Windows XP IE6 VHD from Microsoft - issues with networking

[djmichaelb]

Hey guys,

not sure if this exact issue has been raised before, or if this is the correct place for the problem, however I'll give it a shot.

I'm trying to run the official Windows XP VHD images available here: http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/de ... x?id=11575 for web development on my VirtualBox Mac OSX Lion machine.

None of the networking options seem to work on the machines at all... I've tried quite a few combinations, and none of them seem to work at all. The network card is missing drivers apparently. In an attempt to load the drivers onto the machine I need to use a Shared Folder, however to enable those I need to install Guest Additions, and they seem to fail each time I install them.

To make matters worse... despite these being the images supplied by Microsoft, the cloning process in VirtualBox changes the UID of each instal image and as a result the Windows OS thinks it is running on a new machine. As a result it says it will require activation within 3 days or it will stop working. Now this wouldn't be such a big deal (although I would need to keep using these images after 3 days) however trying to instal the Guest Additions not only fails it also appears to trigger activation time-up and the OS will not go past the login screen without being activated.

I don't really want some tips on activating Windows as that isn't allowed on the Forum and doesn't fix my issue.

What I am wondering is whether anyone has had success loading the official IE6 - IE8 testing images from Microsoft onto Mac OSX Lion using Virtual Box and getting it to work with a minimum of fuss, and if so, what steps could you suggest I take. This is very frustrating, I would prefer to be able to test sites in IE using my Mac and I have seen others do it on an iMac using VirtualBox running OSX Snow Leopard.

Sorry for the wall of text.

Cheers.

[scp]

If you set the Network Adapter to Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop you can just download der PROWin32.exe for Windows XP Professional from here:
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/Product ... ductID=871
http://downloadcenter.intel.com/SearchR ... op+Adapter

Instead of using Shared Folders it is easier to create an .ISO containing the driver and attach it to the VMs CD-ROM.

[BillG]

The basic problem is the differences between the "hardware" of the WVPC vm and the VirtualBox vm. The OS is built on the former, so the drivers will not suit VirtualBox. That's why the New Hardware Wizard runs when you first boot. It is also why the reactivation thing comes up (and fails, because the image is not built to activate. Under WVPC it just runs until the expiry date in November).

[sanookmarket]

thank you guys