Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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PublicSafetyTech
Posts: 5
Joined: 23. Jun 2021, 20:53

Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by PublicSafetyTech »

Hello All,

I am new here and have only been using VBox for the past year or so. I am running into an issue that I am hoping someone can help me with as I am sure there is probably something easy I am missing. Here is my setup;
Win 10 guest on a Win 10 Host.
I run the guest to connect to customers and host Go To Meetings so I can multi-task while providing access to remote systems for other techs.
It also allows me to connect to different VPNS through the guest without tying up my host on a VPN that would limit internet access.

So now that my usage is out of the way onto the issue I am experiencing.

I am running into a problem where the sound from my guest will oftentimes start skipping/echoing like a scratched CD or Record and sometimes cause my guest to freeze forcing me to end the task from my host in order to restart it. It happens most often when a windows sound plays, for example when the user account control window pops up and the windows ding sound plays. If I catch it quickly I can disable the audio output from the VBox tray and enable it again which stops the skipping and prevents the guest from freezing. Also, I noticed when adjusting the volume of my guest the sound is very static-ridden.

I have tried uninstalling/checking for updates on the audio driver for the guest and the host.
I have also tried all 3 different options for sound drivers in the guest settings. The only one that actually provides sound at all is the "Windows Direct Sound" option.
I tried disabling user account control to prevent it from making sounds but almost any other windows sound causes the issue as well.
I have updated to the most recent version of VBox and even reinstalled the Guest additions to see if that was the issue.

I included all logs from my VM that I could find as well in case there is something there that might help.

Any help is much appreciated.
Attachments
VM Logs.zip
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mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by mpack »

PublicSafetyTech
Posts: 5
Joined: 23. Jun 2021, 20:53

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by PublicSafetyTech »

mpack
Thank you I will give that a shot and update.
PublicSafetyTech
Posts: 5
Joined: 23. Jun 2021, 20:53

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by PublicSafetyTech »

mpack wrote:Try the 6.1.23 test build. VirtualBox 6.1 test builds with audio changes.
So I installed the test build and now my VM will not start and disabling UEFI Secure Boot is not an option for me. Is there another option to get the VM to boot now?
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by scottgus1 »

If you can't get the Test Build to run the VM because of host permissions issues, you'll have to roll back to an earlier version of Virtualbox where the sound ran well.
PublicSafetyTech
Posts: 5
Joined: 23. Jun 2021, 20:53

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by PublicSafetyTech »

Do you happen to know what version the audio was working fine? Or where I could find out? I did a quick search in the forum and couldn't find anything that said which version the audio worked well in besides the new test version.
PublicSafetyTech
Posts: 5
Joined: 23. Jun 2021, 20:53

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by PublicSafetyTech »

scottgus1 wrote:If you can't get the Test Build to run the VM because of host permissions issues, you'll have to roll back to an earlier version of Virtualbox where the sound ran well.
I ended up just going back one version at a time till I found one where the problem did not exist and the VM would boot. I ended up on 6.1.16
Thank you very much for the help.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by scottgus1 »

Glad you're up and running! The test builds will go to full release when the next even number release comes out, and turning off secure boot won't be required. No timetable for the next release is known.
Etienne66
Posts: 4
Joined: 21. Oct 2015, 17:31

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by Etienne66 »

I was having this issue and before that my sound has been scratchy for years. The last time I recall clean audio was with VirtualBox 4.x.

I installed VirtualBox 6.1.24 the other day and I am having to get used to how clean the audio is now.

I really want to thank the developers for getting all of these audio issues resolved. I'm a developer myself and I can really appreciate the hard work these folks have done.

Thanks,
Etienne66
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Guest audio skips and freezes guest

Post by mpack »

Thanks, and I'm glad your situation has improved, but you really should post that in the "Discuss the 6.1.24 release" topic where others have a better chance of seeing it!
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