Windows 7 Guest boots to blank screen, screen shows after blindly typing password

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
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cmay
Posts: 2
Joined: 17. Jun 2017, 00:03

Windows 7 Guest boots to blank screen, screen shows after blindly typing password

Post by cmay »

Host: Ubuntu 16.04 64bit 16GB memory
Guest: Windows 7 64bit 8GB memory
VirtualBox Version 5.1.22 r115126 (Qt5.5.1)
I have installed Guest Additions in the Windows 7 Guest

For months now my Windows 7 vm has been booting to a black screen. You do see the Windows logo as it is booting, but after that when it should show the login screen you just see nothing. If i blindly Ctrl-Del and type my password, all is well after that and I can see the screen again. The screen only goes blank at boot and never once logged in. Any ideas anyone? Log attached.

Thanks in advance.
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Windows7-2017-06-16-17-30-11.log.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: Windows 7 Guest boots to blank screen, screen shows after blindly typing password

Post by mpack »

Total guess, but it sounds to me like the VM or Windows is using an invalid default video mode not recognized by the other. It's not until Windows switches screen modes, just before reaching the desktop, that you see anything. The guest OS seems to be alive and well, so it must be something like this. I would consider if you haven't been setting any video mode hints somewhere, particularly if that doesn't match the host.

Also, I'd try disabling 2D and 3D acceleration. If that fixes the problem then add them back one at a time to pinpoint the culprit. If it's this then it's most likely 3D acceleration, and most likely a buggy host OpenGL driver. Just noticed: Ubuntu host. Even more sure now.

Finally, where did this Win7 come from? I notice that it's using .vmdk disks, arguing that this did not start life as a VirtualBox VM.
cmay
Posts: 2
Joined: 17. Jun 2017, 00:03

Re: Windows 7 Guest boots to blank screen, screen shows after blindly typing password

Post by cmay »

I haven't messed with any video mode settings, so not sure what to try changing from your first paragraph.

Both 2D and 3D acceleration are already disabled (never have been enabled) so that is a dead end as well.

This Win7 installation was installed via VirtualBox, it is the original. The reason it's a .vmdk is because I chose it specifically during setup thinking I might switch to VMWare Player but after installation I dropped that idea since VMWare cut out their seamless mode.
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