Kali Linux running very slowly.

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
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DocBlock
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Oct 2018, 16:45

Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by DocBlock »

I am trying to run a Kali Linux Virtual Machine through Virtualbox on my Mac, but there are a few problems. First of all each time I boot up the machine it seems to take 4 or 5 minutes to start up, displaying the script:
Shed: RT throttling activated
A start job is running for LSB: thin initscript

Then when the machine finally does load then it runs very slowly, for example when I try to start Firefox it'll take a minute or more to open and then the browser won't respond when I try to click or type anything.
I'll attach a log file of the start up and an image of the machine's settings, hopefully someone can help me out.

[ModEdit; Removed partial VBox.log and picture of the settings]
Last edited by socratis on 15. Oct 2018, 17:33, edited 1 time in total.
Reason: Removed unnecessary attachment, be more "green".
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by socratis »

I removed your two attachments. 1) the VBox.log is a partial one, and 2) the picture of the settings is not necessary if you attach a proper VBox.log... ;)

We need to see a complete VBox.log, from a complete VM run:
  • Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
  • With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
  • Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response. See the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form.
Also, you don't have a "Linux Host", you have an "OSX Host" with a "Linux Guest". Moving to the latter area of the forums...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
DocBlock
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Oct 2018, 16:45

Re: Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by DocBlock »

Here is the amended log file.
Kali Linux 64-2018-10-15-17-15-44.log.zip
(25.73 KiB) Downloaded 37 times
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by mpack »

I rather doubt that "Other Linux" is the correct choice for the template. Try Debian 64bit.

Otherwise, the VM is configured with 800MB RAM and 1 core. You can't expect it to fly. Especially since it also seems to be running as a live CD? CD access is slow and noisy even in the physical world. I'm not a Kali linux user, but I guess that maybe that's just how it's intended to be used, i.e. like a recovery CD.
DocBlock
Posts: 3
Joined: 15. Oct 2018, 16:45

Re: Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by DocBlock »

Thanks for your recommendations, I've changed the template to Debian 64, upped the RAM allocation to 1100MB and changed it from 1 core to 2. As for the running from a live CD, I'm not sure why it says that as I've got the ISO saved on the computer and it's booting from that.

With all the changes made the startup does seem to be loading more quickly, although it still gives the "Shed: RT throttling activated
A start job is running for LSB: thin initscript"
message on startup. Once started up though it's still not performing at a workable speed and freezes completely after trying to open Firefox.

I've attached the new log, are there any more suggestions that might help? Thanks.
Kali Linux 64-2018-10-16-11-08-08.log.zip
(26.73 KiB) Downloaded 28 times
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Kali Linux running very slowly.

Post by mpack »

DocBlock wrote:As for the running from a live CD, I'm not sure why it says that as I've got the ISO saved on the computer and it's booting from that.
An ISO is media for the virtual CD drive in your VM.

I didn't actually suggest that you increase the vCPU count, I only said that it's going to be slow with only one core. The trouble with increasing to two is that two is all you have for both host and guest, so now both host and guest can run slowly. However, I guess you should leave it as it is now.
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