virtualbox.org

Hello,
I am trying to resolve very annoying screen flickering problem in a case of Windows 100 guest on recent version of VirtualBox 5.2.8. From this forum I learned, that this problem is relatively common and still no solution or workaround is known. The same problem is on both platforms (Linux and Windows Host).

The Windows 10 is currently supported OS, so I think , that flickering problems should be eliminated as soon as possible. But I am afraid, that this problem is out of scope VirtualBox developers.

- Is there any solution officially recommended by VirtualBox developers?
- Is that clear reason of this problem?
- When will be this problem solved?

Current state of Windows 10 guest is not acceptable, because flickering is so intensive in some cases, that is nearly impossible to work with.

This sounds more likely to be a host graphics driver problem (opengl).

Please post a VM log file. With the VM fully shut down, right click and "Show Log" in the GUI, save "VBox.log" (no other file) to a zip, and attach the zip here.

See attached log file from Linux host (Ubuntu 16.04) .

mpack wrote:This sounds more likely to be a host graphics driver problem (opengl).

I have the same (!!!) problem with the same Windows 10 guest on Windows10 and Linux (Ubuntu 16.04) Host!!!

Thanks for the log. I see nothing wrong with your VM configuration.

What happens if you disable 2D and 3D acceleration? If that has an affect, then what happens if you only enable 2D acceleration? Or only 3D?

I see that the host graphics drivers are by NVidia. Normally I regard NVidia drivers as very trustworthy (at least on Windows hosts), but it may be worth checking whether updates are available.

VirtualBox VM 5.2.8 r121009 linux.amd64 (Feb 26 2018 16:52:29) release log
00:00:00.907312 OpenGL Info: Render SPU: GL_VENDOR:   NVIDIA Corporation

Ticket #13653: VBox > 4.3.14 has flicker / slow redrawing of UI elements (regression).

There is a run-time, set-an-environment-variable, fix available. Give it a shot and if it works, leave a comment in the ticket and here so we can "close" this.

mpack wrote: What happens if you disable 2D and 3D acceleration? If that has an affect, then what happens if you only enable 2D acceleration? Or only 3D?

Turn on 2D + Turn off 3D acceleration the solve problem completely. Another possible combination of 2D and 3D acceleration with Turn on 3D does not solve this problem.

socratis wrote:

VirtualBox VM 5.2.8 r121009 linux.amd64 (Feb 26 2018 16:52:29) release log
00:00:00.907312 OpenGL Info: Render SPU: GL_VENDOR:   NVIDIA Corporation

There is a run-time, set-an-environment-variable, fix available. Give it a shot and if it works, leave a comment in the ticket and here so we can "close" this.

Does not work at all in my specific case. The only way how to eliminate flickering is: turn off 3D acceleration at VirtualBox guest settings

Do you need 3D acceleration? I.e. are you running 3D modelling packages inside the VM? If yes then you might want to try the solution mentioned in the ticket which Socratis referenced. Specifically, on the HOST you would set an environment variable "CR_RENDER_FORCE_PRESENT_MAIN_THREAD" with value "0". You set this variable in "This PC | Properties | Advanced System Settings | Advanced | Environment Variables | New...". I guess you'd set this as a system variable though I doubt it matters much as long as you only ever log is as the same user.

What is the recommended way how to apply the set environment fix on Linux host (Ubuntu 16.04)?

Ah, for some reason I thought you had a WIn10 host as well as a Win10 guest. Ok, I'll leave discussion of Linux hosts for others.

I must have been thinking of a different conversation.

Thanks for fix, but ...

1. I still see any minor problems (icon rendering is not perfortmed well, for example) on Linux host
2. why is this problem still (after 3 years!!!) unsolved in VirtualBox releases???

michalk.kvasnicka wrote: 2. why is this problem still (after 3 years!!!) unsolved in VirtualBox releases???

This is a user to user discussion forum. If you want questions like that answered then you'd need to to sell your house, buy a support contract, and ask Oracle.

All we can do around here is accept the situation as it is and find the best way to use it.

These type of questions are restricted here? So, I am sorry!

The windows 10 guest on Linux host is officially supported by VirtualBox 5.2.8, so I am a bit disappointed, that the problem like this is so common and unsolved during 3(!!!) years.

michalk.kvasnicka wrote:These type of questions are restricted here? So, I am sorry!

Nobody said the question was restricted, just pointless. We cannot answer Oracle developer questions since we are not VirtualBox developers and nor do we work for Oracle. If you want Oracle to answer your questions then you need to approach them (not us) and buy a support contract.