VirtualBox – File Sharing (not seeing workgroup computers)
Preface:
So, now after having install Ubuntu 9.04 and seeing how great this release is, I still run into the issue, that some of my preferred apps are Windows only. Therefor I decided to setup a virtual machine running XP
When wanting to run VM’s (virtual machines) on Linux, there is not much other choice than VirtualBox. However, it is a good solid choice and open source…
How to install it in Ubuntu, well, that is quite simple: Go to the Application menu, select the last option “Add/Remove”, the simply search for VirtualBox, place the checkmark and click Apply .. Ubuntu does the rest and after completed installation you can find VirtualBox under Accessories.
Issue
I setup the virtualmachine with Windows XP, everything was running smooth and I updated XP with all the latest service packs and hotfixes, but filesharing was not working. Thereby meaning, even though I had entered the correct workgroup name, the VM was not seeing the other computer.
Solution
Well, it was quite simple, by default VirtualBox sets up the networking for virtual machines as NAT, which does not allow for the VM to see the other workgroup computer, all you need to do is change the networking from NAT to Host Interface. So, how do you do this?
Select your virtual machine in VirtualBox and click on button “Settings”
With the settings open, select the network option and you should see a similar screen as below. Notice that “Attached to” has the option NAT, this is what we need to change.
Click on the drop down menu and select the option “Host Interface”, as seen below and hit OK. Do not change any of the other settings.
You should now be back at the main screen and ready to go. Click “Start” to boot up the virtual machine and check your network.
For me, this worked instantly…. No other issues at all… If you have pleace feel free to leave a comment and I will try to help.