can't log in to websites

[carom]

After getting virtualbox to run for the first time with a working network connection, I'm finding I can't log in to any website. I'm running version 4.1.16 on Lion OS X MacBookPro. The guest machine is Windows7 running IE9. Out of the box configuration.

[mpack]

Select the correct keyboard layout in the guest.

Oh - and if your other (network) issue is solved then be polite and say as much in that thread.

[carom]

Where do I select the correct keyboard layout?
Is this in the control panel for the OS?
A keyboard device is installed "Standard P2/Keyboard".

[mpack]

And do you think the layout on the keyboard you are using with Windows 7 qualifies it as a "Standard PS/2 keyboard"? (Bear in mind that, to an American company, "Standard" means "US English layout").

This is a VirtualBox site: this is not the place where I can give you extensive tuition about how to operate Windows. In any case, strangely enough, I've never needed to change the keyboard layout on a Windows PC, because I've always chosen the correct keyboard during installation. However, yes, I would expect the "Keyboard" applet in "Control Panel" to be a good place to look. I would also Google "change windows keyboard layout" or similar to get more info.

In fact I just tried that search myself and immediately found a Microsoft article on the subject :-
How to change your keyboard layout.

[carom]

Initially that worked, though I'm not sure why, because when I went into keyboard settings, it was already set to US Default (I bought my MacBook Pro in the US). I opened the list of keyboards and selected US default again. That seemed to do the trick, since I was able to log into our test site for the first time. But after quitting the VM and starting it again, the problem returned. This time I couldn't fix as before.

[mpack]

Do you have USB enabled in the guest? If yes, what happens if you disable it in the VM settings?

[carom]

It's as it was out of the box. Disabled.

I just launched the XP VM and got the message that the OS has to be activated. I didn't get that message before. I was able to launch a browser in XP, though as in Windows 7, I couldn't enter user/pass for any site.

I think I'll try re-installing Vbox again. I don't know what else to do....

Ok, I just un-installed and re-installed virtualbox. Curiously my 3 VM's still display. Not the 4 VMs that are part of a fresh install. I guess the un-installer didn't delete preferences?

Launched Windows 7 VM and still can't log into my site.

VirtualBox crashed when I shut it down, during the "shutting down" screen.

[mpack]

Uninstalling the software does nothing to the data (would you expect all your documents to disappear if you uninstalled your word processor software?). So yes, the preferences - along with everything else - would have remained.

The Windows activation request is often delayed - I believe 3 to 30 days depending on circumstances (retail/OEM etc). But, you should postpone activation for as long as possible, in case the VM recipe has to change radically.

Anyway, you seem to have a unique problem which is beyond my experience, so I will bow out now. Good luck.