Guru Meditation critical error

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

scottgus1 wrote:Without further data...
What further data you need?
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20945
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by scottgus1 »

If the triple fault keeps happening, take careful note of what was going on each time it happens, and save the vbox.log reporting the guru meditation. A few such sets of circumstances and logs may reveal a pattern.
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

scottgus1 wrote:If the triple fault keeps happening, take careful note of what was going on each time it happens, and save the vbox.log reporting the guru meditation. A few such sets of circumstances and logs may reveal a pattern.
Another Guru Meditation critical error when I left the guest open in the background and both the host (Ubuntu) and guest (Windows) screen were black/turned off due to the inactivity. I woke the screen and after 1-2 minutes, guru visited my host again.
Image
Attachments
VBox.zip
(74.16 KiB) Downloaded 215 times
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20945
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by scottgus1 »

I don't know if this is a pattern:
1st log wrote:00:06:15.838882 GUI: Machine-window #0 deactivated
00:06:15.838939 GUI: Releasing mouse on focus out
00:06:15.838950 GUI: Releasing keyboard on focus out
00:06:15.838983 GUI: Machine-view #0 unfocused, reason=3
00:06:42.835493 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'GURU_MEDITATION'
2nd log wrote:04:09:57.523791 GUI: Machine-window #0 deactivated
04:09:57.524010 GUI: Releasing mouse on focus out
04:09:57.524019 GUI: Releasing keyboard on focus out
04:09:57.542715 GUI: Machine-view #0 unfocused, reason=3
04:10:43.910500 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'GURU_MEDITATION'
The VM's guru meditates again on a triple fault, after the VM window is unfocused, meaning the mouse/keyboard was moved out of the window (I think).

This is interesting:
Bushido wrote:I left the guest open in the background and both the host (Ubuntu) and guest (Windows) screen were black/turned off due to the inactivity.
Do you remember if the OP guru meditation was just after a host screen shutoff?
00:00:02.561970 VirtualBox VM 6.1.38_Ubuntu
Please uninstall the fork and install official, https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads , please see the prerequisites, too: https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch02. ... nux-prereq
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

Please guide me so that all virtual machines and settings and Virtual Hard Drives are not uninstalled.
Last edited by scottgus1 on 12. Dec 2022, 16:01, edited 2 times in total.
Reason: removed full quote of previous message
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20945
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by scottgus1 »

Please use "Reply", not "Quote", to reply, unless you wish to refer to part of the message posted to you.

****************************

scottgus1 wrote:
Bushido wrote:Does the uninstall of any installed VirtualBox version will also uninstall settings/virtualised operating systems?
See the above about backups.

VMs and settings survive a Virtualbox version change. If they didn't, upgrades would be a tad difficult.
No guide necessary. Just as updating Libre Office doesn't wipe your text docs & spreadsheets, or Gimp your pictures, so Virtualbox your VMs & settings.

And, once again, just to be sure it sinks in, because the above didn't the first time:
scottgus1 wrote:See the above about backups.
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5690
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by fth0 »

scottgus1 wrote:VM window is unfocused, meaning the mouse/keyboard was moved out of the window (I think)
You can see that for yourself with an easy experiment:

While a VM is running, open the Log Viewer from within the VirtualBox Manager, press the Refresh button, wait a few seconds, click on the title bar of the VM's window, wait a few seconds, click on the title bar of the Log Viewer's window, note the last log message line number and click on the Refresh button again. You'll easily recognize the log messages from both window title bar clicks.
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

scottgus1 wrote:And, once again, just to be sure it sinks in, because the above didn't the first time:
scottgus1 wrote:See the above about backups.
Is https://superuser.com/a/1412554/761811 enough for the backup or I must also take the snapshot as described in https://www.osradar.com/how-to-backup-v ... irtualbox/?
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39134
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by mpack »

Please do not refer to offsite "authorities" here. In any case that OSRadar article resembles deliberate sabotage: neither method given creates adequate backups.

See Howto: Move a VM, and note that backing up and and restoring are simply instances of moving a VM.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20945
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by scottgus1 »

Snapshots, by themselves, are not backups. They are similar to Windows' System Restore points: they are point-in-past-time markers, not extractable, useless without the base system in place, but easier to corrupt because the files are accessible on the host drive. They do not store "files", like a backup folder would. Virtualbox snapshots store changed disk sectors, which may or may not contain the entire file. They should only be used on guests you're experimenting with and with data you wouldn't mind losing. (The forums are replete with users destroying their important data because they did something wrong with a snapshot.)

Any 'backup' process that claims to work using snapshots actually leaves the copy in a state as if the VM were powered off without a proper shut-down, same as if the power plug were pulled. Unfinished data writes, half-files, dirty databases. Don't rely on a process that uses snapshots as a backup.

Exporting and cloning aren't recommended for backing up a VM. Either process changes some guest settings, and a change in the guest means there's no way to confirm the backup. The Moving/Backing Up a VM method allows a simple FC file compare for backup confirmation and is compatible with encrypted guests. Additionally, Export tries to match the older OVA format and is intended for using a guest under another hypervisor besides Virtualbox. The OVA format is not compatible with encrypted guests: guests must be decrypted to export.

Copying only the disk file is not a complete backup. The rest of the VM, its 'motherboard', is not being backed up. If one copies only the disk file, one has to rebuild the rest of the VM settings to restore on a different host. There are enough settings that something important might be missed. Additionally, the UUIDs that might be used for licensing and activation inside the VM OS may be different, leading to licensing problems. Also, if the user has used snapshots in the VM, these snapshots will be impossible to re-integrate into the restored VM.

A simple file-copy of the fully-shut-down, not save-stated, guest's folder, with the guest .vbox file, Snapshots and Logs folders, and the guest virtual disk file(s), is the best way to copy a guest. The copy can be 'FC' file-compared on local backup media, or hashed for offsite media, to confirm the copies, and the guest can be dropped onto any capable & properly-set-up host, any supported host OS. The guest folder can easily reside on any host drive.
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

scottgus1 wrote: simple file-copy of the fully-shut-down, not save-stated, guest's folder, with the guest .vbox file, Snapshots and Logs folders, and the guest virtual disk file(s), is the best way to copy a guest.
By "guest's folder", do you mean the "VirtualBox VMs" folder?
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5690
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by fth0 »

For example, the folder "/home/olav/VirtualBox VMs/Windows 10".
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

After uninstall and opening the latest .deb for 22.04, I get the status error from gdebi-gtk: "In conflict with the installed package virtualbox-guest-additions-iso".

Running "sudo apt-get remove virtualbox-\*
sudo apt-get purge virtualbox-\*" solved the status error.

Before the switch from Ubuntu fork to the official one, I received another Guru error: https://www.upload.ee/files/14830269/VBox.log.html and Image.

After the switch from Ubuntu fork to the official one, I received error "NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)". I solved it by starting the virtual machine, logged in there and clicked "Devices" -> "Upgrade Guest Additions..." and restarted the guest manually after Windows 10 reminded me to restart.
Attachments
VBoxUI.log
(8.17 KiB) Downloaded 198 times
Bushido
Posts: 59
Joined: 13. Sep 2022, 23:28

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by Bushido »

Again when I left the Virtualbox screen open and left the pc for about 3 minutes. I left the on-screen keyboard of host (Ubuntu) open and a blinking icon (indicating text typing) in the text field active before I left the pc.
Attachments
Windows 10-2023-05-27-02-07-48.log.zip
(105.77 KiB) Downloaded 199 times
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20945
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guru Meditation critical error

Post by scottgus1 »

Please edit your post with the offsite links to bring the log and screenshot here using Upload Attachment. Logs can be zipped. Screenshots can be cropped and resized to the pertinent parts. If the screenshot has only the "Guru Meditation happened" window, then you can skip it, as the log will have the information.
Post Reply