Win10 Host cant find Vboxsvr shared drive

[Hughie]

Yes I can see Host hard drives from the VM (running XP) but I want to see the VM's drive from the Host (Win10).
From Win10 host I try to map the VM drive but vboxsvr doesn't show up or any other sign of the shared drive.
Vbox has all drives added to the "Shared " window.
C drive on XP is shared giving full control.
Guest Additions is installed.
XP can see all the drives and partitions on the Win10 host.
Win10 host can't see any sign of XP running on Vbox. i.e. the Network shows other computers fine but no Virtual Box machines.

Searches on the web do not cover this case. Help!

[mpack]

\\VBoxSvr is exclusively a guest feature. You can't see GA shares from the host, because the host owns the folders being shared in the first place.

Also, virtual hard drives and shared folders are two completely unrelated features.

Finally, giving the Internet full access to the root folder of your host hard drive (via the XP VM) is just crazy. Let's hope your host PC doesn't store any data you wouldn't want the world to know, like passwords, bank account details, ID details etc.

[scottgus1]

Win10 host can't see any sign of XP running on Vbox. i.e. the Network shows other computers fine but no Virtual Box machines.

If all your Virtualbox Windows guests are XP, then this is expected. Due to the WannaCry virus, XP's version of shared folders was deactivated in Windows 10. So 10 and XP cannot see each others' shared folders. (It is apparently still possible to turn on the old shared-folder protocol, called SMB1, in 10, then 10 & XP should see each other's shared folders, but it is a major security hole. And XP itself is now a major security hole and should be kept off the internet.)

As Mpack pointed out, \\Vboxsvr is generated by Guest Additions and is only seen inside the guest OS. The host PC will never see \\Vboxsvr.

If you want to see the guest's shared folders on the host, you must set up a network between the guest and host that put the guest and host in the same LAN. Bridged or Host-Only will do this, see Virtualbox Networks: In Pictures.

And as mentioned above you must turn on SMB1 in Windows 10 to allow XP and 10 to see each other's shared folders. You will have huge security problems if you do so.

If you decide to steer towards more security, remove XP from the internet and turn off that C-drive-root writable Guest Additions Shared Folder. A writable GASF pointing to a subfolder on the C drive is OK, though. Abandon attempts to see XP's shared folders in 10. Use 7 as a guest OS instead if you want to see the guest's shared folders on the host (though also out of security updates and should also stay off the internet, 7 is more secure in shared folders, and should run the programs you are running in XP.)

[Hughie]

MPACK you seem to have misread my question. But Scottgus1 clarified what you meant.
1. The XP is required for some old proprietary software and is NOT on the internet per se, but I'd be glad to hear how I might be leaking it to the outside. I'm not a network expert. I had hoped by hiding the XP in a VM that I could allow Win10 to protect me and my intranet from viruses and any XP security flaws.
2. I did enable the SMB1 but still my Win 10 cannot see shared XP folders.
3. I also tried Bridge for the network and still got nowhere. I will try Host only. (I really need a doc/ help/ or some examples as maybe I'm doing things wrong.)

(I will read the link on Vbox. Thanks.)

[BillG]

mpack did not misread what you wrote. You were just not clear describing what you wanted to do. You should not share drives. Share files or folders, not drives. Yes, Windows 10 can see shares on XP, but it cannot access them.

I doubt you will get anywhere with Host Only. Even with SMB1, bridged networking and networks set to Private, networking between XP and Windows 10 is very dicey. They are just too different.

I do it in two steps using bridged networking. My host is on a LAN, and all vms can share folders with all physical hosts. First I copy the folder from Win 10 to Win 7, then from 7 to XP. XP was still around when Windows 7 came out and they understand each other. XP and Win 10 don't! This method has the added advantage that you do not need to enable SMB1 on your Windows 10 host. Win 7 and Win 10 share the new network discovery method and Win 7 and XP share the old computer browser service which requires SMB1.