VBox Manager shows no details

This is for discussing general topics about how to use VirtualBox.
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wmeyer
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Joined: 14. May 2009, 18:42
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
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VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

Suddenly, my VirtualBox Manager shows no details. It also presents as fixed size. See image attachment. I have been unable to find any setting that might control it.
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scottgus1
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by scottgus1 »

If you put your mouse close to the right side, it should turn to a "pane resize" pointer. Click and drag left.

Alternatively, run these commands in the host Windows command prompt:

CD "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"
VBoxManage setextradata global "GUI/SplitterSizes"
wmeyer
Posts: 66
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Primary OS: MS Windows 7
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

Resizing with the mouse does not work.
Before today, I always had the ability to resize, and each VM button presented details of the machine. Normal would be like this:
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scottgus1
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by scottgus1 »

Did the command line work? I just tested it here: you have to close the main Virtualbox window first, then run the commands, then re-open the main window.

Also, there appears to be a hard-coded few hundreds of pixels that the mouse has to be moved to the left before the mouse opens the Details pane.
wmeyer
Posts: 66
Joined: 14. May 2009, 18:42
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

Was trying a reinstall, which was interesting, as VBox offered to repair. I said yes, and it blew up.
Then tried a fresh download and install, and Remove. Then install. Very odd. It did not actually remove, as I did not have to recreate my VMs after, and the VBox Manager was still unsplit.

Your command line fix worked. Another item for my arcana folder! First time that has happened in 14 years on VBox.
Thanks!
scottgus1
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by scottgus1 »

Uninstall and reinstall does not remove the program's documents (such as the VMs and the configuration file that holds the pane location which the command edits). It would be rather hard to justify a Virtualbox upgrade process that destroys the entire configuration of the host... :wink:

Glad the command worked!
wmeyer
Posts: 66
Joined: 14. May 2009, 18:42
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

Updating to a new release does not remove setups. But I did an uninstall, which in my recollection, would have done.
scottgus1
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by scottgus1 »

No, Uninstalls don't either. Any program that destroyed user data during an uninstall wouldn't be worth its bits. An uninstall is part of the upgrade process.
wmeyer
Posts: 66
Joined: 14. May 2009, 18:42
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

scottgus1 wrote:Did the command line work?
How did you find that particular parameter? I searched the manual and found no mention of "GUI/SplitterSizes". Did you dig through source code?
scottgus1
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Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by scottgus1 »

I've seen it a few times on the forum, but couldn't remember it exactly. Then I opened the Virtualbox.xml config file, where main Virtualbox window settings are kept, looking for a setting that seemed familiar. Finally I confirmed it with a forum-site-restricted web-search.
wmeyer
Posts: 66
Joined: 14. May 2009, 18:42
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows 7

Re: VBox Manager shows no details

Post by wmeyer »

scottgus1 wrote:I've seen it a few times on the forum, but couldn't remember it exactly. Then I opened the Virtualbox.xml config file, where main Virtualbox window settings are kept, looking for a setting that seemed familiar. Finally I confirmed it with a forum-site-restricted web-search.
Thanks! Good to know.
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