log on to the Vista machine). The password dialog box presented has my XP Machine name (XP-VIRTUALBOX) at the top of the box, says "connecting to BRADSPHENOMPC", the user name area is greyed out (the greyed out area says "XP-VIRTUALBOX\Guest", and the password box is blank, yet it doesnt accept any password I can come up with (Remember, I am the only user. I am the administrator and don't use a password to log on to the host machine). I have even gone so far as created a user password on my host machine and tried to use it but I still get prompted for a password and it will not accept the user password I have created. It almost seems as if I am really being prompted for a password for XP-VIRTUALBOX\GUEST. Again I am also the only user and am the administrator on the XP Guest machine and I do not have it password protected at this time.

Here is what makes me think it has something to do with the VirtualBox Host-Only Adaptor on my Vista host machine. If I disable it's network connection, I am no longer even able to see my Vista Host from my XP Guest machine at all under My Network Places, My Vista Host machine just disappears.

Quite perplexing huh? Again thanks for any input you may have.