VirtualBox 5.0.40: "terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1)"

[vvye]

Hi everyone!

I'm having trouble starting VMs. The error I keep getting is the following:

The virtual machine 'Windows XP' has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1). More details may be available in '[...]\VBoxHardening.log'.

Fehlercode: E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Komponente: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine {[...]}

(see attachment for the log file)

I realize this is apparently a common problem. I've searched around and tried every suggested fix - none of them changed anything about the error, let alone solve the problem.

• I have restarted my system multiple times.
• I have uninstaled and reinstalled multiple versions of VirtualBox multiple times (see below), with and without admin privileges.
• I'm using Windows Defender which shouldn't interfere with VirtualBox as far as I can tell.
• I do not have Hyper-V enabled.
• I have tried starting the VM in headless mode.

I'm on 64-bit Windows 10 trying to run 32-bit Windows XP (though the type of VM seems to make no difference).

I should note that I'm using version 5.0.40, since that is the latest one that I'm not getting VM audio issues with. (I know that version is no longer supported, but I'm not requesting a bugfix, so I hope asking for assistance is okay.)
I should also note that version 6.1.6 works without issue (except for the audio problems, which is why I'd like to get 5.0.40 to work).

The first version I installed is 6.1.6, and I later installed 5.0.40 over it - my guess is that some of 6.1.6's files weren't properly uninstalled, and that's why 5.0.40 won't work but 6.1.6 will? Maybe the issue could be fixed by removing all traces of VirtualBox from my machine and starting over fresh. If that's the case, I don't know how go to about that.

Of course, another way to solve all this would be to try and fix the audio issues I get with 6.1.6. I'd like to try tackling it this way first, since I'm not sure which way is easier. (I'm tech-savvy enough, but very much a newbie when it comes to hardware and drivers and virtualization and all that.)

Let me know of you need any more info.

Thanks!

[scottgus1]

Exit code 1 is explained in Diagnosing VirtualBox Hardening Issues as a corrupted dll that Virtualbox needs, and your log shows errors on 'C:\WINDOWS\System32\bcrypt.dll'. Run a command prompt as Admin and run 'sfc /scannow'

[vvye]

Thanks for the reply!

I forgot to mention that I'd already taken a quick look at the diagnosing thread and run sfc /scannow, unfortunately to no avail. I just tried running it again and got the same results - cmd says "no integrity violations found", and the error message in VirtualBox remains.

[mpack]

It can also be caused by using a version of VirtualBox that's way older than the OS it's installed on. VirtualBox 5.0.40 (the last service release in the 5.0.x branch) was released 3 years ago tomorrow, support for the 5.0.x branch ended one month later.

[vvye]

It can also be caused by using a version of VirtualBox that's way older than the OS it's installed on. VirtualBox 5.0.40 (the last service release in the 5.0.x branch) was released 3 years ago tomorrow, support for the 5.0.x branch ended one month later.

That would be unfortunate, but I guess that could be it. Can anyone else try running 5.0.40 on Windows 10 Build 1909 (the one I'm using) and confirm they get the same error?

[scottgus1]

You might be waiting a while for someone to be willing to do that. Meanwhile you can take a disk image of your PC so you can restore, then uninstall 5.0.40 and install something more modern, and see what happens. 6.0.14 was stable for a good while, or you can go straight to latest as of today 6.1.6.

PS, do try to tell your whole story in your first post....

I forgot to mention that I'd already taken a quick look at the diagnosing thread and run sfc /scannow

People who volunteer to help tend to feel like their time has been wasted when you don't tell all you tried.

[vvye]

PS, do try to tell your whole story in your first post....
People who volunteer to help tend to feel like their time has been wasted when you don't tell all you tried.

Oh definitely! I've been on the helping end a couple of times, so I do know how it feels. I had wanted to mention that info, I just genuinely forgot.

You might be waiting a while for someone to be willing to do that. Meanwhile you can take a disk image of your PC so you can restore, then uninstall 5.0.40 and install something more modern, and see what happens. 6.0.14 was stable for a good while, or you can go straight to latest as of today 6.1.6.

Yeah, 6.1.6 definitely works for me, I was just hoping I could get 5.0.40 to work too.

Oh well, no such luck it looks like. I guess it's safe to assume 5.0.40 just no longer works on my version of Windows, period? If anyone has any more ideas please let me know - in any case, thanks for all your help.