Virtual machine errors can look alarming but are often quick to resolve. This article covers the most common VM and environment errors and the steps to fix them.
I see a GNS3 VM connection error. What do I do?
If you see errors such as Cannot connect to compute 'GNS3 VM' or A node is set to use the GNS3 VM server but the GNS3 VM is not configured, try the following:
- Stop the lab completely and wait 30 seconds.
- Click Start Lab again to reinitialize the environment.
This error is often temporary and resolves after a fresh start.
My VM has no network connection. Is that normal?
It may be. Some Skill Labs environments are closed by design and intentionally have no internet access. This is done to ensure safe, controlled learning conditions.
- Check your lab instructions first. If the environment isn't supposed to connect to the internet, no network connection is expected behavior.
- If you believe your lab should have network access and it doesn't, contact Skill Labs Support. Our team will verify the lab setup and confirm whether it's a limitation or a technical issue.
I'm stuck on the Windows Server page, or my screen is frozen. What do I do?
- Wait up to 1 minute. The lab environment may still be loading.
- Refresh your browser and wait for it to fully reload.
- If the screen is still frozen after refreshing, take a full screenshot and submit it to the Helpdesk.
The lab topology isn't clickable. How do I open my VMs?
Some lab topologies are not interactive by design. As an alternative, open your VMs using the dropdown menu located at the top left of the topology view.
I completed an exploit, but no session was created. What do I do?
- Re-run the lab and follow the same steps again carefully.
- If the problem happens again, capture a screen recording showing the issue. Note that recordings must be under 500KB per file.
- Send the recording to the Helpdesk along with the lab name.
If support confirms the issue on their end, it will be escalated to the engineering team.