How to repair Guest Agent

How to Check GA Functionality on a VM

1. Connect to the VM via SSH
2. Run:

systemctl status qemu-guest-agent

• active (running) → agent is running
• inactive (dead) → agent is stopped
• Not found → agent is not installed

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How to Restore GA Operation

If QEMU Guest Agent is Not Installed

1. Connect via SSH
2. Install the package:

CentOS:

yum install qemu-guest-agent

Debian / Ubuntu:

apt install qemu-guest-agent

3. Enable autostart:

systemctl enable --now qemu-guest-agent

4. Check status:

systemctl status qemu-guest-agent

5. Check SELinux:

sestatus

If SELinux is enabled:

• Edit /etc/selinux/config

• Change:

  SELINUX=enforcing

  to:

  SELINUX=disabled

• Reboot the VM

6. Check file:

/etc/sysconfig/qemu-ga

If it contains:

BLACKLIST_RPC=guest-file-open,guest-file-close,guest-file-read,guest-file-write,guest-file-seek,guest-file-flush,guest-exec,guest-exec-status

— remove or comment it, then restart GA:

systemctl restart qemu-guest-agent

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If QEMU Guest Agent is Stopped

1. Connect via SSH
2. Start the service:

systemctl start qemu-guest-agent

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If guest-exec is Disabled

1. Connect via SSH
2. Run:

sed -i '/BLACKLIST_RPC=/cBLACKLIST_RPC=' /etc/sysconfig/qemu-ga

3. Restart GA:

systemctl restart qemu-guest-agent

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If You Need GA on Windows

1. Install Virtio drivers:

• Windows Server 2012 R2: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/virtio-win-0.1.189-1/virtio-win-0.1.189.iso

• Windows Server 2008: https://fedorapeople.org/groups/virt/virtio-win/direct-downloads/archive-virtio/virtio-win-0.1.137-1/virtio-win-0.1.137.iso

2. Install QEMU Guest Agent

3. Open services.msc:

• Ensure the service is running
• Start it if stopped
• Install GA if missing