How to Fix VirtualBox not Starting – A Complete Handbook

Summary: VirtualBox is a free hypervisor and dominant virtualization software that allows users to run virtual devices on their computers and is maintained by Oracle. You can easily host it on Windows, Linux, Mac OS X, Solaris, and other Operating systems. However, in response to a Windows Update, users started experiencing problems running Virtual Machines. Therefore, some users sent queries about VirtualBox not starting on their Windows 10 PCs after the update. If you are also facing the same issue, stay connected. In this post, we will provide the best manual solutions to VirtualBox VMs not starting. Also, we have mentioned a powerful tool named Aryson VDI Recovery Tool to ease the process. Download Now Purchase Now

Step-by-Step Guide for File Corruption Issues

VirtualBox doesn’t open issues due to an incompatibility issue or configuration irregularities, so you will need to reinstall VirtualBox. In this blog, we understand the different reasons and their relatable best solution to fix VirtualBox not starting issues with ease. You can also run the VDI Recovery Software in administrator mode by following our step-by-step guide to solving all kinds of corruption in a VDI file.

Reasons Why VirtualBox Won’t Start Windows 10

There are different reasons behind VirtualBox not opening, and they all mean that you cannot make any virtual machine and get it to run. This issue occurs after Microsoft started releasing updates to Windows versions like 10, 8.1, 8, etc. Some of the common reasons why this issue occurs are:

• An issue that might occur is because of irregularities in the configurations.
• A reason why the issue occurs is that modules like Hyper-V may not be enabled on your PC or might get disabled after a recent Windows update.
• It can also happen due to an incompatibility issue.
• May the older version of Windows be installed on your computer.
• A corrupt installation file present on your system is also a reason behind the VirtualBox not starting issue.
• Windows has tightened its grip on driver installations, and since VirtualBox installs the drivers for the virtual machines independently, this can show up and cause issues.
• Constant updates to the Windows version cause issues with the software displaying the virtual machine on your system. Note:- With the help of this Paravirtualization method, you can change the present value and fix this issue.

These are the different causes. Now, we will go through the best solutions one by one, starting with the easiest to troubleshoot,the VirtualBox VM not starting issue.

How to Fix VirtualBox Not Starting in Windows 10?

Since there have been numerous reports about VirtualBox not starting after Windows 10 update and not only Windows, it also occurs in Mac and Linux. This tutorial will describe all the possible solutions to fix all the issues mentioned.

Solution 1: Update the Oracle VM VirtualBox

Apart from performing the various procedures to initiate the process, you will have to update your VirtualBox to the latest version available on their official website. There have been several cases where the older version has compatibility issues with the latest version of Windows and which causes the application not to start or causes VirtualBox not to start error in its operating system.

1. Go to the official website of VirtualBox and install the latest version available.
2. After downloading the executable version, you will have to uninstall the existing version before you move on to installing the latest one. Press Windows + R, enter “appwiz.cpl” in the popup box, and click the Enter button.
3. Go to the list of programs and uninstall the application.
4. After uninstalling the application, install the latest downloaded version on your system.
5. The path where your VM’s are stored is:

• C:\Users\[username]\VirtualBox VMs
• C:\Users\[username]\VirtualBox VMs\[vm group]\[vm name]

Solution 2: Try to Enable Hyper-V

MS Hyper-V is formerly known as Windows Server Virtualization, and previously it created virtual machines on systems running Windows 8 or higher. This module allows third-party applications to create virtual machines on your computer. Moreover, if this method gets stuck, you might experience issues. Thus, we have to make sure that it is enabled.

Steps to Launch the VirtualBox Again

1. Click the Windows + S button and enter Turn Windows features on or off in the dialogue box to open the application.
2. Here, opt for the Hyper-V from the list and check the required option. Click OK for the initialization process to begin.

1. Once the module is enabled, restart your computer.
2. After that, try to make new virtual machines using VirtualBox and see if the issue gets resolved or not.

Solution 3: Disable the Driver Enforcement

Drive enforcement is a safe and reliable mechanism in the Windows versions that works mainly to stop suspicious or badly written drivers from being installed on your operating system. VirtualBox installs its drivers for virtual machines in a virtual environment and can conflict with the settings. There is a possibility that after turning off the driver enforcement, VirtualBox will not start.

1. Click the Windows + S button and enter the Command prompt in the pop-up box.
2. Right-click on the application and choose Run as Administrator from the menu.
3. In the command prompt, execute the following command:
   bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks on
4. It will disable the integrity checks and let you install any driver. You can also check the integrity by entering the below command again:
   bcdedit.exe /set nointegritychecks off

Finally, restart your computer after disabling the enforcement and check that issues get resolved.

Solution 4: Install VirtualBox Adapters Manually

Sometimes, VirtualBox fails to install network adapters properly on your computer. And due to this, the application might show you the error Unable to load VirtualBox. Thus, install the VirtualBox network drivers and set the configuration. You can also check this blog to fix the Unrecognized Database Format Error.

Steps to Install VirtualBox Adapters Manually

1. First of all, remove all the previous VirtualBox adapters.
2. After that, click Windows + R, enter devmgmt.msc in the dialogue box, and click Enter.
3. Once in the device manager, click the Action tab and opt for the Add legacy hardware.
4. Then you have to install the Oracle VirtualBox adapters manually.
5. The location where they are generally located is the following:
   C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\drivers\network\netadp\VBoxNetAdp.inf
6. After the correct installation of the drivers, we can move forward and configure them properly.
7. Open Oracle VirtualBox, click File >> Preferences >> Network >> Host-only Network.
8. Now, click on the Edit option.
9. Here, enter the below information correctly in the respective fields:

• IPv4 192.168.56.1
• Mask 255.255.255.0
• Now click on the DHCP server tab and set the following:
• Server address: 192.168.56.100
• Server mask: 255.255.255.0
• Low address Bound: 192.168.56.101
• Upper address Bound: 192.168.56.254

10. Click OK to save the changes and restart your computer.
11. Now verify if you can open VirtualBox.

Solution 5: Change Paravirtualization in Windows

It is a technique that allows virtual machines to have a software interface. This feature causes a lot of problems in VirtualBox. So, we can try changing its option to KVM and see if the issue gets fixed or not:

1. Start VirtualBox, click on Settings >> System >> Acceleration >> Paravirtualization Interface.
2. Here, opt for the KVM from the drop-down of defaults.
3. After that, restart your system and launch the Virtual box.

Additionally, you can also use these options to fix VirtualBox not starting:

• Turn off the 3D graphics acceleration Feature
• Run the app in Compatibility Mode
• Update graphics drivers
• Uninstall other conflicting VMware

Solution 6: Best Solution to Repair the VDI file

There are chances that VirtualBox doesn’t open, and the issue might be affected by the virtual machine file corruption. This issue gets fixed by repairing the damaged VDI file (file extension created by VirtualBox). Well, No need to worry Aryson VDI Recovery Tool is the best VDI file recovery tool that allows users to remove the maximum possible data from corrupt VDI files. The software offers three different modes to perform recovery standard, advanced, and Deep. Moreover, you can preview your recovered data in the preview panel before saving it.

Conclusion

In this blog, we talked about what to do when VirtualBox isn’t starting and explored some ways to fix the issue. We also discussed why you might have trouble opening a virtual machine in VirtualBox. If your virtual machine file (VDI) is corrupted or damaged, you can use the VDI Recovery Tool to help you repair it. This tool can be really helpful in getting your virtual machine up and running again.