In some occasions we can find the error message of VirtualBox that he couldn’t open/create internal network when we start a virtual machine after restarting the computer with Windows 11 or Windows 10. Luckily, this article comes to give you all the possible solutions to solve this problem.
VirtualBox failed to open/create internal network
If we get the error message opening/creating internal network when we try to start a virtual machine in VirtualBox from Windows 10/11, we will have to try one of the following methods to solve it.
Initial checklist
Many users have confirmed that the error appears after installing a Windows update on the device. It is not specified which update, so it can be any. The recommended thing would be to proceed to uninstall the last update that we have made or proceed with a system restore.
Configure the proper network adapter in VirtualBox
In many cases the problem comes because after a Windows update, the system changes the name of the physical network adapter. In order to solve this problem, we are going to have to configure the correct network adapter; To achieve this, we will have to do the following:
- We press Windows + R to open the run window.
- In the Run window, we are going to have to type devmgmt.msc and press Enter, which will open Device Manager.
- In this new window we will have to scroll down to installed devices and expand the Network adapters section.
- We will have to write down the network adapter that is active.
- Next, we go to the network settings of the virtual machine running in VirtualBox and we will have to make sure that the same network adapter is selected. If not, we’ll use the dropdown menu to choose the right adapter.
VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter
Here what we will do is disable and re-enable the VirtualBox host-only Ethernet adapter in Device Manager, to achieve this we will do the following:
- We open the Device Manager.
- After this, we select Network adapters and right click on VirtualBox Host-Only Adapter.
- We will choose Deactivate device in the context menu.
In case we have more than one VirtualBox host-only Ethernet adapter, we will have to proceed to uninstall them all and reinstall Oracle VM VirtualBox.
We will right click on VirtualBox Host-Only Ethernet Adapter and choose Enable device and that’s it. Now we will be able to start VirtualBox and check if the problem is solved. If this is not the case, we will have to update the Ethernet adapter driver by following these steps:
- We go to Device Manager, choose Network adapters and right click on VirtualBox Host-Onlye Adapter.
- We choose Update driver in the context menu.
- A new window appears where we will have to choose the option Search for drivers on my computer.
- On the other screen, we’re going to choose Let me pick from a list of available drivers on my computer.
- Next, we will need to choose the VirtualBox host-only Ethernet adapter.
- We click on the Next button to start the update process.
Disable and enable VirtualBox NDIS6 bridged network driver
- We press Windows + R to open the Run window.
- In the Run window, we will have to type ncpa.cpl and press Enter in order to open the Network Connections program.
- In this new window we will right-click on the VirtualBox Host-Only network adapter.
- Here we will have to select Properties in the context menu.
- In the properties of the virtual network adapter, we will uncheck the VirtualBox NDIS6 bridged network driver to disable it.
- We click OK and reopen the Adapter Properties.
- We will check the box to enable the VirtualBox NDIS6 bridged network driver and click OK to exit.
Next, we are going to open the VirtualBox machine and check if the issue is resolved.
