Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

Hello. I could not find any info about this anywhere else so I'm posting it here.

If you install Windows NT 4.0 Workstation without a network card, guest additions will have all sorts of trouble. Not only will seamless mouse integration not work, but you'll get service issues inside of NT.
I'm including logs for the side-by-side installs I did in the following video which shows it happening.

I zipped the logs up and attached them.

Here's the exact moment you can see what happens: www.youtube.com/watch?v=jElfQsaB4-U&t=593s

Steps:
1. Installed Windows NT 4.0 Workstation SP1
2. Installed Service Pack 6a
3. Installed Guest Additions

Seamless mouse integration?
Networking enabled: Works.
Networking disabled: Broken.

I am not savvy enough to explain why it does this.
Attachments
WinNT No Networking-2022-06-19-12-24-16.zip
(30.19 KiB) Downloaded 6 times
WinNT Networking-2022-06-19-12-24-13.zip
(30.84 KiB) Downloaded 7 times
winnt side by side.jpg
winnt side by side.jpg (55.02 KiB) Viewed 6051 times
Last edited by mpack on 20. Jun 2022, 09:53, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Clear up obfuscated YouTube link.
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 NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by mpack »

You have provided two copies of the hardening log, which I'm afraid is useless since you do not have a hardening problem. What we need to see is the VM log. Make sure the VM is fully shut down, then right click it in the manager UI. Select "Show Log" and save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip file. Attach the zip here. This may have been caused by Windows strange habit of confusing users by lying about filenames. This is however easily fixed, i.e. go into settings for the host filesystem browser (Explorer), and turn off the option to "Hide extensions for known file types".

I'd like to eliminate obvious possible user errors before I considered VirtualBox bugs. For example, the most obvious reasons for lost mouse integration are (a) not having the Guest Additions installed, and (b) disabling mouse integration in the VM menu. So I'd like to see a VM from the non working guest.

I don't have an NT4 guest here, but my Windows 2000 guest seamless mouse seems to works fine regardless of the network connection.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

mpack wrote: I'd like to eliminate obvious possible user errors before I considered VirtualBox bugs. For example, the most obvious reasons for lost mouse integration are (a) not having the Guest Additions installed, and (b) disabling mouse integration in the VM menu. So I'd like to see a VM from the non working guest.
I'm at work but I will get logs in 2-3 hours and attach them here. I think the 4k video I linked shows it fairly clearly as well and that no user mistakes were made except the wrong log file included. Everything else was done exactly the same sans the networking.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

mpack wrote:I'd like to eliminate obvious possible user errors before I considered VirtualBox bugs.
Okay. This is totally reproducable. Here are the logs.
Attachments
WinNT No Networking-2022-06-20-08-49-37.zip
(23.31 KiB) Downloaded 7 times
WinNT Networking-2022-06-20-08-49-50.zip
(26.38 KiB) Downloaded 5 times
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

Update: I did one more test.

It turns out that you must have a Network Adapter enabled in Virtualbox, even if you skip installing the network card drivers during Windows NT 4.0 Workstation setup, the seamless mouse integration will work.

So if you install Windows NT 4.0 Workstation with the Network Adapter unchecked, you'll get the issue.

New logs attached for this test. Again, both worked fine here. There is a penalty (issue) for choosing to install this without a network card in virtualbox for some reason.
Attachments
WinNT No Networking-2022-06-20-09-08-22.zip
(25.92 KiB) Downloaded 8 times
WinNT Networking-2022-06-20-09-08-24.zip
(26.48 KiB) Downloaded 6 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 NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by mpack »

At the moment I'm not seeing anything seriously wrong. Perhaps others will. You can go ahead and disable 3D acceleration in the VM - only GAs for Win7 and later allow 3D acceleration.

Why are you using a test build (6.1.35)? You aren't using a Win11 host or guest.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

mpack wrote:At the moment I'm not seeing anything seriously wrong. Perhaps others will. You can go ahead and disable 3D acceleration in the VM - only GAs for Win7 and later allow 3D acceleration.

Why are you using a test build (6.1.35)? You aren't using a Win11 host or guest.
Thanks for replying.

I completely disagree that there is nothing wrong. Guest additions icon isn't even showing up in the system tray when I install Windows NT 4.0 with SP6a and GA when I uncheck the network adapter in Virtualbox.

The reason I am using test builds is because I was having this issue before trying development/test builds. And in fact I do have a Windows 11 and Windows Server 2022 machine in Virtualbox.

I will take your advice, though, and disable 3D acceleration and downgrade to a stable Virtualbox, but I only did all these things because I found a tutorial online that got guest additions to work properly so I followed it. It wasn't until further testing I found out why Guest Additions was getting trucked - all because of that damn Network Adapter checkbox in Virtualbox. I made a forum post here as a last result. I do not want to waste your time; there appears to be something really going on here.

You have to admit that one checkbox (Network Adapter) should not determine whether or not Guest Additions/video driver will work properly in Windows NT 4.0. That is the only difference between the two installs.
Attachments
guestadditions.jpg
guestadditions.jpg (34.84 KiB) Viewed 5917 times
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
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Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by mpack »

nirv wrote: I completely disagree that there is nothing wrong.
I clearly said I didn't see anything wrong. You don't get to disagree with my eyesight.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

mpack wrote:
nirv wrote: I completely disagree that there is nothing wrong.
I clearly said I didn't see anything wrong. You don't get to disagree with my eyesight.
Well excuse me Mr. Vanderbilt. :P
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by fth0 »

nirv wrote:So if you install Windows NT 4.0 Workstation with the Network Adapter unchecked, you'll get the issue.
The timing and order or events during the guest OS startup will be different if the VM has a network adapter or not. I'd guess that we're chasing a timing dependent behavior that is rarely seen in practice because VMs usually have a network adapter.

Regarding the VirtualBox Guest Additions (GA), I noticed several differences between the VBox.log files. The VBoxGuest.sys driver and the XPDM driver are being started in both VMs, but not the rest of the GA (e.g. VBoxService.exe, VBoxTray.exe), and several log messages of the Host-to-Guest Communications Manager (HGCM) are also missing.

I'd like to get a few suspects out of the way:

First of all, run the problematic VM on its own. When running multiple VMs simultaneously, they may influence each other by using common VirtualBox resources.

Second, run the problematic VM on the left half of your display. As a preparation, start the VM, move its windows to the left and shut it down from within the guest OS, so that on the next start it's on the left side from the beginning. The background reason is that large displays may internally work with two (or more) smaller displays, and there could be some unexpected consequences.

Finally, please reproduce the issue and provide a new (zipped) VBox.log file.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

fth0 wrote:
nirv wrote: First of all, run the problematic VM on its own. When running multiple VMs simultaneously, they may influence each other by using common VirtualBox resources.

Second, run the problematic VM on the left half of your display. As a preparation, start the VM, move its windows to the left and shut it down from within the guest OS, so that on the next start it's on the left side from the beginning. The background reason is that large displays may internally work with two (or more) smaller displays, and there could be some unexpected consequences.
Completed.
I followed your instructions and closed the VM out on the left side of the screen as soon as I could (which was before installing GA), and only used one VM at a time. No split-screen.
Same result.

As a bonus, I did the same steps for Windows NT Server 4.0 as well, except that Service Pack 6a was the high encryption 128-bit version (required for server).
This issue has happened with every single NT4.0 version I have tried so far.
Attachments
WinNT Server No Networking-2022-06-21-13-58-45.zip
(23.29 KiB) Downloaded 5 times
WinNT No Networking-2022-06-21-13-50-58.zip
(23.36 KiB) Downloaded 5 times
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by fth0 »

Example of the first relevant differences of the log files from viewtopic.php?f=2&t=106319&p=519686#p519590:
WinNT Networking-2022-06-20-08-49-50.log wrote:
00:00:20.986495 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: RtlQueryRegistryValues failed: 0xc0000034
00:00:20.986529 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found ntoskrnl.exe at 0x80100000 LB 0xdb000
00:00:20.986556 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found hal.dll at 0x80010000 LB 0xcc80
00:00:20.986574 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: guessed 4.0 from PE header
00:00:20.986635 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: Found version info 4.4 build 1381
00:00:20.986684 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxGuest: Windows version 4.0, build 1381

00:00:20.988343 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.1.35 r151866 '6.1.35'
00:00:20.988360 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Interface = 0x00010004 osType = 0x00031000 (Windows NT4, 32-bit)
00:00:20.988413 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x0) seamless: no, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no
00:00:20.988451 VMMDev: vmmDevReqHandler_HeartbeatConfigure: No change (fHeartbeatActive=false)
00:00:20.988460 VMMDev: Heartbeat flatline timer set to trigger after 4 000 000 000 ns
00:00:20.988464 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:20.988473 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=0, Machine-state=5
00:00:20.988482 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state really changed, notifying listeners
00:00:20.988489 GUI: UIMachineViewNormal::adjustGuestScreenSize: Adjust guest-screen size if necessary
00:00:20.988509 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:20.988511 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=0, Machine-state=5
00:00:20.988536 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:20.988539 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=0, Machine-state=5
00:00:20.988643 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x0) seamless: no, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no
00:00:20.988690 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:20.988697 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=0, Machine-state=5

00:00:20.990505 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: RtlQueryRegistryValues failed: 0xc0000034
00:00:20.990536 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found ntoskrnl.exe at 0x80100000 LB 0xdb000
00:00:20.990563 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found hal.dll at 0x80010000 LB 0xcc80
00:00:20.990581 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: guessed 4.0 from PE header
00:00:20.990607 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: Found version info 4.4 build 1381
00:00:20.994148 GUI: Releasing mouse on capabilities lost
00:00:20.996179 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxMP::DriverEntry: VBox XPDM Driver for Windows version 6.1.35r151866, 32 bit; Built Jun 14 2022 21:25:39
00:00:21.001553 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxMP::VBoxDrvFindAdapter: using HGSMI
00:00:21.063523 Display::i_handleDisplayResize: uScreenId=0 pvVRAM=000000000b3b0000 w=640 h=480 bpp=8 cbLine=0x280 flags=0x1 origin=0,0
WinNT No Networking-2022-06-20-08-49-37.log wrote:
00:00:20.252318 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: RtlQueryRegistryValues failed: 0xc0000034
00:00:20.252354 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found ntoskrnl.exe at 0x80100000 LB 0xdb000
00:00:20.252383 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found hal.dll at 0x80010000 LB 0xcc80
00:00:20.252402 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: guessed 4.0 from PE header
00:00:20.252428 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: Found version info 4.4 build 1381
00:00:20.252479 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxGuest: Windows version 4.0, build 1381

00:00:20.254882 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: RtlQueryRegistryValues failed: 0xc0000034
00:00:20.254914 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found ntoskrnl.exe at 0x80100000 LB 0xdb000
00:00:20.254941 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitModuleInfo: Found hal.dll at 0x80010000 LB 0xcc80
00:00:20.254960 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: guessed 4.0 from PE header
00:00:20.254986 VMMDev: Guest Log: rtR0Nt3InitVersion: Found version info 4.4 build 1381
00:00:20.260688 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxMP::DriverEntry: VBox XPDM Driver for Windows version 6.1.35r151866, 32 bit; Built Jun 14 2022 21:25:39
00:00:20.262680 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxMP::VBoxDrvFindAdapter: using HGSMI
00:00:20.315565 Display::i_handleDisplayResize: uScreenId=0 pvVRAM=000000000b530000 w=640 h=480 bpp=8 cbLine=0x280 flags=0x1 origin=0,0
The blue log messages are nearly identical, and the red log messages are missing in case of the problem.
fth0
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Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by fth0 »

Thanks for the new log files, which show the same behavior as the older ones. I'll have to think about what to try next ...
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

Just a followup to this bug, it's still in 7.0.4. I just tested it.
nirv
Posts: 9
Joined: 19. Jun 2022, 20:15

Re: Windows NT 4.0 seamless mouse bug. (Video)

Post by nirv »

2023-02-05 update: still bugged in 7.0.6. New video showing how bad it is.

https://youtu.be/3Igc3XgX4v8?t=568
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