I am using an old Windows 8 laptop to setup my Home Assistant server. I have followed the Windows OS installation instructions using Virtual Box and have been getting stuck on the “Preparing Home Assistant” screen, it never pushes through. So far I have attempted the following troubleshooting items:
- Uninstall and reinstall HA and Virtual Box (numerous times).
- Setup virtual machine and HA as an Ubuntu device instead of “Other Linux” per the instructions.
- Try both installation options on a different Windows 10 laptop.
- Attempt bridged adapter via Wifi and direct ethernet connection to my router.
- Change the router DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 9.9.9.9 and PC DNS to 8.8.8.8 and 9.9.9.9
Other observations I have made:
- When I start HA the boot screen does not indicate any network connection errors, and I can ping the HA IP address from multiple devices connected to my local network.
- I brought my laptop to work one day and tried a fresh install and while being connected to our work network, I was able to get pass the “Preparing Home Assistant” screen.
This points to something that might need to be configured with my home network? I just don’t what that could be and what else to try. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated. Thank You!