virtualbox.org

I have half a dozen VMs -- Windows varieties -- on a Mac host (Intel Mini 10.7.2); VBox 4.1.4, extension pack installed, guest extensions installed. Each has been set up with a different port number for Remote Desktop access under /Display settings.

RDC quit working recently on the VMs I have been using daily.

My oldest VM -- which I had not used for months -- still is accessible using RDC (or CoRD) from the host.
It happens to have been set up with the default RDC port number 3389. (The othes have various numbers, all different).

The others all show the port unavailable in their Session Information windows and can't be reached using RDC or CoRD, with an error message from RDC or a timeout from CoRD.

Before I start switching the port numbers -- does this make sense to someone who can help me with it?

I understand, I think, that this has to be something in VirtualBox -- I'm connecting to the host machine and VBox, not to the guest machines directly. But I don't see what could be different and am reluctant to start changing port numbers lest I lose the use of the one I still have working.

Perhaps it was just on its way to falling apart. A few hours later, got a kernel panic.
After restarting, I get "kernel driver not installed" for all the guest VMs checked.
So, I'll look for that instead. If I get lucky I"ll get my old problem back and revisit this and ask again.

EDIT -- uninstalled 4.1.4, installed 4.1.2 and the appropriate extension pack and guest additions; got the VMs back. That one that says it has its Remote Desktop port open -- still says it's open. The other five still say port not available.

But the one that worked no longer accepts connections from either RDC or CoRD, giving the same timeout message in RCD; CoRD just opens a blank screen. No sign in the logs that the connection is happening at all.

And now --- without changing anything, except restarting the VMs and restarting the Mac and checking permissions -- the one VM works again, but only for CoRD -- which connects from the Mac host to its Windows 7 guest perfectly.
No mention of anything being changed in Permissions that seems related to VirtualBox at all, it just found ACLs.

With CoRD, there is no indication in Console of any problem, it's clearly working.

Using Microsoft's Remote Desktop app -- it connects now to the one VM it worked with before -- but gives a black screen; mouseclicks work through that, if I look directly in the VM itself I can see where the Remote Desktop connection happened to clickon something and open a window -- but nothing on the RD screen is visible.

Console shows the problem of two "AssertionHandler" apps one of which gets used, quoted above.

Can someone explain how Virtualbox settings work to let connections happen with Remote Desktop? I thought that the only settings were in VirtualBox -- so it should work for any VM under that host.
What can be different out of six Windows VMs (Win7 X84, Win7 X64, WinXP) -- that only the one on port 3389 works?

possibly another hint from Activity Monitor
open files and ports for Remote Desktop
shows: 192.168.1.2:60807->192.168.1.2:ms-wbt-server

So, I've still got only one guest VM (set to the default port) that can be seen from the Mac using Remote Desktop
I don't have any idea what this line means or why the other VMs have their port unavailable.

Is there some way with one of the VirtualBox interfaces to set it so other VMs can also be seen on different port numbers?

Posting what I learn continuing to hope someone who understands the Mac OSX host settings will have a suggestion.

EDIT: this may be a clue, it sounds like a similar problem:

http://sourceforge.net/apps/phpbb/cord/ ... t=206#p731
excerpt:
"From time to time Mac OS X users attempting to connect to Windows Server 2008 R2 machines may encounter a licensing protocol error which prevents them from accessing the server. This is caused by corruption of the downloaded license files - on a Windows machine this is fixed by removing a registry key but a Mac OS X client doesn’t have the registry so instead delete the following folder
/users/Shared/Microsoft/RDC Crucial Server Information/
Then restart and attempt to reconnect....."

More stuff at the link. Not at all sure it's related yet, just posting what I find and hoping for knowledgeable corrections

and here's the log file of a VM set to use port 4400 for remote desktop --- failing to get it to open.
(3389 is the default port that is working on another VM; this one is set to use 4400, which seems to have no traffic on it; I've tried quite a few others also)

00:00:01.604 Installed Extension Packs:
00:00:01.604 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack (Version: 4.1.2 r73507; VRDE Module: VBoxVRDP)
00:00:10.286 VRDP: TCP server failed to bind to a port: 3389 [4400]
00:00:10.286 VRDP: TCP server closed.
00:00:10.286 VRDP: Failed to start VRDP-IN thread, rc = VERR_NET_ADDRESS_IN_USE
00:00:10.287 VRDE: Warning: failed to launch VRDE server (VERR_NET_ADDRESS_IN_USE): 'VirtualBox Remote Desktop Extension server can't bind to the port: 4400'

Well, it wasn't the Mac host causing the problem -- had other problems with permissions and ACLs and when all else failed, formatted and reinstalled the OSX internal drive. That got rid of the pesky problems with permissions (I'd used a tweaked CarbonCopyCloner to save a clone copy of the drive but lose all the ACLs, thanks to Mike Bombich for that).

Cloned everything including the VMs back to a freshly cleaned up Mac -- no problems. All works the same.
So I still have one VM with Remote Desktop working, and the others not. It wasn't the Mac.

I downgraded to VBox 4.1.2. That didn't change anything (but the kernel panics went away that I'd had with 4.1.4, at least).

Question -- can anyone suggest anything I can try to figure out the Remote Desktop difference?
If I clone the VM with a working RD, I should get another VM with a working Remote Desktop -- right?
If I do that, what can I try changing? Can I uninstall the (Windows 7 64-bit) OS, install a different OS, and have the RD function stick?

(I don't know that anyone has answers; I"m trying to ask the question to interest anyone who does to offer any hints available. I realize I've likely missed something obvious, and I am continuing to try to read and understand on my own, leaving notes here as I go)

A clone of the one VM that was accessible via RD -- retains that feature.

And, that one VM and its clone worked fine with 4.1.4 and 4.1.2 versions of Virtualbox.

Now, because of lots of kernel panics with 4.1.4 and with 4.1.2, I've uninstalled and installed 4.0.16.
No kernel panics in 24 hours -- and for some reason now the remote desktop feature no longer works with the network adapter set to bridged; if i change it to NAT it does work

And I've never solved or really understood this, but I did find a workaround.

I reset the authorization "VBoxAuth" setting.
After doing that, I could get the VMs to connect as bridged.

Still can't get external authorization to work, so can't leave them open.
But seems like that VBoxAuth file must have been corrupted.
Still just guessing

aside -- there's a thread in the Linux Hosts section about problems with authorization as well, suggesting trying
VBoxManage setproperty vrdeauthlibrary default
and
VBoxManage modifyvm <vm name> --vrdeauthtype external --vrdeauthlibrary VBoxAuth

Neither of those worked for me on the OSX host.
Anyone aware of whether those are the right commands for OSX hosts?

Installed VBox 4.1.8.

Problem gone -- Remote Desktop Connection worked (with null authentication).
Still doesn't work with any other setting, but it's a start.