[WorksForMe] Win10 VBox Video Adapter is broken (Code 37)

[eugene128]

Hello. I'm facing trouble: video adapter doesn't work normally after guest additions installed on Windows 10 guest machine.
I checked video adapter in device manager and see that:

Code: Select all

Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware. (Code 37)

{Operation Failed}
The requested operation was unsuccessful.

I tried to remove device Virtualbox Video Adapter and uninstall device drvier.
I tried to remove Guest Additions and reinstall in with nomal boot and in safe mode.
Nothing helps.
(other machines with windows 7 and Linux Mint 18.3 work fine)

Host OS: Linux KDE Neon 5.16.4
Kernel: 5.0.0-25-generic
VirtualBox: 6.0.10 r132072 (Qt5.12.3) with latest guest additions
Guest OS: Windows 10

What I'm doing wrong?

All advices what I found about error 37 are not informative or didn't help (most of methods just told me: reinstall device).
Where I should look to get more information about fail?

Thanks!

[socratis]

We need to see a complete VBox.log, from a complete VM run, where the problem occurs:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe problem / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
• With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
• Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response. See the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form.

[eugene128]

Thanks for answer.

What I did, step by step:
1) I completely removed virtualbox guest additions
2) powered off the guest machine
3) cleared previous logs
4) started the guest machine
5) checked devices tree (graphic adapter was detected as "Microsoft Basic Visual Adapter")
6) I installed guest additions
7) rebooted guest machine
8) checked devices tree (graphic adapter was detected as "Virtual Box Graphics Adapter" with error 37)
9) powered off the guest machine

[socratis]

I can't reproduce it here...

6) I installed guest additions

How? Which program did you run? You're only supposed to run "VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe", not the other programs on the CD.

Something is messed up with your guest, that's for sure. I would suggest to start searching for "windows 10 driver error 37", there's a lot of hits out there. For example, I found this: [Solved] Code 37: Windows cannot initialize the device driver for this hardware, follow their instructions except "Method 3" which talks about downloading their tool, it won't help you. The most promising is "Method 2".

[eugene128]

Sure, I tried to run VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe and VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64.exe.

Thanks you for hints.
Yes, as I told: I tried to recan devices, I tried to demove device and uninstall driver, and then reinstall vbox drivers. There is one result in all cases: error 37.

I should also specify: before that machine was created with Virtualbox 5.8 and then was updated to about several times (to VBox 5.9, VBox 6.0; extensions and guest additions was updated, too).
Only with VBox 6.0.10 I'm facing with that troubles.
However in that time I changed my host-machine. Maybe it can be related.
But as I told, I also have guest machind with linux Mint 18 and Windows 7 - they still works fine.

So, is there any instruction how to totally remove all that realive with virtualbox in my guest machine?
All files, all registry keys?

I should to try to clean it totally and reinstall additions.

If nothing helps, I'll try to create the clean guest machine.

[socratis]

Since this is not a common error with VirtualBox (couldn't find anything related from a quick search), I'm going to treat is as a problem with your guest. Just because an OS/program that runs in the context of VirtualBox has a problem, it doesn't make it a VirtualBox problem necessarily. You're having an issue that has most probably nothing to do with VirtualBox, so my suggestion would be to treat it as such, as a native problem with the guest OS.

[fth0]

I don't know if this is part of the problem, but:

The Windows 10 guest OS uses the older VBox XPDM driver instead of the newer VBox WDDM driver.

EDIT: Added the letter k to now.

[mpack]

Online sources say that XPDM support was dropped from Win8 onwards, however I assume the GAs installer would tell you if the driver was incompatible with the OS, so IMHO either that log line is incorrect, or online sources are incorrect.

I'm pretty sure I have installed XP style drivers in a Win10 VM before, but that may have been Win10 32bit. I can't check because that VM was an experiment which I've since deleted.

[socratis]

The Windows 10 guest OS uses the older VBox XPDM driver instead of the newer VBox WDDM driver.

I'd like to see some evidence of that, and I'd like to know how exactly you installed the GAs. It's my understanding that XPDM drivers didn't make the cut in Win10, they're the older style driver, not compatible. And it seems that Microsoft might agree with me...

I'm pretty sure I have installed XP style drivers in a Win10 VM before

Then you must have bypassed the GAs installer somehow. You don't even get to choose, it's enforced and it's WDDM only.

The only time you get to choose which flavor you get to install (XPDM vs. WDDM) is in Win7. The previous Windows get the XPDM option, the newer ones the WDDM. There's no option AFAIK...

[fth0]

The Windows 10 guest OS uses the older VBox XPDM driver instead of the newer VBox WDDM driver.

I'd like to see some evidence of that, and I'd like to know how exactly you installed the GAs.

Either you misunderstood my post, or I misunderstand yours now:

I've been writing about the OPs Windows 10 guest OS. You will find the evidence in his VBox log file when searching for XPDM. And the OP may not answer the second part of your question which seems directed to me.

[socratis]

Either you misunderstood my post, or I misunderstand yours now:

*I* misunderstood your post, mea culpa...

And the OP may not answer the second part of your question which seems directed to me.

It was directed to anyone that managed to install the XPDM drivers in a Win10 installation. I'd like to know how this was achieved, given that it's not an option. Maybe an upgrade from a Win7 installation?

[mpack]

I'd like to know how this was achieved, given that it's not an option

In the usual way I believe, i.e. answer no to the WDDM driver offer, and install the WDM GAs (of the which the XPDM drivers are a component I guess) in safe mode. I assume this is what results in that log line.

[socratis]

In the usual way I believe, i.e. answer no to the WDDM driver offer

mpack, as I mentioned that the option is given for a Win7/Vista guest only. Not for a WinXP guest, not for a Win8.1 guest (or higher) that option is disabled and the WDDM drivers are forcefully installed. Give it a shot...

So, unless this was an update from a Win7/Vista VM, *and* the GAs installer continues to use/update the XPDM drivers if they're already there, I don't see how this is possible.

[mpack]

mpack, as I mentioned that the option is given for a Win7/Vista guest only.

Hmm. On second thoughts you may be correct. The nature of the Win10-32bit "experiment" I alluded to was to test if I could get OpenGL to work, from the time when it wouldn't (OpenGL would default to the the v1.1 Windows native software only implementation). In concluded that OpenGL could not be made to work, probably for the reason you give. I could however get OpenGL 2.1 in Win7.

[eugene128]

Thank you all for replies. Well, I've updated virtualbox on the host-machine and also I've reinstalled guestadditions and seems like problem is gone.