Install of VirtualBox 4.1.14 hangs on Windows XP host

Question

I'm trying to upgrade from VirtualBox 4.1.8 to 4.1.14 on a Windows XP host.
The installation prompts a couple of times about installing network drivers ("Continue anyway") but then hangs. At this point, I have no Internet connection at all. If I cancel the installation, I get the warning about canceling and I tell it to cancel anyway, but it still hangs. Even after a forced reboot, i have no network connectivity.

I've tried these suggestions but nothing there is helping.

Answer 1

I have the same problem isntalling VirtualBox 4.2.x on Windows XP SP3

I've found this workaround:

1. Run the VirtualBox installer
2. Wait a few minutes after the installer hangs and the network freezes
3. Kill the installer process with Task Manager
4. Reboot the machine and login. VirtualBox will appear installed (shortcut on the desktop) but probably is not.
5. Rerun the installer. This time the installer will run to completion.
6. Second reboot (as requested by VirtualBox)

It's painful (so I avoid minor upgrades to VirtualBox) but has worked for me. My guess is that there is a bug (possibly not in VirtualBox itself) related to stopping/starting the network drivers. Presumably it only happens on some systems, so it may never get fixed.

For what it's worth, the network drivers installed for my motherboard are:

• Atlansic L1 Gigabit Ethernet Driver
• Atlansic Giga Ethernet Utility.

Answer 2

I had the same issue. Eventually gave up. I'd recommend trying Microsoft Virtual PC for xp though. It works well with windows 98 and up. You may have trouble finding drivers for linux though. Also, if and when you move to windows 7, I wouldn't recommend sticking with MS virtual pc, and it was intentionally hobbled in the windows 7 version, so that it would only run windows xp.