Please help! I have been stuffing around for 5 days trying to get this to work, looked at videos on YouTube, they do my head in because different dates/different ways fundamentally are the same. I will start by saying I’m using my phone as a Wi-Fi signal to my mini PC. The connection is great. Everything loads quickly so no problem there I’ve downloaded Oracle virtual box then the VDI file addition 16.1 of added VD file loaded. Everything up. All I see is all green okays but can’t get past a 20 minute screen I’ve tried everything unloading virtual box, video files, reloading everything using a different Internet connection other than my hotspot. Nothing works. I have tried creating a static IP. This only cause more problems for connection. Please help I need this up and running A.S.A.P. I can’t waste too much time with it as I’ll be honest I’m not to text savvy but with AI today can I help out with the small things assistance would be appreciated.
I assume you have read the docs rather than relying on old videos? Follow this step by step.
Why do you need to run HA in a VM? Do you need windows for other stuff? If not just use HAOS without windows.
If you are stuck on the 20 minute screen try refreshing the browser cache.
Ok you chose a difficult path. For. Anyone to help you we need to know what process you followed where you think you are and what the last thing you did was. Panicky changes only make things worse.
What are you actually trying to do. Any reason you’re married to windows?
I’m a bit dyslexic, but yeah I like things to be self-explanatory with commonsense thing should be plug and play without these dramas. Seems like there’s a lot of videos on home assistant that because I have so many problems and people can make a monopoly out of creating their own videos to people that aren’t that tech savvy. That’s a rhetorically question
HA is 100% not that. You WILL BE DISAPPOINTED… So throw out thag assumption. More data about what you did. The process. Why you need it in VirtualBox on win11, etc. Less about what you like. Without data we have no chance of helping.
You’re fighting an inadvisable connection type (wifi) on a lesser used hypervisor (VB) on a consumer desktop OS (Win). If. You can clear out some of that it gets WAY easier.
If you want things to be easy then don’t use Windows as an OS.
I uninstalled hypervisor from the command prompt on windows, because I seen that it could cause a confliction and still ran it and it’s same thing is happening. Good old home assistant with a 20 minute run screen.
PC has 2 TB of hard drive space it has 64 GB of RAM where’s a 24 cubic processor it’s a mini PC I went into new I gave the virtual machine a name the operating system is Linux 64-bit I allocated six gig of ram with four cubits or processor I selected to have the VDI file uploaded, which is the Hache A.OS_OVA – 16.1 point VDI network adapter, one Intel pro 1000 MT desktop bridged adapter Intel, our Wi-Fi 6EAX210 160 MHz when I click start and I get the IP I’ve loaded that in the address field to Boo’d up home assistant and it’s gone into the load 20 minute screen when I look at the log files. I’m not sure if they’re supposed to keep moving or not, but they’re stalled and don’t move.
Jay.
Breathe
You just spammed me with a bunch of words… None of which tell me exactly what you’re trying to do.
What VM what is on what. Slowdown you’re not making any sense.
Start here.
First. What procedure did you follow. Link to docs pls. <<<
You blew away something I see above the dropped a lot of specs…
Back up.
Do you NEED windows on this box (I’d suggest no)
Do you NEED to use VBox? (why)
Must you use Wifi(this gets sticky once you get ha installed you have a long road ahead if you say yes. None of the notes is HA downloads the install. So the faster your net… You said cellular shared wifi?)
Then we get to config. You’re spinning and you will just make it worse.
I have Windows 11 installed on the mini PC so them wheels are already set in motion. We have no Internet where we are. That’s why I’m loading Wi-Fi off my phone as I stated the connection is very good 5G in virtual box. I clicked Linux system 64 bit.
Ok windows on the mini pc base is a bad idea. You can easily change the base os.
Windows is designed for users HA is designed for always on server access…
First suggestion. Flatten the box and either go bare iron on it or use a true hypervisor like Proxmox there. Eliminate Windows. You get rid of two layers of complexity I’d strongly suggest Proxmox at that level if you don’t go bare iron.
If you continue the vbox path with all the difficulty you describe it WILL BE PAINFUL.
Now the network. You’re going to have to do something about that. Yes I get offline access etc. But at install (and on updates) it pulls the image from git. Sooooo. Cell modem speeds…
Guess why you’re sitting and waiting… 
This will continue to be an issue and I’d suggest reading the threads here for offline access while HA is privacy focused etc. You do have to do some things to prepare it for fully offline.
So I hate to burst your bubble but if mine I’m starting over. Reading how to install ha on Proxmox and how to do ha in fully offline situations then start. Over with that plan. I know it sucks but I don’t see you being successful continuing the road you’re on.
I’m no IT Guru, but when I bought this mini PC and because I want to run my house I thought home assistant could do everything I needed it to do and by having a mini PC that has a large hard drive of 2 TB and 64 Gig of ram, I thought, what the hell if I could create a computer inside of a computer and separate, the two operating systems like you’re saying windows being for users and home assistant gives you the option through virtual box to pick the operating system of Linux then that would all make logical sense and fits what you’re saying
Yeah you basically picked a set of… Real hard problems and stacked them. It’s doable. But
Let’s put it this way I used to work for MS and I’m telling you don’t use windows here. I am an it guru so let’s talk through it.
Win is great for end users but omg there’s o much overhead for users you don’t need. Just clear it out. That’s what prox does. It’ll be your os and all it does is host other os-es. (yes one could technically be windows, but eh.)
So we use prox in place of windows and that’s your windows / vbox equivalent. (and bonus there’s an easy to use Proxmox install process out there.)
Now your network. If it were mine and I had to do cell. Get a cheap cell modem router. Put thag as your ‘internet’ and setup ha behind that… Wired. That way you can use cell internet and turn it on and off on demand but ha is wired and you don’t have the complexity of cell network.
I do wish you luck and hope your system comes up well for you but man you were beating yourself over the head with a bat when you didn’t need to.
So you work for Microsoft day and now it looks like you’re promoting promax the way I see it and correct me. If I’m not mistaken virtual box create a computer program inside a physical computer. You’re allocating so much of your computers physical hard drive RAM despise to create this virtual machine, what a great idea now you’re installing VDI file inside that I don’t see why this has to be such a pain in the arse. I’m a builder, not IT but I can tell you if I sat down on a computer for 30 years, I could easily find a solution to this, and it just baffles me that I’ve now registered on a home assistant website and you’re the only one that can post negative feedback to say that I’m beating myself over the head with a bat when the way I’ve just spoken it’s just common sense how this would work but you IT guys love to make things technical to make a dollar
We’re trying to help you find an easier path.
No it’s not common sense and USED to.
There is a reason I study every single day at least an hour… To keep current. My JOB is to identify the correct tech for use case. And windows isn’t it for this case.
You came to a community site where users help users. We’re trying to help. You described your situation (offline use with a new NUC minipc limited connection for a HA novice with limited hypervisor experience) the BEST current config for that is Proxmox with a HAOS VM. The EASIEST is haos on bare metal (no intermediate os) but your hardware is quite beefy for that. As you noted.
Look, HA is like tennis easy to pick up a racket and swing around (drop haos on that box in bare metal) but you’re not getting the best. Out of it. May be great for your use. You learn more. Learn a smash and a lob and takeout most of your friends a the country club (go Proxmox and move haos into it)
You walked into Wimbledon on day 1 and Sinner pwned you.
If you must do a VM against all the advice here, it is easy if you follow the steps I linked in the first reply.
My advice though is don’t, as unless you understand how VM’s work and what you need to pass through to make them work you are just going to end up i this situation.
My advice delete all the VM’s you have created already and start by following the docs through every step.
I don’t know why are you persistently say I’m trying to load this off-line I have a phone that has 5G. If I can watch Netflix without anything buffering I call this is stable connection as I said, I thought it could be the connection all the IP address being a 172 instead of 192, causing the 20 minute Screen to hang time but wasting another day on it today being hardwired to the Internet made no difference. I don’t know why they cool at home assistance it should be called home nuisance as I said I’ve spent five days on this fundamentals of what I’m trying to do should not be that hard , we are living in 2025 with a I just getting stronger and you guys are talking like where in the Stone Age is still and bringing up tennis to compare weather problems lie. If you want to go down that path let’s compare golf and tennis. There’s no comparison. Anyone can hit a tennis ball. Not anyone can have a golf ball focus on the prize boys
Well, yes, this is an excellent platform for running Home Assistant. And ONLY Home Assistant.
Home Assistant is a server running its own version of Linux. When you add Windows, Containers, Virtual machines, etc., you only complicate an otherwise simple installation.
Home Assistant can run on minimal hardware, like a Raspberry Pi4 or 5. Is this mini-pc your only PC? You can buy a used Intel NUC or Beelink mini-PC on eBay for less than the cost of a new Raspberry Pi5.
It appears home assistant is not for you, Home assistant is a very powerful smart home platform that can do just about anything you can imagine, it is therefore by its very nature not going to be as straight forward to setup as a system on dedicated hardware, like amazon Alexa.
There are many recommended ways to setup and install HA, all very well documented on the HA website. The only way of running HA that is not advised is connecting over wifi. It is designed as a headless server to run constantly, and therefore really needs a permanent connection to your home network. Using you phone as the network hub will at best just cause issues, as worst just not work.
Also what smart home devices are looking to control? Will these devices still work if your phone leaves the house?
You are persisting on a hard path when you have acknowledged that you are not an IT expert, yet you question those helping you and throw around remarks that will not help to solve your issues.
You still haven’t provided the exact instructions you followed.
Typically, you need to ensure your VM runs a bridged network (bridged to the host’s).