Member Avatar for joshi1984

Hi,

i want to change my IP-Adress (IP + Subnet + Gateway/DNS) in a Virtual-Box (VBox - System = Windows 10 and 7) to a static-IP.
Til today I use "netsh", but sometimes it doesn´t work and I don´t know why. Thats why I am looking for an other method to change the IP.
In VBox are 3 different LAN-Adapters (LAN-HOST + LAN-NAT + LAN-BRIDGED). I only want to change the IP at "LAN-BRIDGED"!

I'm quite green and not sure if this is even possible. Someone told me it works with wmi maybe, but I don´t know how to do it in vb.net!

This was my old code :

Shell("netsh interface ip set address LAN-BRIDGED static 192.168.178.27 255.255.255.0 192.168.178.1", AppWinStyle.Hide, True)

Can you help me please, to do it without netsh?

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  • Latest Post Latest Post by joshi1984

Dani AI

Generated

: the simplest approach that works the same inside a VirtualBox guest as on a normal Windows install is to call the WMI network configuration methods from VB.NET. That lets a program enumerate network interfaces, pick the one you want (NetConnectionID / Description / MAC), and call the standard methods to set a static IP, gateway and DNS — no VM SDK required. was right that a VM SDK exists, but for in-guest changes you don't need it.

Key points before trying the code:

  • The process must run elevated (Administrator) or the WMI calls will fail.
  • Match the adapter by NetConnectionID (the name shown in Network Connections) or by MACAddress to be sure you target the bridged interface only.
  • Check IPEnabled = True before invoking configuration methods.

Example VB.NET using WMI (choose the adapter by name or by matching text in the description):

Imports System.Management

Sub SetStaticIP(targetName As String, ip As String, mask As String, gateway As String, dnsServers As String())
    Dim scope As New ManagementScope("root\CIMV2")
    scope.Connect()
    Dim q As New ObjectQuery("SELECT * FROM Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration WHERE IPEnabled = True")
    Using searcher As New ManagementObjectSearcher(scope, q)
        For Each mo As ManagementObject In searcher.Get()
            Dim name = If(mo("NetConnectionID"), String.Empty).ToString()
            If String.Equals(name, targetName, StringComparison.OrdinalIgnoreCase) Then
                Dim ipArr = New String() {ip}
                Dim maskArr = New String() {mask}
                Dim r1 = mo.InvokeMethod("EnableStatic", New Object() {ipArr, maskArr})
                Dim r2 = mo.InvokeMethod("SetGateways", New Object() {New String() {gateway}, New Integer() {1}})
                Dim r3 = mo.InvokeMethod("SetDNSServerSearchOrder", New Object() {dnsServers})
                Console.WriteLine($"EnableStatic={r1}, SetGateways={r2}, SetDNS={r3}")
                Exit For
            End If
        Next
    End Using
End Sub

For return codes and parameter details see the official Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration reference (Win32_NetworkAdapterConfiguration). The System.Management namespace docs are useful for the VB.NET side. Troubleshoot by first enumerating adapters and printing NetConnectionID, Description and MACAddress so the program targets the correct interface inside the guest.

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Member Avatar for rproffitt

I could be wrong but such a change is more likely to be done with VBOXMANAGE or some use of the VirtualBox SDK. Let me be clear I have not looked deeply into this area but you can find the SDK and documentation with a search like:
https://www.google.com/search?&q=Change+IP+in+VirtualBox+API+VB.NET

That gives a lead in managing VirtualBox and pointed me to the SDK.

Given the rather specific guidance I found about the SDK my advice is to find a VirtualBox forum, preferably one with developers.

Member Avatar for joshi1984

Thanks, but i am looking for something waht I can use in VBox and normal Windows 7/10.
Maybe WMI but I don´t know how to select the adapter (LAN-BRIDGED or LAN-NAT), where I want to change the IP...

commented: That's not normal. W7/10 has no knowledge about Vbox so you are back to the SDK for Vbox. +15
Member Avatar for joshi1984

It isn´t necessary to know it is vbox or something else. So you don´t have to use a sdk for vbox.

because you can have at a pc 2 and much more LAN-Ports, so it is the same like in a vbox...

commented: Good luck. Removing possible solution paths isn't how to solve problems. +15
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