virtual box Can't open VBox files as user on external HDD {{SOLVED}}

[ichase]

I mentioned this in the xorg thread but can't figure out why I can't access my Virtual Box VM's as a regular user. My VM files are stored on an external HDD. User ichase has read write access to this external HDD, but yet I get the following error when trying to start one.

 

Failed to open virtual machine located in /mnt/Clones/VMs/Win7_Pro/Win7_Pro.vbox.
Runtime error opening '/mnt/Clones/VMs/Win7_Pro/Win7_Pro.vbox' for reading: -38(Access denied.).
/build/virtualbox/src/VirtualBox-4.3.14/src/VBox/Main/src-server/MachineImpl.cpp[472] (nsresult Machine::initFromSettings(VirtualBox*, const com::Utf8Str&, const com::Guid*)).

Under details I get:

										
Result Code:										
[font='Courier New,courier']NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)[/font]														
Component:										
Machine														
Interface:										
IMachine {480cf695-2d8d-4256-9c7c-cce4184fa048}														
Callee:										
IVirtualBox {fafa4e17-1ee2-4905-a10e-fe7c18bf5554}				
			
					

 

Edit,

Wanted to mention HOW I set permissions to the external HDD

# chgrp storage /mnt/Clones
# chmod 777 /mnt/Clones
# gpasswd -a user_name storage

Also, as mentioned in the other xorg thread, I now can't get virtual box to open to where I can access my VMs as root. I just get a box with a white screen and the command line just states:

 Extension: 130 (MIT-SHM)
Minor opcode: 5 (X_ShmCreatePixmap)
Resource id: 0x82
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: libpng warning: iCCP: known incorrect sRGB profile
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9
Major opcode: 62 (X_CopyArea)
Resource id: 0x1e0000e
Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) 9

I have been running VBox as root for a while now since moving my VMs to an external HDD and just rolled with it. But now since I updated xorg, I get the above errors (there are plenty but pretty much stating the same thing) when I run VBox as root from the terminal. As mentioned above, I don't have this issue when running VBox from menu as user. I can access "ONE" VM that is installed on the actual host SSD drive.

Edited July 30, 2014 by ichase

[Hedon James]

I wonder if this is somehow related to kernel headers and/or dkms. I upgraded one of my Ubuntu 12.04 machines to 14.04. This caused my VirtualBox 4.2.18 to quit working, so I used the opportunity to upgrade to VirtualBox 4.3.12 and all was well again. Until Ubuntu 14.04 upgraded the kernel again and caused Virtualbox to throw an error and refuse to boot. I fixed the issue, but the next kernel upgrade was a repeat issue and I had to repeat the solution (can't remember exactly, but it was dkms related). At this point I'm not sure if it's a 3.12 kernel issue or a VB 4.3.12 issue, but I don't use VB very much on that machine, so I'll prolly keep fixing it until the bugs are squashed.

 

I don't even know if this is applicable to your situation, but between your updated x.org and running VirtualBox 4.3.14, I thought I'd mention my issues to see if they correlate to yours. What kernel you running? Can you boot into an older kernel and resolve the issue? That might yield a clue whether its kernel related or x.org related?

[Guest LilBambi]

OK, I think that no one will be able to help you unless more info is supplied.

 

How is the External Hard Drive formatted?

 

The VMs look like they are Windows 7 Clones maybe on NTFS formatted External Hard Drive?

 

Are you trying to run them in Windows 7 or Linux on VirtualBox?

Edited July 31, 2014 by LilBambi

[ichase]

Hey Fran, Hedon James

I run VBox in Arch Linux, all of the updates are current in regards to guest modules etc. The VM's I run are Windows VMs. XP Pro, 7 Pro, Server 2003 R2, and Server 2008 R2. All of these for work purposes only.

I actually fixed my issue. The external HDD is formated to Ext4. User ichase had read write permission to the external HDD but for some reason or another, the "individual" folders within did not receive recursive permissions. In other words they did not inherint the permissions given to the actual HDD. So as root I set permissions for read write to ichase on each of my VM folders and viola, I can now run ALL of my VMs as user ichase and all is well.

 

So, this topic can be set to "Solved" as it just came down to a "permission inherancy" issue.

 

Thank you both for your replies

 

Ian

Edited August 1, 2014 by ichase

[Guest LilBambi]

Excellent! Changed topic to {{SOLVED}}.

 

I thought it might have something to do with perms due to the formatting of the drive which is why I asked.

 

Sometimes it can be the simplest of things that trip us up.

[Hedon James]

well that's kinda strange for folders to recursively change permission, removing access to files/folders that you previously had access to. any idea what might have caused that in the first place? glad you got it resolved, though...even though slightly annoying, your solution was about as painless and worry-free as an unknown solution could be!

[Guest LilBambi]

I think Ian's problem was that he was able to use the VMs in VirtualBox as root, but not as user right along from that drive.

 

Is that right Ian?

[Hedon James]

that's my understanding also Bambi. but I thought he PREVIOUSLY had access as a user, but lost that user-access somehow, ending up with root-access only? I'm wondering how he LOST user-access that he previously had? obviously something changed...package upgrade or something...any theories? just curious.

[ichase]

Yes, that was the issue as only Root had access to run the VMs because when I tried running them as user I they would not open stating I did not have permission.

When I switched from a 500 GB internal Sata drive to a 240 GB SSD drive, I moved all of my VM's to a 1TB external drive that is always attached to the laptop. I provided full read write to user ichase to the external drive. I discovered the permission issue after trying to run the VM's from the external. I could run them fine as root so I simply openned VBox as root (i'm the only user on this lappy so was not too concerned about running as root) and everything ran fine, no biggie. But AFTER the last update that included the new xorg changes, when I opened VBox user console as root I was getting Qt WARNING: X Error: BadDrawable (invalid Pixmap or Window parameter) and when the Oracle VBox manager window opened, it was nothing but a white screen. Though now when I run it as user, it works fine??? No clue. So the permissions issue on the external was not brought on by any changes, it was there from the get go when I moved all of my VM files from host to the external. Was not until I could no longer run my VMs as root that I realized I had a problem I needed to fix quickly.

 

Thanks again for the help and hope the above answered some questions.

[Hedon James]

now I understand. thanks for the background Ian!

[ichase]

Hedon James; do you still hang out on the linux formum on Major Geeks? That is where I first met you and zLim and I have not been over there in quite some time.

[Hedon James]

The "Linux Forum" on MG no longer exists, per se. They changed the categories into hardware, software, mobile, etc... It is extremely difficult to locate Linux-related questions to help others with, as they are now buried in the "software" category, so I started dropping by much less frequently. All my old Linux friends, like you, Hawklord, and others have disappeared, or I just can't find them on the forums anymore. And most linux questions now revolve around ditching Windows XP, such as what Linux distro to try, how to burn/boot LiveCDs, will linux work on my hardware, etc... After answering what seemed like the same question(s) for the umpteenth time, I decided to put together a comprehensive tutorial on how to migrate to linux from WinXP...starting with distro choices and what a user wants to accomplish with their computer, and their user preferences, etc... As I'm also tired of hearing newbies install Ubuntu with Unity (or another resource intensive distro) on their old XP-era single core computer and remarking how slow Linux is, that "linux sux" because of their ill-planned experience, so I also used that opportunity to pimp my own remixes XPubuntu and Pangaea Lubuntu as potentially suitable distros for low-specced XP-era hardware. It seemed to be a popular thread, so I suggested perhaps it should be stickied, so that it would be easier to find by those looking for such information. I was informed "absolutely not...this is a Windows site and hopefully, soon, branching into an Android site." I replied that I understood, but suggested the sticky because I thought it would save bandwidth of people asking the same questions over and over; if they could locate the stickied thread, they wouldn't repeatedly ask the same things, or versions thereof, saving that bandwith for other windows-related questions. The reply I received to that was simply "my house, my rules"...or something very similar to those words.

 

And he's right, so I thought "no problem...but it is MY expertise being solicited on YOUR site; and if you're gonna hand-cuff the expertise I provide, I won't be providing it on MG anymore." So to answer your question...no, I don't really hang out there anymore. I've got better things to do than provide linux tech support to a forum that obviously considers linux to be a nuisance. Freedom of choice goes both ways I guess. He chose Windows, I chose another forum, and we're both probably better off?!

 

Besides, the folks here are BATL are WAY more interesting! And maybe it's a little selfish on my part, but I prefer to LEARN at least as much as I TEACH. On MG, I was almost exclusively a teacher.; here on BATL I am most certainly a learner!

Edited August 2, 2014 by Hedon James

[Guest LilBambi]

Besides, the folks here are BATL are WAY more interesting! And maybe it's a little selfish on my part, but I prefer to LEARN at least as much as I TEACH. On MG, I was almost exclusively a teacher.; here on BATL I am most certainly a learner!

 

Yep, as we all are Hedon! In Bruno's Linux Explorers' traditional BATL where we all are learners and teachers in turns!

[securitybreach]

Yep, as we all are Hedon! In Bruno's Linux Explorers' traditional BATL where we all are learners and teachers in turns!

 

Exactly!!!!!!!

[Capt.Crow]

I'm sorry to hear Hawklord has ?disappeared? off MG.forum. He is ace.

[Capt.Crow]

http://www.cems.uwe.ac.uk/~irjohnso/coursenotes/lrc/index.html

 

Hawklord