Host keys & other funcs cause abort instead of working

[Astara]

I've tried various host-key combos, but many of them like right-control-C abort the window. When I brought up the menu, in-window, w/ right-Ctrl-Home, (thus sorta affirming that R-Ctl was the host key), I tried changing display from the menu -- w/display--- and that aborted the vm as well.

Not sure what I'm doing wrong. FWIW, just got VB installed today and got network running for 1st time (running
WinXP64 -- want to try running the win-search app to index my linux server's local hard disk so it can come up in Windows
searches). One key, and the gui is all messed up ... sigh.

tnx,
A*a

[scottgus1]

Right-Ctrl is the default "Host" key. They call it the "Host" Key because you can change the key used from Right-Ctrl if you want or need to. See the main Virtualbox window, File menu, Preferences, Input. The first tab "Virtualbox Manager" shows the active keyboard shorcuts when Crtl and a key are pushed while the main window is active. The second tab "Virtual Machine" shows the active guest keyboard shortcuts when the Host key and another key are pressed while a guest is the active window. See if any key combinations you are using do something you're not expecting them to do.

Host-C is supposed to put the guest into Scaled mode, and should make the guest com back out into regular mode again. The menu does disappear when the guest is in scaled mode. Host-Home is supposed to show a floating pop-up menu with the ability to click on the View Menu then Scaled mode to undo scaled and go back to Regular.

Are you saying that the Host-C combination crashes the guest? if so, exactly what happens?

[Astara]

Right-Ctrl is the default "Host" key. They call it the "Host" Key because you can change the key used from Right-Ctrl if you want or need to. See the main Virtualbox window, File menu, Preferences, Input. The first tab "Virtualbox Manager" shows the active keyboard shorcuts when Crtl and a key are pushed while the main window is active. The second tab "Virtual Machine" shows the active guest keyboard shortcuts when the Host key and another key are pressed while a guest is the active window. See if any key combinations you are using do something you're not expecting them to do.

If the menu line was at the top of the screen, that might be easier -- but I can access it through RCTRL-HOME -- as I mentioned,
the fact that RCTRL-HOME worked to bring up a pop-up menu, was indication that RCTRL was the "Host" key.

Host-C is supposed to put the guest into Scaled mode, and should make the guest com back out into regular mode again. The menu does disappear when the guest is in scaled mode. Host-Home is supposed to show a floating pop-up menu with the ability to click on the View Menu then Scaled mode to undo scaled and go back to Regular.

Yeah -- it doesn't do that for me.

Are you saying that the Host-C combination crashes the guest? if so, exactly what happens?

In the VirtualBox Manager UI, it says the VM was 'aborted' -- which doesn't seem to indicate "crash" to me.
Same happens if I press Host-H. Host-Del doesn't do anything (expected CtrAltDel dialogue). I haven't
remapped any of the keys. Selecting host-h from the popup-menu does the same thing.

AhHa! host-C from the Menu reset Scaled mode -- so the menu is back.

I don't know why host-C from the keyboard aborted the machine. I'd be more interested in that if I didn't
have other issues (I'd been working from a remote-desktop session).

If the problem returns and the menu option doesn't work, I'll look into it more then and post here..

Thanks!
A*a

[scottgus1]

So both Host-C and Host-H make the guest show "aborted" in the main Virtualbox window? Interesting.

A bit of diagnostic info may help:

Please shut down the guest from within the guest OS and wait for the window to disappear. Hopefully the main Virtualbox window will show the guest as Powered Off.

Now start the guest and boot the guest OS fully. Then type Host-C. Wait for the guest window to disappear, then post the log for that guest as a zip file.

If the guest now shows "Aborted", restart the guest and shut it down nicely from within the guest OS again, so the guest shows "Powered Off" again.

Now restart the guest once again, wait for it to fully boot, then type Host-H. Wait for the guest window to disappear, then post the log again, as a zip file.

Please name the zip files showing which host-key combo was used for each log.

[Astara]

So both Host-C and Host-H make the guest show "aborted" in the main Virtualbox window? Interesting.

A bit of diagnostic info may help:

Please shut down the guest from within the guest OS and wait for the window to disappear. Hopefully the main Virtualbox window will show the guest as Powered Off.

Shows aborted unfortunately.

Now start the guest and boot the guest OS fully. Then type Host-C. Wait for the guest window to disappear, then post the log for that guest as a zip file.

Aborted again.
Mercury.Zip attached.
... will send more after this...

[Astara]

So both Host-C and Host-H make the guest show "aborted" in the main Virtualbox window? Interesting.
If the guest now shows "Aborted", restart the guest and shut it down nicely from within the guest OS again, so the guest shows "Powered Off" again.

The guest shows aborted again after this stage as well. I am able to "reboot", from within the guest, but a shutdown from the login menu "aborts" the machine.

So I can't give you a log coming from a 'shutdown' state.
Anything else I can give you?

[scottgus1]

Thanks for the log! I looked into it but I'm not sure what else to do on this one. I suspect this is more a host problem than a guest problem, and the Linux guys are more familiar with how to diagnose on a Linux host. I would change the first post's subject to indicate that this is a Linux host to draw their attention so they can help, possibly moving this thread to a Linuxy location.

[socratis]

Since this thing started as a mis-configuration of keys and this seems to be resolved, I would simply start a new thread, with an appropriate title, in the appropriate place. Something like "Host-C, Host-H abort VM" in the Linux Hosts board. Otherwise it's going to be confusing.

[Astara]

Since this thing started as a mis-configuration of keys and this seems to be resolved, I would simply start a new thread, with an appropriate title, in the appropriate place. Something like "Host-C, Host-H abort VM" in the Linux Hosts board. Otherwise it's going to be confusing.

There was no mis-configuration of keys -- I couldn't get the the menu back by pressing the Host keys because instead of switching display modes, it caused the VM to abort. Where do you get that it was a key-misconfig?

It started out as help to restore the window -- because I thought I wasn't using the correct options to restore the window menu (the host keys) -- but I was using the right keys, its just that they aren't doing the right thing... I was able to switch out of the seamless mode I was in by manually selecting the normal option from the pop-up menu that I got by pressing Host-HOME. That it was working told me I had the right Host key -- but that it wasn't working via keypresses, but aborted instead, is why I posed the question in the first place.

[socratis]

I'm sorry but the first paragraph of your post and subsequent posts were talking about keys. And then the title? Nobody is going to read that and figure out the problem. My suggestion is to abandon this thread (way too polluted) and start a new one with a proper title in the Linux Hosts board.

[Astara]

I'm sorry but the first paragraph of your post and subsequent posts were talking about keys. And then the title? Nobody is going to read that and figure out the problem. My suggestion is to abandon this thread (way too polluted) and start a new one with a proper title in the Linux Hosts board.

Ahh... I see...

For now, am going back to an earlier snapshot... that at least suspends. Seems like the host keys do something other than abort, as well -- seem to be functioning "normally"? Hmmm... Seems like something in the guest was causing problems -- though with all the aborts, some unclean shutdown might have made whatever problem that was happening, worse.

If problem returns will start new topic -- thanks for the help (it led me to the steps that fixed things that I might not have tried for until some later time, otherwise).