Guest screen resolution constraint

[LSun]

a few questions. in the VirtualBox settings for your 8.1 guest, are 2D and 3D enabled? your log says you have no 3D support.
is PAE enabled?
this might be a dumb question but, have you ever restarted the guest since you installed the guest additions? your log indicates your guest was suspended.
last question, how did you create your 8.1 guest? did you upgrade a previous W7 or W8 guest? or did you start from scratch? I'm asking because I see you have a snaphot.

I have experimented with turning on and off 2D and 3D video acceleration. They did not seem to make a difference in regards to my screen resolution anomaly. I left it at 2D enabled and 3D disabled, because the latter is still identified as being experimental.
Yes, I have restarted the guest many times. I think the log's mentioning of suspending the VM refers to it being put on pause. I do that routinely, when I am not using the Windows VM, to stop it from consuming any processor resources. The VM was created from scratch, then W8.1 installed into it.
I want to mention that I have a separate Windows-Vista guest on the same host. That was created under VirtualBox 4.2.18, and it acquired the screen resolution limitation only when I updated to 4.3.4. Actually, initially it had all the same resolution choices as under 4.2, but as soon as I chose a lower resolution, then I lose the ability to change back to a higher resolution. Luckily I had a snapshot to go back to and restored the resolution that way, and I left it on full screen mode from then on. I tried that Vista guest again just now under VBox 4.3.10, and it still lets me change resolution in one direction only. The Windows 8.1 guest was created under VBox 4.3.6, and I had the screen resolution limitation with that right from the beginning. What version of VirtualBox are you running?

[LSun]

I would like to report that after downgrading VirtualBox to 4.2.18, limitations on my Windows 8.1 guest screen resolution were lifted. I can now window the guest to any size and have full use of the screen when I go into full-screen mode. By the way, I have not re-installed guest additions, and the guest additions from 4.3.10 so far seems to work alright. Can anyone tell me whether I am giving up anything important of the newer version?

[loukingjr]

I'm running 4.3.10. I can't tell you everything that may have changed. There is a changelog file on the downloads page at virtualbox.org. Your guests will run slower with 3D disabled. Do you use the VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool between updates of VirtualBox? If not perhaps you should, bits of older versions may be left over that shouldn't be.

I'm glad it's working for you, although not quite the way it should be. Next time there is an update to VirtualBox you should try using the tool first to uninstall the last version. If it doesn't work, you can always fall back to an older version.

I forgot to mention, if you shutdown the guest, it won't take up any resources at all.

[LSun]

I never ran VirtualBox_Uninstall.tool before updating, but I tried it just now in restoring 4.3.10, and that didn't help. So, I fell back on 4.2.18 again. Thanks for all your inputs on this matter, loukingjr.

[loukingjr]

You're welcome. I just wish I knew what was going on.

[PSZ]

Hello,

With a Windows 8(.1) guest in windowed mode (as opposed to full-screen), I cannot set the screen resolution to a "wide" setting, e.g., 1280x720. I am constrainted to 4/3 resolution settings – the host has a full HD (1920x1080) monitor, and the guest uses it normally in full-screen mode. As I recall it, I didn't have that constraint with a Win7 guest.

Host: Windows 7 64-bit
Guests: Windows 8 64-bit and Windows 8.1 64-bit. Guest additions are installed.

did you try just dragging the window to a wider size? mine is set to 1920x1080.

Sorry about the delay in answering. Yes, I did try, but while the window is resized, the VM's display remains at the same size, with a black margin between the display's edge and the moved window frame.

[loukingjr]

Hello,

With a Windows 8(.1) guest in windowed mode (as opposed to full-screen), I cannot set the screen resolution to a "wide" setting, e.g., 1280x720. I am constrainted to 4/3 resolution settings – the host has a full HD (1920x1080) monitor, and the guest uses it normally in full-screen mode. As I recall it, I didn't have that constraint with a Win7 guest.

Host: Windows 7 64-bit
Guests: Windows 8 64-bit and Windows 8.1 64-bit. Guest additions are installed.

did you try just dragging the window to a wider size? mine is set to 1920x1080.

Sorry about the delay in answering. Yes, I did try, but while the window is resized, the VM's display remains at the same size, with a black margin between the display's edge and the moved window frame.

It doesn't sound like you have the guest additions installed.

can you attach the compressed vbox.logs for your guests?

[PSZ]

It doesn't sound like you have the guest additions installed.

can you attach the compressed vbox.logs for your guests?

Following your reply, I checked the guest's installed programs list, and I noticed I hadn't updated the guest additions since version 3.16.8. I just did, and now resizing the window works as you described. Sorry about the trouble and thanks for your help

[loukingjr]

It doesn't sound like you have the guest additions installed.

can you attach the compressed vbox.logs for your guests?

Following your reply, I checked the guest's installed programs list, and I noticed I hadn't updated the guest additions since version 3.16.8. I just did, and now resizing the window works as you described. Sorry about the trouble and thanks for your help

It was no trouble and you're welcome.