virtualbox.org

I installed the latest update for VirtualBox and now my Windows XP will not run. XP is the 32-bit version. I've attached a screen shot where I end up at no matter what one I choose. There is a blue screen with writing but I can't get that one caught before this one is displayed.

The blue screen happens when I choose one of the selections to start up Windows from the attached screen.

I videoed the screen and this is what the blue screen says:
A problem has been detected and windows has been shut down to prevent damage to your computer.
If this is the first time you've seen this Stop error screen, restart your computer. If this screen appears again, follow these steps:
Check for viruses on your computer. Check your hard drive to make sure it is properly configured and terminated.
Run CHKDSK /F to check for hard drive corruption, and then restart your computer.

And there is another screen after this screen with the following:
ata0 master: VBOX HARDDISK ATA-6 Hard-Disk (100000 MBytes)
ata2 master: Unknown device
ata2 slave: Unknown device
ata3 master: Unknown device

Then goes back to the VirtualBox screen and then to the attached screen.

If you are reporting a regression with 5.0.22 then you should report it in the Discuss the 5.0.22 Release discussion topic. We can discuss it here first if you like, but in that case a VM log (via zipped attachment) would be useful too.

Thanks for you reply. I figure we might as well continue here. I am including the zipped log file.

I was able to get Windows XP to work with 5.0.22 but not in the initial operating system file. I renamed the old one and then started a new Windows XP. I selected Use an existing virtual hard disk file. I thought this would copy the existing one over to the new directory, but it didn't. So I copied the existing virtual hard drive file to the new directory. I started Windows XP and got the screen I attached to the first post. I pressed Enter and Windows XP came up with no problem. So I know it isn't an issue with the virtual hard drive and XP does work with 5.0.22 at least as long as it was installed when 5.0.22.

I have another problem with having an empty CD slected for storage. Where should I post this problem? This occurs no matter what version. I can't have an empty CD assigned for XP because of this problem.

I'm happy to continue here for now. But, if it becomes clear that we have a problem that should be reported to the devs then we'll have to adjourn to the proper forum.

rbmisc wrote:I thought this would copy the existing one over to the new directory, but it didn't. So I copied the existing virtual hard drive file to the new directory.

VDI files are too large for VirtualBox to be making copies behind your back. Better that you create them yourself. Note however that using the host OS to copy VDI files can lead to problems. In fact I'm surprised it didn't this time. Each VDI has a (should be) unique ID in the header. If you copy VDIs then that assumption of uniqueness is violated. You should only copy VDI's by cloning them, you can use the command line, or you can use File|Virtual Media Manager.

Ok, lets's look at your log.

VBox.log wrote: 00:00:00.854010 Guest OS type: 'WindowsXP'
00:00:00.885096 Name <string> = "Windows XP" (cb=11)
...
00:00:00.885100 RamSize <integer> = 0x000000051a000000 (21 911 044 096, 20 GB)

Uh, it is pointless to allocate 20GB to an XP VM. The guest OS is 32bit and can't use more than 4GB. Furthermore it is designed to run best in a fraction of that. I'd give it no more than 2GB.

VBox.log wrote: 00:00:00.885098 NumCPUs <integer> = 0x0000000000000004 (4)

You have a quad core host. You can't give all four cores to the guest if you want the host to work properly. Allocate 2 cores max.

That all said: the first mistake is wasteful but harmless, the second makes the VM run slower but otherwise should be harmless again.

The guest OS seems to have problems booting, it usually seems to reset just about when the GAs are trying to load (sometimes the GAs version 5.0.20 is reported, sometimes not). It would be interesting to see if this VM boots up in safe mode, i.e. if you bypass the GAs. Next step would be installing a different GAs version.

You said that a new XP VM created from scratch did not have the problem. I'm assuming that's also evidence that it's a GAs problem.

mpack wrote:Uh, it is pointless to allocate 20GB to an XP VM. The guest OS is 32bit and can't use more than 4GB. Furthermore it is designed to run best in a fraction of that. I'd give it no more than 2GB.

It's not just pointless, it's actively harmful. The guest can't make any use of it but the VM still has to manage the unusable RAM and the host OS can't utilize it.

I said that I selected 'Use an existing virtual hard disk file'. I would assume then that the unique ID for the VDI was used for the new setup, that's why I didn't have any problems. Also, I did copy this file from the old directory to the new directory.

I have changed my memory size and number of cpus to what your recommend.

I realized from your comment about being 5.0.20. The last thing I tried before creating a new XP was to go back to 5.0.20. I've attached a new log that is for 5.0.22.

rbmisc wrote:I said that I selected 'Use an existing virtual hard disk file'. I would assume then that the unique ID for the VDI was used for the new setup, that's why I didn't have any problems.

No, use existing means use existing. It doesn't mean "modify and then use". Had there been any possibility of this being correct then I'd have given a different answer.

rbmisc wrote:The last thing I tried before creating a new XP was to go back to 5.0.20. I've attached a new log that is for 5.0.22.

This log also shows 20GB to the VM and 4 cores. Strangely though it doesn't show any GAs running at all.

When I selected 'Use an existing virtual hard disk file.' when I was setting up for a new XP configuration, I selected the VDI file in the old XP directory. What are you meaning by "modify and then use?"