virtualbox.org

I have a Windows 7 Pro (x64) VM guest running in VirtualBox 5.0.26 r 108824 on Windows 10 x64 host. I have installed the corresponding VirtualBox Additions.

I have enabled encryption in this VM
I booted it up
It popped up the window asking me for the password
I entered the password and the machine booted up (all good, no errors)
I suspended the VM with Save to Disk
I restarted the VM
It popped up the window asking me for the password again as expected
I entered the password
It popped up the window asking me for the password again!
I entered the same password (I thought I might have typed it wrong but have tried this several times now)
I get an error:
I can shut the machine down gracefully. If I reboot it instead of unsuspending it, it asks me for the password and when I enter it, it boots normally without errors.

Why can't I unsuspend the virtual machine if it's encrypted? What is causing the duplicate password prompt? Is there an option I need or have I done something wrong? Or should I not expect to be able to suspend encrypted VMs?

I have attached the VBoxHardening log (zipped because it was too large to attach otherwise) and the VBox.log which if you search down for 'password' you will see the error on line 1168.

First of all, to get the terminology right, there is no suspend/unsuspend, there is SaveState/Restore. Just so that we're on the same page.

5.0.26 is rather old, did you try a newer version? I just tried with 5.1.8 (just released) and if I save the VM state, I'm not even asked for a password when I restore it! That maybe a bug of its own, but that's another story.

Well, VirtualBox uses the terms 'suspending' and 'resuming' in the log files. I will try 5.1. The "Check for update" within VirtualBox does not think this is available yet.

mgrant wrote:Well, VirtualBox uses the terms 'suspending' and 'resuming' in the log files.

You are correct, my bad. I thought that we'd go with a GUI, I didn't realize that at your first post you'd be digging in the logs

So I tried 5.1.8 r 111374 (Qt5.5.1).

Same thing, it asks me for the password twice and the second time I get the following error again:
Then I get the "Close Virtual Machine" dialogue box. This time, I just clicked Cancel. To my surprise, I'm in the VM! In fact, it seems like I can just press Cancel to the second password dialogue box and cancel the Close Virtual Machine dialogue box and I'm in, as long as I type the correct password to the first password box.

I did manage to cause a blue screen of death (BSOD) by clicking into the VM window before the password box came up though. There is a short period of time after the machine resumes and before the password dialog box is there which shows the desktop but presumably in a state before it's running because it doesn't have the key yet. I clicked and that seemed like it buried the password dialogue box and then a few seconds later, a BSOD of my computer (the host)! The error message on the BSOD was something like IRL LESS THAN OR EQUAL.

I must say that I find it a bit surprising that I should be able to see the frozen snapshot of desktop before the machine is fully decrypted and running.