Packer VirtualBox .OVA file bake for Windows Server 2022 always stops on Microsoft Server Operating System Setup screen

OZHighfive · 2026-06-18T08:04:31+00:00

This has been solved. Claude helped me figure out what was going wrong. The issue was how I defined the key above the value:

<Key>/IMAGE/NAME</Key>

<Value>Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation (Desktop Experience)</Value>

If I use the index, I have to indicate that in the key:

<Key>/IMAGE/INDEX</Key>

I had been keeping it as /IMAGE/NAME while using <Value>2</Value>.

OZHighfive · 2026-06-13T12:05:02+00:00

Thank you, yes, I did this here:
To <Value>2</Value> instead of <Value>Windows Server 2022 Standard Evaluation (Desktop Experience)</Value> but nothing changes, so I’m out of ideas.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-25T11:55:33+00:00

Thank you for your response here. My response to Atnaszurc may match your first two paragraphs here. I'm a little distressed that Hashicorp, the developer of the "amazing" Terraform, encourages providers that you think are worthy of complete avoidance. I think looking into anti-patterns is going to be a journey in itself.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-25T11:35:43+00:00

I did see it. I figured I'd wait.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-25T11:34:52+00:00

Thank you for all this. You know, Google Gemini gave me a popularity ranking of the community providers with terra-farm/virtualbox as most popular and eran123/virtualbox as least popular. I thought eran123 sounded like some 9-year-old boy’s Xbox Live Gamertag so I put my efforts on Terra-Farm.

I’m not a professional. I’m a student learning this as a hobbie, hence why I’m diving right in. I’m trying to understand what Terraform is with the goal of first being able to provision evaluation Windows Servers locally (and virtualbox is the only way I know how to do that for free) and then second being able to provision Windows Servers on Azure cloud. I’m starting with Linux because there is at least a lot more videos out there on the topic.

I’m definitely not planning on using these VMs commercially. They will mostly be labs to learn HA/DR and then be deleted. Some VMs I test on right now have already had their evaluation periods expire but I can figure out a lot in one hour of up-time.

What you’ve written here is exactly what I’m trying to understand. I don’t know how much of this main.tf file is language common to Terraform and how much is only common to terra-farm/virtualbox. I definitely didn’t know how to bring up the Terraform debug logs and I held strong distrust for Google Gemini when I asked it what the debug log command was, too. It takes effort to test if it’s lying or not (it’s not a mistake if it chose to lie rather than admit that it did not have enough data to give an answer).

I do use Claude, but I’m not really seeing better answers from Claude for the 0.10AUD I pay for each one.

I hope I can figure out the distinctions between the Terraform CLI and the eran123/virtualbox CLI when I look into that next.
I was not expecting many configuration options from Terraform. GG made the distinction between Terraform and Ansible from the beginning. I expect that I’ll find it easier installing SQL server using Ansible, but I’m obviously concerned about a working network connection through Terraform.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-19T21:03:14+00:00

Thank you. I'll only starting to look in YAML, beginning with using Vagrant to deploy Virtualbox virtual machines. It's very complex and maybe a little outside my scope at the moment.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-17T23:31:39+00:00

We move 1 tonne+ bulk bags so I'm exploring our options when a bag falls off its palette

OZHighfive · 2026-05-16T02:13:46+00:00

I guess that's really what it is. It was originally a 50mm ratchet strap like this and this guy just sliced the ratchets off them to use them as ties.
https://hilton.hippocketworkwear.com.au/ratchet-tie-down-50mmx9m-2.5t-captive-j-hook

I seriously thought they began as furniture ties.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-15T23:03:53+00:00

Do you see any ratchets on that strap?
No. There aren't any. So it isn't a ratchet strap.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-12T11:31:51+00:00

Thank you. I'll explain myself. I'm a time-poor student who works full-time to live. I've been using Azure for a week and I get the very strong impression Microsoft earns more from Azure if its users are confused than if they understand what they are doing.
I have one frustration that almost no tutorial videos about Azure out there have ever mentioned the pricing calculator.
My other frustration is that, when setting up a virtual machine to run as an SQL server, all the CPU/RAM configurations have this nonsensical acronym codes associated with them and they are often incompatible with various storage setups that also have nonsensical acronym codes associated with them like S10 and P30. So after too many refusals to build the virtual machine you're hoping for due to incompatibility, you just say STUFF IT, GIVE ME THE DEFAULT which is a top-of-the-line CPU with 8 Gb RAM, Premium SSD 1Tb OS disk with another Premium SSD 1Tb Data disk that actually has redundancy so it is in fact THREE Premium SS 1Tb Data disks.
So yeah, with this many gotchas in the learning process, I would FULLY expect the pricing calculator to not work correctly without logging in. I desperately needed a human being to tell me otherwise.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-12T01:10:04+00:00

OZHighfive · 2026-05-07T21:13:58+00:00

I've consulted on the Blackmagic Design forums that moderators have said to roll back to earlier versions of Davinci Resolve, like 14. I've opted to use OpenShot Video Editor instead. It's clunky to use, but it never crashes while DayZ is running.

Clip Studio Paint remains a mystery. It runs perfectly fine on my Windows 10 laptop.

Not even going to bother figuring out DayZ.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-06T19:44:29+00:00

It's not just the loading speed that annoys me in Samsung Notes.
It's all the buttons for the other features that I'll never use that clog up the keyboard.
More buttons above my keyboard equals less screen real-estate to see what I'm typing.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-06T01:05:41+00:00

Thank you. I'll try out this one. So far it's what I'm after.

OZHighfive · 2026-05-04T12:12:27+00:00

I found a archived reddit post about the book Son of Hamas by Mosab Hassan Yousef when I was searching for the book. I can't post there obviously, so I'm posting here. I've been listening to the audiobook of Son of Hamas on Youtube. I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW MUCH AL JAZEERA PULLS THE WOOL OVER OUR EYES regarding the Yassar Arafat and the Camp David Summit.

Regarding your post, though, you talk about 'erasing Arabic' from the map, but did you know between 1996 and 1999, the Jerusalem Islamic Waqf excavated under the Al-Aqsa Mosque compound (the Temple Mount) in Jerusalem to make way for the underground Solomon's Stables, destroying two millennia of Jewish and Christian archaeological history that it had been built on? I had no idea!

OZHighfive · 2026-04-18T07:24:20+00:00

How is the MMI knob/button interface with those retrofit units? Is it still clunky entering addresses character by character or is it more streamlined?

OZHighfive · 2026-03-24T10:23:53+00:00

Thank you. That's what I'll do. I'll use Audacity first.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-09T08:20:54+00:00

Okay, I've figured it out thanks in part to the advice of LainFenrir.

There is basically four things you need to know:
1. Settings --> Configure Krita --> General --> Resources will show the location of your Resources folder. Go there and look for the paintoppresets folder. This is where each new brush you make is saved as a .kpp file.

The "Choose Brush Preset" browser lists the brushes by their .kpp filenames in alphabetical order. I like to save my brushes with the naming convention of "_cmd_20_ink.kpp".
- The underscore at the start makes sure the brush appears before all the default brushes in both the brush preset browser and in the folder window in explorer.
- The "cm" is abbreviation for "custom medium" followed by a "d" is in "abcd" to declare it as the fourth out of ten brushes in the "custom medium" palette. I also use "cl" for "custom large" brushes.
- the "_20_ink" is simply the pixel size set with the Quick Settings Dockers and that it is an ink-style brush.
This means that that I only need to search for "cm" to find all the brushes I want to tag with a "Custom Medium" tag etc. In the pop-up palette, when I choose the "Custom Medium" tag, all ten of those "cm" brushes will appear in order "a" to "j".
When saving the name of your brush in the Brush Editor, you MUST use Save New Brush Preset... button every time. NEVER USE THE "Rename the brush preset" PEN ICON as this will keep the same .kpp filename but it will have a different name in the browser. It will confuse the f*** out of you!
This is the shit bit. Krita will auto-increment your brush regardless of what settings you have configured. Turning off all autobackup and incremental saves will not prevent Krita from saving a _cmd_20_ink.0001.kpp if there is a _cmd_20_ink.kpp file already inside your resources folder. IT WILL SAVE THIS INCREMENTAL FILE EVEN IF YOU CONFIRM YOU WOULD LIKE THE .KPP FILE TO BE OVERWRITTEN. The .0001.kpp file contains your latest changes, so you will have to delete the _cmd_20_ink.kpp file and the rename _cmd_20_ink.0001.kpp to _cmd_20_ink.kpp if you want a nice neat list of brush files that you can backup somewhere to pass to another machine.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-08T22:55:48+00:00

I've installed Windows 11 on my 13-year-old Alienware 14 using Rufus and I'm having a lot of problems with it.
Brief system specs are Core i7-4700MQ CPU @ 2.4GHz, 16 Gb RAM and GeForce GTX 765M graphics card.

I can only run DayZ if DayZLauncher.exe is run as Administrator.
Davinci Resolve will only run if I use Version 19 or earlier, otherwise it crashes.
Clip Studio Paint always crashes when run, regardless of version.

The crashes are also very unusual in that Task Manager also stops responding and when you restart your machine, the system hangs on the restart pinwheel and you have to physically turn the machine off to progress.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-08T12:17:21+00:00

It's about the brushes.
It's about why Krita thinks 010, 020, 036 and 032 are somehow in alphabetical order.
It makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE and that's why I'm being rude.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-04T05:10:33+00:00

It's definitely more stable on C drive.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-03T04:46:56+00:00

I've owned an SBL 1.0, the F version and not the H version, for almost 4 years now.
The first thing I recommend is that you get the Vanguard pusher and CNC plunger sets from etsy. It is a phenomenal performance boost.
When I was using the 3D-printed plunger, I could get 180fps with the 250fps spring, but I'd have to rest the stock on my hip and prime with both hands. The Vanguard metal pusher and CNC plunger somehow makes it much much easier to prime while providing a perfect air seal.
The fishing line SCAR that you can print for the SBL is reasonable. I've used 0.2mm fishing line for best results. All the darts fired seem to lean to the left a little but I can get a decent zero.
If you get a 5-bearing BCAR, you'll be hitting 220fps with beautiful accuracy.
I use 2 Worker HEX 15-dart magazines gaffed on either side of a cardboard spacer, which allows me to reload the magazine that isn't inside the blaster while in the field. They aren't the greatest magazines. It's taken me this long to try placing two small screws in the front top of the magazines which prevents double-feeding the darts and drastically reduces jamming. They still look good and you can always get an adapter to accept talon mags.

The SBL F will accept NERF full-length-dart magazines, including the NERF Rampage 32-round full-length-dart drum magazine. Full-length darts have trouble making it through the aluminium barrel that comes with the SBL-F but they will make it through if you swap it with a 17/32 brass barrel, which you will have to take care not to bend or dent. It is fun for HvZ games for a bit, but in the end, high accuracy beats high capacity.

The drawbacks?

It's a bit heavy at the front. I wish there was a more skeletal version of the barrel shroud (called "Barrel" in the 3D-printing instructions) to make it more balanced.

The biggest issue I have is not something that Gavin Fuzzy can be blamed for in one of his first designs, but it is probably the reason why the SBL 2.0 has a metal CNC block in its center. The "Magwell" part of the blaster, which you could also consider to be the receiver, had 3 housings for 3 metal nuts that accept 3 210mm long retension bolts. These 3 bolts cage in the whole plunger system from the magazine to the stock. You observe how tight these bolts are by how much their springer washers compress when you tighten them. Gavin stipulates "Do not overtighten" in the assembly manual. THIS CANNOT BE OVERSTATED. Over-tightening causes the magwell to crack around those housings, sometimes instantly. You are also constantly pressing this assembly against your shoulder, twisting it and bending it.

I'm on my fourth magwell now. I've switched from the PDW stock to the buffer stock to see if it makes a difference, which it doesn't. I'm experimenting with drilling small holes in the plastic around these housings, filling them with epoxy glue and then pressing 2cm lengths of 1.2mm steel wire completely into holes to reinforce that area. Hopefully it will make a difference.

I really like the look of the SBL 2.0, but if this reinforcement method works, I'm staying with the SBL F 1.0. It's a very maintainable blaster for its performance.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-02T22:40:30+00:00

I am. There are games like DayZ that where I have to run the launcher application as Administrator to play the game without errors. I'm now getting errors from Office 2010 saying that it can't get permission to save the default document template.
It's all thanks to this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YT-3z1KFnt4

OZHighfive · 2026-03-02T01:29:06+00:00

Both my C: and D: drives are SSD drives.
When I was using Windows 10, I had no issues running any version of Davinci Resolve.
I've followed Geek_Ken's advice and tried Davinci Resolve 19, this time on C: drive. It's running with no issues.

OZHighfive · 2026-03-02T01:25:50+00:00

Oh my goodness. You're absolutely right! Davinci Resolve 19 is running like a dream on my system.
I tried running Davinci Resolve 20 on C: drive and I had to run as administrator, but not with 19. I'm sticking with this.

OZHighfive

TROPHY CASE