Virtual Server: "could not initialize the emulated Ethernet controller"

Stephen Horsfield — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 10:14:00 GMT

Overview

Recently, I began having problems with Virtual Server 2005 R2 on my Windows XP computer. I was not aware of anything having changed, except suddenly my VPCs couldn't find a network adapter. Facing the possibility of a complete laptop rebuild, I was scouring the net for a solution...

Failed attempts

Before finally landing a working solution, I attempted the following:

Restarting Virtual Machines (before and after other changes)
Restarting Virtual Server (and associated services)
Looking for patches (none applicable)
Creating new network configurations
Using alternative network connections

None of these helped. I also found various forum articles suggesting I reinstalled my network drivers, but I didn't want to do this unless I really had to. Finally, I found a solution that worked...

A solution

The following worked well:

Uninstall the Virtual Machine Network Service (in network connection properties), not just deselecting it
Restart Virtual Machine Helper and Virtual Server services
Reinstall the Virtual Machine Network service (in network connection properties) and select it for each connection
Restart Virtual Machine Helper and Virtual Server services again
Start a virtual machine and check

I won't promise it will work in all cases, but it helped me out!

References

Versions

Windows XP Professional with Service Pack 2
Windows Server 2003 (not verified)
Virtual Server 2005 R2 Enterprise Edition

Metadata

Categories: Virtual Server, IT Management, Windows XP, Windows Server
Additional keywords: missing network adapter, no network, network not working
Technorati Tags: Virtual Server, Networking

Virtual Server: Configuring SUSE Linux 10 on a Virtual Machine

Stephen Horsfield — Mon, 28 Jan 2008 09:00:52 GMT

Overview

I have configured a number of different Linux distributions on Virtual Server 2005, but SUSE Linux 10.3 was a non-starter...

The problem

Booting from a SUSE Linux 10.3 ISO (downloaded from http://www.opensuse.org) wouldn't get past the driver loading section. I tried all the usual options such as the brokenmodules option and the noacpi option, but to no avail.

The solution

In the end, I decided to try an earlier version, this time SUSE Linux 10.1 from Novell's website. This time it installed without problems. The VM additions 2.0 installed without a hitch, and once I'd reconfigured the display I was all set.

Just be cautious about upgrading it to 10.3 as something is going to break it! Also, you need to use a 16-bit colour depth in XWindows or you'll get a garbled screen.

I recommend using Undo disks to help complete the installation in smaller steps.

Versions

Metadata

Categories: IT Management, Linux, Virtual Server
Additional keywords: install, virtual machine, virtual pc, setup, boot, drivers, kernel
Technorati Tags: Virtual Server, IT Management, Linux, SUSE