Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Discussions about using Windows guests in VirtualBox.
Dust Signs
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Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by Dust Signs »

Good morning,

I have a Windows XP 32-bit guest running on a Windows 10 64-bit host. With VirtualBox 6.0.12 and VBoxVGA as the graphics adapter type, Direct3D works, as can be seen with dxdiag:
vga.png
vga.png (23.31 KiB) Viewed 49739 times
After changing the adapter type to VBoxSVGA, Direct3D no longer works. Re-installing the guest additions with Direct3D support in safe mode does not change this despite there being no error messages during the installation process:
svga.png
svga.png (24 KiB) Viewed 49739 times
I attached the VBox.log and VBoxHardening.log logfiles for the SVGA configuration - booting, running dxdiag and shutting the machine down.
The extension pack is installed and both, 3-D acceleration and 2-D acceleration, are enabled. I also tried yesterday's beta for 6.1, but without any success.

How can I get Direct3D to work with the SVGA adapter on my XP VM? As far as I understand, version 6.1 will no longer support VBoxVGA. I'll happily upgrade, but Direct3D support is essential for me.

Thanks for your help
Best
Dust Signs
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by multiOS »

From the User Manual Section 3.61 (emphasis mine):
• Graphics Controller: Specifies the graphics adapter type used by the guest VM. Note that you must install the Guest Additions on the guest VM to specify the VBoxSVGA or VMSVGA graphics controller. The following options are available:
  • VBoxSVGA: The default graphics controller for new VMs that use Windows 7 or later. This graphics controller improves performance and 3D support when compared to the
    legacy VBoxVGA option.
  • VBoxVGA: Use this graphics controller for legacy guest OSes. This is the default graphics controller for Windows versions before Windows 7 and for Oracle Solaris.
  • VMSVGA: Use this graphics controller to emulate a VMware SVGA graphics device. This is the default graphics controller for Linux guests.
  • None: Does not emulate a graphics adapter type.
So you should stick with VBoxVGA for XP according to current guidance.
Dust Signs
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by Dust Signs »

Thanks, staying with VGA and 6.0.12 is what I plan on doing in the short term.
However, the changelog for 6.1 Beta 1 (I cannot post the link since "You must be a member for 1 days") makes me worry about being stuck with VGA and 6.0.12 since
Graphics: new style 3D support (with VBoxSVGA and VMSVGA) remains, old style 3D support (with VBoxVGA) has been completely removed
Is there any guidance on what to do once the upcoming release removes VBoxVGA support?

Best
Dust Signs
mpack
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by mpack »

I imagine that VBoxSVGA will become the default for Win2K through Vista as it already is for Win7 and later. Many VirtualBox paying business users will be running XP VMs, so I doubt very much that XP guest support is being abandoned.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by multiOS »

The 6.1 Beta User Guide (currently) states that VGA remains the default for 'legacy' (pre-Windows 7) Windows systems so I don't think there is any need for concern about ongoing support.
Dust Signs
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by Dust Signs »

Thanks. Would it make sense to give feedback for the current Beta stating that SVGA support does not yet work in Windows XP guests?

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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by multiOS »

My opinion: 'No' as it's clearly not currently designed to work with Legacy systems, so shouldn't be expected to work.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by mpack »

multiOS wrote:The 6.1 Beta User Guide (currently) states that VGA remains the default for 'legacy' (pre-Windows 7) Windows systems so I don't think there is any need for concern about ongoing support.
I imagine that will eventually be corrected, since the public notification of the 6.1 beta is pretty emphatic on the subject :-
arudnev (Oracle dev) release notes wrote: * Graphics: new style 3D support (with VBoxSVGA and VMSVGA) remains, old style 3D support (with VBoxVGA) has been completely removed.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by multiOS »

I know I'm being pedantic and time will tell, but arudnev's statement can be read in two ways, the second being that VBoxVGA could remain available for legacy systems, but without 3D support.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by mpack »

Yes, I see what you mean.
tlut
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by tlut »

I'm facing the same problem: I want to run some old code that needs XP as it's a funny mix of hardware accelerated 3D and some no-longer properly supported features of direct draw, so I need a time capsule. My trouble is the same - I've been through all the procedures, installed the drivers, even installed the 2010 DirectX SDK but nothing works.
So, is this broken for good or is somebody going to revisit this at some point and get hardware acceleration working on virtualised XP installations?

Best regards,
Tim.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by socratis »

tlut wrote: So, is this broken for good or is somebody going to revisit this at some point and get hardware acceleration working on virtualised XP installations?
Unless you're a developer, your guess is as good as anyone else's in here...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by mpack »

tlut wrote:even installed the 2010 DirectX SDK but nothing works.
Overwriting the VirtualBox drivers with generic ones will guarantee a fail.

Plus, it isn't clear to me that you are talking about the same thing. The discussion in this topic is whether 3D acceleration - specifically Direct3D - which currently works just fine with the VBoxVGA graphics controller, will continue to work in future VirtualBox versions once everyone is forced to switch to VBoxSVGA.
Dust Signs
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by Dust Signs »

With the 6.1.0 release of VirtualBox yesterday the Direct3D support option cannot even be selected - it is disabled, even when Windows XP is booted in safe mode. It seems that the support has been dropped completely. Does this mean that I need to stay with older (6.0.12) versions now?
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Re: Direct3D does not work on XP guest with SVGA

Post by scottgus1 »

That is almost correct. 3D acceleration with the old VboxVGA video card choice - note no S - is gone in 6.1.#. It's a major security hole.

VboxSVGA has 3D acceleration. You will need to uninstall Guest Additions in the guest, shut down the guest, change the video card to VboxSVGA, turn on 3D acceleration, start the guest (in safe mode with XP), install 6.1.0 Guest Additions with 3D on.

Note that the 6.1.0 manual says:
VBoxSVGA: The default graphics controller for new VMs that use Windows 7 or later.
This graphics controller improves performance and 3D support when compared to the
legacy VBoxVGA option.
VBoxVGA: Use this graphics controller for legacy guest OSes. This is the default
graphics controller for Windows versions before Windows 7 and for Oracle Solaris.
3D acceleration is not supported for this graphics controller.
The "Windows 7" crossover point means that the above switching instructions may still not get 3D in an XP guest.

So you may be stuck on 6.0.#, until and if Oracle's paying customers complain for 3D back in XP.
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