Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Post Reply
VirtualizationAmatuer
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Jul 2021, 04:25

Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by VirtualizationAmatuer »

My virtual instance (Host Win 10 64bit, Guest Win 10 64bit) blackscreens on startup after login.

I am struggling to debug it because it also blackscreens when restarted in safe mode (with and without network access)

Errors/fixes that I have seen elsewhere:
  • I am using the most up to date virtualbox 6.1.22, extension pack 6.1.22
    It should have enough ram (8GiB)
    Hyper-V is disabled (I checked services.msc)
    There are no errors in the log file except for 'VBOX_E_VM_ERROR' which I gather is a red herring
    I verified that it has 128MB of video memory, that 3d acceleration is unchecked and it is using VBoxSVGA.
I have found a whole host of people with similiar issues but none of their solutions fix the problem for me.
Attachments
Win10 64 - K-2021-06-30-19-27-33.zip
(37.09 KiB) Downloaded 8 times
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by scottgus1 »

Could you please post a new log with the VM starting from full shutdown, not a saved state? There would be more diagnostic info in it.
VirtualizationAmatuer
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Jul 2021, 04:25

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by VirtualizationAmatuer »

> Could you please post a new log with the VM starting from full shutdown, not a saved state? There would be more diagnostic info in it.
Oops. Yeah for sure!
Attachments
Win10 64 - K-2021-07-02-18-10-28.zip
(18.87 KiB) Downloaded 7 times
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by scottgus1 »

Thanks for the new log. FWIW it is also best to shut down the OS if possible, or to close the Virtualbox window with the Power Off option set if shutdown is not possible, before taking the log.

This log was taken while the Virtualbox window was still open. If this run of the OS showed the blackscreen before the last log line at 17 seconds since startup, then the log does not show me any problems in the operation of the Virtualbox 'hardware'.

You have 12 processors in the VM, which is way more than necessary for typical VM OS usage. Windows 10 is happiest with 2 processors. More processors slow down the VM, due to extra scheduling oversight on the host, and 10 extra may really be slowing it down.

If reducing to 2 processors does not fix the problem, it could be that the VM's OS itself is having trouble. You'd then have to fix the OS directly, which may involve a repair reinstall inside the VM, since Safe Mode doesn't work either. Good backups are necessary if there is anything in the VM you want to preserve.
VirtualizationAmatuer
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Jul 2021, 04:25

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by VirtualizationAmatuer »

scottgus1 wrote:Thanks for the new log. FWIW it is also best to shut down the OS if possible, or to close the Virtualbox window with the Power Off option set if shutdown is not possible, before taking the log.
Oh, I figured that it would be best to take the log right upon first encountering the problem. Uploading hopefully for the last time:
scottgus1 wrote:You have 12 processors in the VM, which is way more than necessary for typical VM OS usage. Windows 10 is happiest with 2 processors. More processors slow down the VM, due to extra scheduling oversight on the host, and 10 extra may really be slowing it down.
Great idea! I gave it a try, unfortunatly it didn't work.
scottgus1 wrote:If reducing to 2 processors does not fix the problem, it could be that the VM's OS itself is having trouble. You'd then have to fix the OS directly, which may involve a repair reinstall inside the VM, since Safe Mode doesn't work either. Good backups are necessary if there is anything in the VM you want to preserve.


I hope it doesn't have to come to that but that might be what I have to do.
Attachments
Win10 64 - K-2021-07-03-23-45-00.zip
(29.52 KiB) Downloaded 8 times
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by mpack »

I'm still seeing no evidence in the log of a VM failure nor a guest BSOD.

Perhaps a screenshot of the BSOD screen would help.
VirtualizationAmatuer
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Jul 2021, 04:25

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by VirtualizationAmatuer »

mpack wrote:I'm still seeing no evidence in the log of a VM failure nor a guest BSOD.
It blackscreens, it doesn't give the BSOD. After login the screen is completely black except for the cursor.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows 10 Guest Blackscreens on Startup After Login

Post by scottgus1 »

I still don't see anything wrong in the newest log. You could try a new test VM with 10 in it, see what happens. If the new VM works, I suspect the old Win10 OS is borked. Happens on real computes too.
Post Reply