How to fix the error message “Failed to acquire a VirtualBox COM object”

  • VirtualBox is open-source software for virtualizing the architecture of x86 computers.
  • It acts as a hypervisor and creates a VM (virtual machine) on which the user can run another OS (operating system) When the VM is running, it can be “suspended” at this point, the system execution will be frozen.
  • Several culprits can trigger this problem: VirtualBox not being installed with administrator privileges.
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There have been several reports of VirtualBox not being able to launch. In some circumstances, the error message is accompanied by a second error message that indicates the source of the problem: “Failed to acquire the VirtualBox COM object. The application will be closed.” It appears that the problem is not restricted to a single version of Windows, since both Windows 8.1 and Windows 10 have been confirmed to experience this issue.

An open-source software application used to virtualize x86 computers, acting as a hypervisor, allowing users to run another operating system on top of their VM (virtual machine).

My system is a Dell Inspiron 3847 with 12GB of memory and Windows 10 Pro. I have run VirtualBox on my system without problems for almost a year.

The PSoC Creator3.3 and PSoC Programmer were installed. Upon starting PSoC Programmer, I am receiving the message “PSoC Programmer com-object failed to start”. In relation to this issue, I have already read and re-read all the existing tasks, deleted the drivers, re-installed the drivers, re-installed the Creator and the Programmer with the latest versions, installed the Creator and the Programmer in “typical” mode and later in “complete”, etc. 

When VirtualBox is run, it runs on Windows, Linux, or macOS as the host OS, whereas when it runs inside a VM, it runs on Windows or Linux as the guest OS.

There was a problem acquiring the VirtualBox COM object. It failed to instantiate CLSID_VirtualBox with IVirtualBox, but CLSID_VirtualBox with IUnknown worked. PSDispatch works fine. E_NOINTERFACE (0x80004002)Component: VirtualBoxClientWrapInterface: {d2937a8e-cb8d-4382-90ba-b7da78a74573}

Virtual machines have many options for configuring their processors, RAM, and disk space. When running, they can be suspended, which freezes the execution of the system until you resume it.

It is impossible to start VirtualBox 6.1.28 in Windows 10 from a shortcut; it does not respond to any repair or uninstall attempts.

 

What is the cause of the “Failed to Acquire a VirtualBox COM Object” error?

What is the cause of the "Failed to Acquire a VirtualBox COM Object" error?

According to our investigation, a variety of user reports and repairs that are commonly used in this situation tend to point towards a few common culprits:

VirtualBox not being installed with administrator privileges: Virtualbox is one of the programs that must be installed with administrator privileges to set up all necessary services. If you don’t, some services may not be enabled by default. In this case, the easiest way to solve the problem is to install Virtualbox correctly.

If VirtualBox cannot start, it displays an Error dialog box that says “Failed to create COM object for VirtualBox.” “The application has now been terminated.” If you select Details for additional information, you may see something similar to this error, if not the same, Callee RC: CO_E_SERVER_EXEC_FAILURE (0x80080005). In this case, VirtualBox was able to be restarted without losing any configuration changes thanks to this solution.

Hello, I’m having an issue with COM objects in VirtualBox.

Incorrect registration of the master guest: In some cases, this error is due to potentially incorrect registration of the master guest. If this scenario applies, you can solve the problem by creating a .VirtualBox to the desktop and have the application create a new healthy version.

Insufficient permissions: Even if VirtualBox is installed with administrative privileges, it may still need administrative privileges to run some services necessary to run the VM. Some affected users were able to solve the problem by configuring the VirtualBox shortcut to run with administrative privileges.

In this article, you will find a few troubleshooting steps that may help you solve the problem if you are just looking for a solution. The following methods have been successfully used by other users who were in a similar situation. At least one interested user has confirmed the effectiveness of each method.

Oracle VM VirtualBox makes use of the Microsoft Component Object Model (COM) for interprocess and intraprocess communication. This enables Oracle VM VirtualBox to share a common configuration among different virtual machine processes and provide several user interface options based on a common architecture. All global status information and configuration is maintained by the process VBoxSVC.exe, which is an out-of-process COM server. Whenever an Oracle VM VirtualBox process is started, it requests access to the COM server and Windows automatically starts the process. Note that it should never be started by the end user.

Despite being dialed down, I can’t leave bad advice stand as it is. Other people could start following it, which is a bad thing to do as well. If your setup has security issues, it’s time to fix your setup. Don’t let everyone in your host have free reign if you have security issues.

Since the methods are ordered in order of effectiveness and severity, we recommend applying them in the order in which they are presented for best results. You may find one of the following possible solutions helpful to solve the “Cannot acquire VirtualBox COM object” error, regardless of the root cause.

 

How to fix the “Failed to Acquire a VirtualBox COM Object” error?



Updated: March 2024

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How to fix the "Failed to Acquire a VirtualBox COM Object" error?

Using a file viewer

Note: Make sure to uninstall all previous versions of VirtualBox software first.

Open File Explorer by pressing Windows + E. Double-click the C drive on the PC on the left.

Failed To Acquire The VirtualBox COM Object

Hi,I’m encountering a similar problem. I just installed the latest VirtualBox 5.2.12 on Windows 7 yesterday, then set up a CentOS distribution to run in it. I got through the initial CentOS configuration and saw the CentOS desktop, shut it down and launched it again, saw the CentOS desktop again, then shut it down and shut down my PC. This morning I started my PC, launched VirtualBox and got an error dialog with caption “Failed to acquire the VirtualBox COM object”. I’ve attached a screenshot with all the details. I rebooted my PC, tried launching VirtualBox and got the same thing again. I haven’t tried reinstalling VirtualBox yet, but based on the experience of the initial poster of this thread, I’m guessing that’s not going to help. Do you have any suggestions ? Thanks

Please do not send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting. Please do not respond using the “QUOTE” button. Please reply using the “POST REPLY” button. You can expect my response to be obfuscated if you obfuscate any information. UUIDs are virtual, not real.

Next, follow these steps:

C:User_name.
Select User by double-clicking it.
Your user name can be found by double clicking it.

Delete the folders .VirtualBox and .Virtualbox.sav by right-clicking them, selecting “Delete,” and selecting “Delete.”.

The VirtualBox program will now open without any problems if you restart your computer and install it once more.

 



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Frequently Asked Questions

  1. Uninstall VirtualBox.
  2. You may want to clean up your registry and/or file system at this point.
  3. Download (if you haven't already) the latest version of VirtualBox and its ExtPack.
  4. Remove (not just disable) any third-party antivirus software.

  1. Go to the control panel and uninstall VirtualBox.
  2. Reboot the computer.
  3. Download the latest version of VirtualBox.
  4. Right-click on the downloaded file and click "Run as administrator".
  5. Follow the on-screen instructions to install VirtualBox.
  6. After installation, restart your computer.

  1. This is most likely due to the fact that VT-x (hardware virtualization) is disabled on your computer.
  2. To activate VT-x, you need to enter your BIOS configuration.
  3. Select the Recovery tab.
  4. Find Advanced Boot and click Reboot Now.
  5. Select Troubleshooting.
  6. Select advanced options.
  7. Select the UEFI firmware settings.
  8. Click Reboot.

Go to "Start" (Shell), "Control Panel", "Programs and Features". You will see a list of installed applications in alphabetical order. Left-click on "Oracle VM VirtualBox" to select, then "right-click" and select "Uninstall" from the menu.

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Mark Ginter is a tech blogger with a passion for all things gadgets and gizmos. A self-proclaimed "geek", Mark has been blogging about technology for over 15 years. His blog, techquack.com, covers a wide range of topics including new product releases, industry news, and tips and tricks for getting the most out of your devices. If you're looking for someone who can keep you up-to-date with all the latest tech news and developments, then be sure to follow him over at Microsoft.