Installation of Windows7 in Virtualbox hangs at "Expanding Windows files"

Question

The Storage settings in VBox look like so:

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Note that this is not about Windows OS, but about a program running in Ubuntu. In this sense Virtualbox is no less "ubuntish" than Firefox. This cannot be contradicted by Virtualbox being intended at running other OSes, including Windows, inside a virtual environment.

Solution

The solution that works is THIS.

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• Shut down the machine.

• On the settings tab, go to storage and then under SATA Controller you’ll see your virtual hard drive (win7.vdi in the image above).

• Right click on that and 'Remove attachment'.

• Right click on 'Controller: IDE' and “Add Hard disk”, then locate you virtual hard drive you created earlier (as above win7.vdi).

It should look like so:

• Start the machine. It will say that a previous installation exists which will be renamed. Carry on.

It may still freeze; but shutting down the machine and starting it will continue the installation (probably some restart procedure that does not work in the VM).

Comments

[Kaz Wolfe]

CloseVotes are valid. This is a problem with Windows/Virtualbox specifically, not Ubuntu.

[Admin]

@Whaaaaaat - this is a problem of Windows/Virtualbox in Ubuntu, and also of the VirtualBox for Ubuntu. - otherwise you might close any question that is not directly dependent on the Linux kernel and Ubuntu, like most questions about Firefox or Chromium (but there are many hundreds like that). So, try and close many others then, and create a clear trend that I haven seen before. And how do you know beforehand that it has nothing to do with Ubuntu? - That might be true, but even than it seems to me more like a way to an answer :)

[Kaz Wolfe]

Simple. VirtualBox provides just the compatibility to run VMs. According to your own answer, it is a virtualbox config issue. If it was a Ubuntu setting that needs to be changed, then this is on-topic. Also, I just tested this in Windows. Same thing.

[Admin]

@Whaaaaaat - can you close a question based on an answer? - this did not happen to me in Windows but that doesn't matter. - for me it is clear that windows is the problem here. if it was a different os --- i'll delete this question then. only that i find te answer useful per se

[Kaz Wolfe]

"for me it is clear that windows is the problem here" You just answered your own question. This is Windows/VBox, not Ubuntu.

[Admin]

@Whaaaaaat - "for me it is clear that windows is the problem here" - I mean is a topic less tolerated by some users. "it is a virtualbox config issue" - an issue of the Ubuntu version of VBox. You cannot convince me. This happens in Ubuntu and your severe criteria are not applied in other cases like te ones I mentioned (FF, Chromium, VLC etc) for which some might always say "this is not Ubuntu's fault". but this is not about fault, but about finding a solution for Ubuntu users

[4xy]

It looks like the issue is back. I have it in 5.0.36 VirtualBox. The suggested solution doesn't work unfortunately.