Failed to create the host-only adapter - windows 10, docker, virtualbox

Question

I\'ve recently run into this problem after having used docker toolbox without a problem for a while.

Started happening after windows update?

Windows 10 Home - 64

Answer 1

tl;dr If you are using Trend Micro or Symantec antivirus solutions, try uninstalling Virtualbox, then re-install it with the antivirus disabled. It may work with others as well.

I am adding this answer for the record.

My coworkers and I started having a similar issue just after updating from Windows 10 Pro version 1703 to version 1709.

I tried rolling back to version 1703, and it worked, but of course this is not an acceptable solution.

For some reason, this had to do with the antivirus, which in our case is Trend Micro Office Scan. After doing a clean re-install with the antivirus disabled, the host-only adapter was available again.

The issue has been reported in the Virtualbox forum and issue tracker:
https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=86179#p413876
https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/17354#comment:22

Unfortunately, this error is quite frequent, and it has been reported dozens of times with different causes. In our case, the settings shown in bszom's answer were already correct.