virtualbox.org

I installed VirtualBox OSE 3.0.8 r53138 on Ubuntu Karmic. Virtualbox installed and all was
well until I tried to mount my WindowsXP sp3 iso. First I mounted it will the actual file was
on my external hard drive and I got a message saying that the file could not be mounted. I
tried again, but this time I copied the file directly to my desktop and I got the same message.
The actual error just simply states that their was no bootable medium found, system halted.

Any ideas of why it tells me this? Do I have to burn a disk? I am also planning on mounting
a WindowsXP tablet edition that came on my tablet so I can still use both my linux operating
system and windows for the functions I need. Is there anything to watch out for if I stick in
the bootable system restore disks that I have created when I first got the machine?

Thanks All

Restore disks are not bootable. Thus the reply from VirtualBox.
Plus I am not sure that your EULA would allow this anyway.
If the Windows XP iso is not a restore/recovery and you are still getting this message then it can't be an official Windows install cd or the the disk is defective.

gene wrote: . . . until I tried to mount my WindowsXP sp3 iso. First I mounted it will the actual file was on my external hard drive and I got a message saying that the file could not be mounted. . . . The actual error just simply states that their was no bootable medium found, system halted.

Some XP distributions are not bootable as they are upgrades of sorts.
You need to install a Windows system first, like 98.
Check out site http://www.bootdisk.com/ for a bootable install disk for Windows.
Good New Year!

gene wrote:Any ideas of why it tells me this? Do I have to burn a disk?

In direct answer to your question: no, you do not need to burn a disk, in fact IMHO mounting the ISO is far more dependable.

The "no bootable medium found message" means exactly what it says, and therefore one or more of the following must be true :-

• In fact you didn't mount the ISO correctly (from what you say, this seems unlikely).
• You do not have the virtual CD drive enabled in the boot order (guest VM settings). The default is enabled, so also slightly unlikely.
• The ISO is not an image of a bootable CD/DVD.

I have been able to burn a bootable cd from this image so I don't quite understand why the image may not be bootable. What if I just burned another
cd and put it in the drive?

OK, I have something else going on here. I just put in an original XP disk I have that came straight from a vender and it still is telling me that there is no bootable media found. I did check the settings and the cd is in the boot order and the image is mounted as virtual cd in the previous attempts.

If the CD/DVD is attached to the SATA controller try changing it to the IDE controller in the guest settings and see if that helps.

Ok I got the original windows disk to install.

I do wish to ask this question though:
I got the iso through the Academic Alliance through the Microsoft educational software site with my school. Are these isos not bootable without burning
them to a cd first? I know they are bootable if you burn them to a cd and then install so I don't know why it would not work with it just being mounted. If anyone has any idea I would be most willing to learn.

Thanks All.

gene wrote:Are these isos not bootable without burning them to a cd first?

An ISO file is just an image of a ISO-standard data CD. The image therefore has all the features of the CD and your VM can't tell the difference. Best guess is that you were not mounting the ISO file correctly in the VM.