1

I am successfully getting my internet to my Windows Host from a source inside a Virtualbox VM (a passed-through usb dongle), through the Virtualbox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter.

But Windows thinks I'm "Not connected" "You aren't connected to any networks" "No connections are available". Even though windows has internet.

Perfmon knows I'm getting internet and reports the network activity graphs etc.

The problem is some software (e.g. Unity game engine) will also believe I am not connected to the internet, and will be unable to run due to phoning home / license checks. What do?

[EDIT]

Don't know why it's relevant, but my VB Host-Only Network is set to static IP, subnet mask, and gateway; and the DNS server is also manually specified. The values are the values of the shared network connection from inside linux and they're correct since it works flawlessly. There are no other network connections in Windows for security raisins.

Why I'm getting my internet from a Linux VM: again, not relevant, but it's because I need an actually working vpn killswitch, and otherwise want to / like to manage all my network stuff inside of Linux and not Windows.

[EDIT2]

Everything in my ipconfig -all:

Ethernet adapter VirtualBox Host-Only Network:

   Connection-specific DNS Suffix  . :
   Description . . . . . . . . . . . : VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
   Physical Address. . . . . . . . . : 0A-00-27-00-00-03
   DHCP Enabled. . . . . . . . . . . : No
   Autoconfiguration Enabled . . . . : Yes
   Link-local IPv6 Address . . . . . : fe80::c1d3:ae9:4ae6:2e40%3(Preferred)
   IPv4 Address. . . . . . . . . . . : 10.42.0.208(Preferred)
   Subnet Mask . . . . . . . . . . . : 255.255.255.0
   Default Gateway . . . . . . . . . : 10.42.0.1
   DHCPv6 IAID . . . . . . . . . . . : 554303527
   DHCPv6 Client DUID. . . . . . . . : 00-01-00-01-22-5A-EB-20-00-0E-C6-C6-C5-50
   DNS Servers . . . . . . . . . . . : 10.42.0.1
   NetBIOS over Tcpip. . . . . . . . : Enabled
4
  • Please describe your setup in more detail, including the entire output of ipconfig /all. Why are you using a VM?
    – Daniel B
    Apr 7, 2018 at 21:38
  • Just a reminder: You haven’t provided all the details I requested. Without them, this question cannot be answered.
    – Daniel B
    Apr 12, 2018 at 6:49
  • @DanielB you are coming across as overscrupulous and brash. Be more open and flexible in your conversation. What suspicions do you have? What exactly do you want to derive from my specific IP numbers from the one adapter printed by my ipconfig -all? The gateway is the IP of the Linux ethernet adapter which is shared through VirtualBox. That same IP is used for the DNS server. Subnet mask is irrelevant etc. It works. It's about the only way to set it up, apart from just using DHCP. Apr 12, 2018 at 13:39
  • Here, I got to the PC in question and pasted everything in its ipconfig -all. Don't know how it'll help solve what's likely a driver compatibility issue. Apr 12, 2018 at 21:22

1 Answer 1

3

So, after looking at this and reproducing it, I have found a solution. There is a special flag on network connections that marks them as “not a true network interface that connects to a network”, *NdisDeviceType. Flagged connections are ignored by Windows’ Network Location Awareness service and possibly other stuff. As such, Windows will not “see” a working Internet connection.

To change this flag, you need to edit the registry. Go to

Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SYSTEM\CurrentControlSet\Control\Class\{4d36e972-e325-11ce-bfc1-08002be10318}

with regedit. There are keys for every network connection on your PC at this location. Find the one that has the DriverDesc property set to VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter. Ideally you’d only have one, otherwise you must either experiment to find the right one or look at DeviceInstanceID.

On the correct key, set *NdisDeviceType to 0. Disable and re-enable the network connection to make the changes take effect.

Now, Windows will see the VirtualBox network connection as a regular connection. Updates to VirtualBox may revert the registry value.

1
  • eternal thanks for this answer - I'd like to add some keywords to save others from wasting hours down the wrong rabbit hole: network connections advanced settings adapters priority order automatic metric powershell Get-NetIPInterface Set-NetIPInterface -InterfaceIndex -InterfaceMetric -AutomaticMetric pfsense opnsense
    – pulsarc
    Jun 26, 2020 at 12:17

You must log in to answer this question.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged .