VirtualBox not starting - COM problem?

[kon]

After some Windows updates and installing the win 7 update readiness tool (KB947821) i can't start the virtualbox GUI anymore.

In my log i have this:

Code: Select all

VirtualBox COM Server 4.3.6 r91406 win.amd64 (Dec 18 2013 17:12:34) release log
00:00:00.005000 main     Log opened 2014-02-08T01:58:57.609093400Z
00:00:00.005000 main     Build Type: release
00:00:00.005000 main     OS Product: Windows 7
00:00:00.005000 main     OS Release: 6.1.7601
00:00:00.005000 main     OS Service Pack: 1
00:00:00.115006 main     DMI Product Name: System Product Name
00:00:00.127007 main     DMI Product Version: System Version
00:00:00.127007 main     Host RAM: 16281MB total, 10313MB available
00:00:00.127007 main     Executable: C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxSVC.exe
00:00:00.127007 main     Process ID: 8932
00:00:00.127007 main     Package type: WINDOWS_64BITS_GENERIC
00:00:00.130007          Loading settings file "C:\Users\kon/.VirtualBox\VirtualBox.xml" with version "1.12-windows"
00:00:00.344019          VDInit finished
00:00:00.345019          Loading settings file "C:\Users\kon\VirtualBox VMs\Ubuntu 11.10 Server\Ubuntu 11.10 Server.vbox" with version "1.12-windows"
00:00:05.349306 main     ERROR [COM]: aRC=VBOX_E_OBJECT_IN_USE (0x80bb000c) aIID={05f2bbb6-a3a6-4fb9-9b49-6d0dda7142ac} aComponent={Medium} aText={Medium 'C:\Users\kon\VirtualBox VMs\Ubuntu 11.10 Server\Ubuntu 11.10 Server.vdi' cannot be closed because it is still attached to 1 virtual machines}, preserve=false
00:00:10.351592 Watcher  ERROR [COM]: aRC=E_ACCESSDENIED (0x80070005) aIID={fafa4e17-1ee2-4905-a10e-fe7c18bf5554} aComponent={VirtualBox} aText={The object is not ready}, preserve=false

VboxManage output for "VBoxManage.exe list":

Code: Select all

VBoxManage.exe: error: Failed to create the VirtualBox object!
VBoxManage.exe: error: Code E_NOINTERFACE (0x80004002) - No such interface supported (extended info not available)
VBoxManage.exe: error: Most likely, the VirtualBox COM server is not running or failed to start.

After searching for solutions this seems to me like a generic error and it doesn't really say much except something is wrong.
I have checked permissions, component services/typelib entries and didn't see anything out of the order.

Any ideas and pointers what could be wrong here?
What would be a good method to further trace down the cause of this error?

[noteirak]

Usual causes for this :
- Virtualbox was installed under the Administrator account
- Virtualbox was not installed using "run as administrator"
- Virtualbox is started from another account from which it was installed
- Virtualbox is started with "run as administrator"

[kon]

I uninstalled virtualbox, re-installed by running the installer with "run as administrator" and I still get the same error when I run virtualbox as the normal user under which it was installed (using "run as administrator").

Also it seems weird that suddenly the error would appear after I didn't touch virtualbox. I suspect it was a windows update/kb-installer who changed something, but I don't know how to verify this or find out what has changed that it stopped working.
Is there information somewhere that explains what is required to track these kind of errors down? Like what it could mean, what are good approaches to find a solution and whatever else might be good to know for this case?

[mpack]

You are right that the error could be more specific about which API it failed to find, however on the face of it it's saying that the COM support API is incomplete. That can only mean that the software was installed incorrectly, or some problem with the host (DLLs, registry corruption, installer problem, etc). Apart from doing what you've already done, I can't think how else you would address this.

Thought: when you uninstalled, you were logged in the the same user that installed it, right?

[kon]

Cheers for sharing your thoughts on this.
Yep it was uninstalled by the same user.
I also suspect system corruption somewhere in Win7, even though sfc deemed everything ok.
Was just about to create a new user and do a fresh VBox install from there, when I attempted a final search and found a youtube video(!) suggesting to run virtualbox.exe in compatibilty mode for Vista SP2.
Quite unconvinced yet desperate enough to wave a dead chicken at this point I gave it a try and my jaw dropped for a moment when the gui popped up.
This means Windows uses more or less independent component architecture for COM depending on the selected mode? Maybe I underestimated those compatibility layers.
Still doesn't work in Win7. That's irrelevant in all probability though, since I don't really trust the integrity of this Windows installation anymore and maybe even was the cause for the error in the first place.
Same for vboxmanage, running without any evident issues as vista sp2 - under w7 fails.

[mpack]

What I would do is uninstall VirtualBox. Then I would find the Oracle\VirtualBox folder in "Program Files" and I'd delete it. Then I'd run regedit and search for every key which mentions VirtualBox, and delete that too. Then reboot the host.

Finally, having carefully done all of the above, I would try installing it again, using "Run as administrator" and while logged in as the correct user. I would not leave out any of the optional parts of the installation. I might reboot the host before running it for the first time.

[jmdavidson]

Was just about to create a new user and do a fresh VBox install from there, when I attempted a final search and found a youtube video(!) suggesting to run virtualbox.exe in compatibilty mode for Vista SP2.
Quite unconvinced yet desperate enough to wave a dead chicken at this point I gave it a try and my jaw dropped for a moment when the gui popped up.
...
Same for vboxmanage, running without any evident issues as vista sp2 - under w7 fails.

kon, you are a god among men. Thank you. Compatibility Mode > Vista SP2 finally did the trick. Now, can we get Oracle to suss out the root cause and fix this problem?