virtualbox.org

Hi there,

I am currently running VirtualBox 4.3.8 on a Windows 8.1 host (with Windows 8.1 guests) and the following warning is appearing in my event logs:

Log Name: Application
Source: ApplicationExperienceInfrastructure
Details: "The application (Oracle VM VirtualBox, from vendor Oracle Corporation) has the following problem: To function properly, Oracle VM VirtualBox must be reinstalled after you upgrade Windows."

I have attempted uninstalling/reinstalling VirtualBox but the event message still occurs every time VirtualBox launches.
Obviously, this is very minor and I have not noticed any stability issues with my guests but does anyone know why this happening?

Thanks,
Drax

I always see this, too.

No idea why this happens or how to fix.

What event logs? I.e. both host and guest have them.

Pure guess since I don't use Windows 8: running Windows Update (or upgrading 8.0 -> 8.1 ?) zaps a VirtualBox driver. Reinstalling VirtualBox (if the issue is on the host), or reinstalling the Guest Additions (if guest) should fix it.

I see this error, and it only seems a problem when attempting to start a VM headless in the Windows Task Scheduler. I have the task set to start the VM at startup even when I'm not logged on and the Action is set to "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe", arguments startvm "vm-name" --type headless . I've left it to be allowed to start on demand. When you try and start it after a couple of seconds you get the following in the task log:

Task Scheduler successfully completed task "\Start [vm-name]" , instance "{0ad640b9-2561-446a-9abe-329d119f5af1}" , 
action "C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" with return code 2147942401.

You then get the OP's message in the Event Viewer.

Naturally, the VM fails to start.

However this also appears when I run VBoxManage.exe on the command line or the GUI app.

Edit:  This has been installed long after any upgrades to Windows 8.1

Virtualbox is installed under a specific user, as well as the VMs that are registered. To prevent this kind of problem, make sure you configure the task manager to run under the account that installed Virtualbox and that the environment is like a regular user sessions.
This a problem with the Task Scheduler/Services/Background tasks in general in Windows, and is not Virtualbox specific.

Update 2021-12-31: Windows 8.1 x64 VBox Version 6.0.14 r133895 (Qt5.6.2) same core i3 MSI MS-7587 desktop PC with 16G of DDR3 RAM: running better than ever. My challenge with vbox is the complexity of doing common tasks like recently I installed a new hard drive - my first ever SSD Samsung EVO 870 512GB - so I moved all my machines to that drive and it took a lot of time to change the drive letters etc in Virtual Media Manager. While I believe there are ways to automate this with scripting - is isn't worth investing the time for a single move that happens once in a while.

Update 2017-03-15: Windows 8.1 64bit Running Virtualbox VirtualBox-5.0.32-112930 same core i3 MSI MS-7587 desktop PC with 16G of DDR3 RAM (built 7 years ago) couldn't be happier running XP, Win7x64, Windows Server 2003, Linux Mint, CentOS, etc. VBOX is amazing.

Update 2015-05-18: Windows 8.1 64bit Running Virtualbox v 4.3.x on a standard core i3 desktop PC with 16G of RAM. Installed vb about 6 months ago and not a single problem. My computer is set to sleep after 25 min and hibernate after 2 hours. It routinely does this with no problem even when I leave a session of 64bit linux Mint v17 running but minimized to the task bar (vb is totally amazing). Starting just over 30 days ago the windows system log started to generate the same error in the event log as stated above:

eventvwr, Windows Logs, Application
source: 1
Task Category: NONE
Key words: icon of a yellow triangle with an exclamation in the center.
Summary: The application (Oracle VM VirtualBox, from vendor Oracle Corporation) has the following problem: To function properly, Oracle VM VirtualBox must be reinstalled after you upgrade Windows.

PROBLEM:
Random Black screen in windows 8.1 while working in or out of a virtualbox session. The mouse was still visible and could be moved but with a delay. I was able to connect to the linux min session with RDP and shut it down from another computer remotely. I could access windows share \\mycomputer\d$. I tried to open taskmanager with ctrl+alt+del. Only solution was to hit the power button. I came across this and some older posts and concluded as the message in the event viewer states that virtualbox must be reinstalled after windows updates.

SOLUTION:
I finished installing all updates that ms was currently offering and installed the latest version of vb on top of what I had (it appears vb automatically removes the old version as it no longer appears in add/remove programs). And that solved my problem. No freezes in the past two days. Computer sleeps and hibernates with no issues.