virtualbox.org

Hello.
I successfully installed windows XP client on my Kubuntu 16.04.1 Host (Intel(R) Core(TM)2 Duo CPU E6750 @ 2.66GHz, 8Gb RAM).

I am running Oracle VirtualBox Version 5.1.14 r112924 (Qt5.5.1).

Guest Windows XP 3Gb RAM and 60GB HDwith matching Guest Addition installed.

All was ruining OK untill I attempted to install Avast Pro Antivirus on the guest. Guru meditation dialogue is displayed. Please find attached log file leading to the crash.

Have you updated your XP guest to SP3? If not, Avast is unlikely to be compatible, as their website identifies XP SP3 as a minimum requirement.

No. At least explicitly. After installing XP, I registered it and configured for auto updates, but my guess is XP had not enough time to update...

Question: is it possible to start/repair VM now? or I will be better of (time/effort wise) creating VM from scratch?

I suspect that Avast is trying to use VT-x. VirtualBox doesn't support nested virtualization.

tadek wrote:I registered it and configured for auto updates

It will not update to SP3. Actually, you cannot get SP3 anymore. Nowhere officially at least, Microsoft pulled the plug. Completely. They erased it from memory like it never existed.

So, my advice would be to scrap the old VM, install a new instance, forget about service packs and do not use the Internet.

socratis wrote: So, my advice would be to scrap the old VM, install a new instance, forget about service packs and do not use the Internet.

Thank you for your honest advice. As you might suspect I am not too keen spending hours attempting repair broken XP VM.

socratis wrote:Actually, you cannot get SP3 anymore. Nowhere officially at least, Microsoft pulled the plug. Completely. They erased it from memory like it never existed.

A most dangerous negative statement: it can never be proved correct, but a single contrary example can prove it wrong.

http://xpsp.dlservice.microsoft.com/dow ... 86-ENU.exe

p.s. I had the advantage of already knowing what the filename was, so I didn't have to search for "xp service pack SP3" or suchlike.

This is promising. And I will certainly try!

socratis wrote: but a single contrary example can prove it wrong.

http://xpsp.dlservice.microsoft.com/dow ... 86-ENU.exe

Back to my original post: is it possible, in reasonable time, to revive broken XP VM? ... and from apprentice of enlightenment: how to approach my VM koan?

I'd say, just boot XP in safe mode (start pressing F8 as soon as splash panel appears), and uninstall Avast.

mpack wrote:I had the advantage of already knowing what the filename was

Aha, that's why! So my statement stays technically correct: there is no "official" way and Microsoft has made all the links disappear. I'll bookmark it in any event.

However for WinXP you need to be already at SP2 before you can go to SP3. Do you have the link for SP2 as well?

socratis wrote:.Do you have the link for SP2 as well?

No, I don't have SP2, but I have just read the holographic writing on CD:

Windows XP Professional. Version 2002. Includes Service Pack 3

.
Anyway, at the moment I am away from my computer and will try again tonight (PST).
Thank you! I will keep you posted of my saga...

That sounds right to me. I have an XP installation CD which installs XP with SP3 already included.

Those must be late OEM versions, possibly downgrade rights versions from Dell etc? According to Wikipedia (just verifying my own memory), SP3 was released in 2008, which makes it about a year before Win7 appeared, so well after XP went off retail.

It might also be worth verifying that SP3 is actually installed: I'm sure it's on the CD, but it may not have been integrated into the main install.

Oh well, I invested too much time in this issue, but I have my guest OS running without reinstalling.

start pressing F8 as soon as splash panel appears

Worked: removed Avast Pro AV(paid version) through ControlPanel->Add or Remove Programs.

Attempted to install WinXP updates - sort of worked: office 2003/2007 updated, but regular OS updates not. I guess Microsoft pull the plug or I did not wait long enough - update process, looking for updates, runs forever (green flashing progress bar) and does nothing and I stopped it after 30 mins.

Attempted to install Avast AV Free version - same result: Guru Meditation and crush.

Found another anti virus program: top rated TotalAV (http://www.thetop10antivirus.com/best-free-antivirus). Works fine.

Thank you for all your help.

I think that my XP with SP3 came from MSDN. I had a subscription back then.