SOLVED: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
Jack21
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SOLVED: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

System info:
Host: Linux Mint 20.1
Virtualbox: 6.1.18 r142142 (Qt5.12.8 )
GA: 6.1.18
Guest VM's: Three vanilla Arch installs, two with Cinnamon DE, one with Mate. Two Debian installs (one LMDE and one straight Debian with "non free drivers")

Hello all. I'm not sure if I should even be posting this here as I'm not sure it's a Virtualbox issue or an Arch kernel problem. But here goes:

As of late (the last three weeks or so) I've been having issues when booting into one of my Arch VM's using Cinnamon DE. In Settings > Display when I choose VMSVGA as the graphics controller but do NOT check the "Enable 3D Acceleration" box, I can boot into the system but Cinnamon desktop will complain of running in software rendering mode...of course this is expected behaviour. When exiting the VM, going back into Settings and checking the 3D Acceleration box, upon booting I get to the LightDM display manager ok and type my password to enter. Once in, I am greeted with a blank (all white) screen with on the Cinnamon panel visible at the bottom. Trying to even clic on the terminal icon produces no result (that is, you can see it flash but there is nothing on the display). So I have to shutdown the VM using VB shutdown command from the menu.

Looking at the log files from both the successful bootup (ie, software rendering mode) and the failed attempt (ie, with 3D box checked), I can see error messages complaining about the graphics environment from the fail. For example:

VMSVGA3d: cap[9]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {S23E8_TEXTURES}
VMSVGA3d: cap[10]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {S10E5_TEXTURES}
VMSVGA3d: cap[18]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {MAX_SHADER_TEXTURES}
VMSVGA3d: cap[62]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {MISSING62}
VMSVGA3d: cap[82]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {SURFACEFMT_BC4_UNORM}
VMSVGA3d: cap[83]=failed rc=VERR_INVALID_PARAMETER! {SURFACEFMT_BC5_UNORM}

FWIW this is happening on only my newest Arch-Cinnamon install, plus the errors appear in my Arch-Mate install as well. I deleted the VM and did a fresh Arch install again with Cinnamon, and same problem. However, I don't have this issue with an Arch-Cinnamon VM install from some months back (yes, it is regularly updated), or with either of my Debian-based installs. I'm just wondering out loud if this is an Arch kernel issue? I've attached my log file if that's any help at all. Thank you all for any insight you can provide.
Attachments
VB_Arch_with_cinnamon_fail_2021-04-04-11-22-13.log.zip
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Last edited by Jack21 on 21. Oct 2021, 18:05, edited 1 time in total.
mpack
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by mpack »

00:00:07.566459 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.0.0 r127566 '6.0.0'
Not the ideal choice when running VirtualBox 6.1.18.
00:00:00.786022 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL version: 4.6 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 20.2.6
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL Vendor: X.Org
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL Renderer: Radeon RX 580 Series (POLARIS10, DRM 3.35.0, 5.4.0-70-generic, LLVM 11.0.0)
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL shader language version: 4.60
That looks like your host is configured to use a software OpenGL (Mesa). However I'm not certain about that - I don't understand why the reference to Radeon immediately after.
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

mpack wrote:
00:00:07.566459 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.0.0 r127566 '6.0.0'
Not the ideal choice when running VirtualBox 6.1.18.
I don't understand this. The other day I completely uninstalled Virtualbox 6.16 from my host, removed all the extension packs, and then downloaded and installed Virtualbox v6.18 directly from the Oracle site. I then installed the Extension pack directly as well. I then pulled up the VM in question, went to Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image, and then updated them. It clearly says "VBox_GAs_6.1.18." As the program runs and you watch it building in the console, it says the same. However, when I Right-CTRL-N, under Runtime Information it says Guest Additions 6.0.0 r127566. I'm at a complete loss as to what's going on here.
00:00:00.786022 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL version: 4.6 (Compatibility Profile) Mesa 20.2.6
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL Vendor: X.Org
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL Renderer: Radeon RX 580 Series (POLARIS10, DRM 3.35.0, 5.4.0-70-generic, LLVM 11.0.0)
00:00:00.786023 VMSVGA3d: OpenGL shader language version: 4.60
That looks like your host is configured to use a software OpenGL (Mesa). However I'm not certain about that - I don't understand why the reference to Radeon immediately after.
Well the card in my host is a Radeon 580. Isn't it just reporting that?
Last edited by Jack21 on 4. Apr 2021, 19:47, edited 3 times in total.
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

FWIW, I also have the failing capabilities in the VBox.log files for a Linux guest with working 3D acceleration, so they might be irrelevant.
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

You have installed the VirtualBox Guest Additions 6.1.18, but probably you've ignored error messages during the installation. Did you install the Linux kernel headers matching your running kernel? Repeat the installation and note any complaints in the shell building the VirtualBox kernel modules.
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

fth0 wrote:FWIW, I also have the failing capabilities in the VBox.log files for a Linux guest with working 3D acceleration, so they might be irrelevant.
Agreed. I checked the logs of ALL my VM's, and they all have the same error listed (if I have the 3D acceleration box checked, that is). I'm officially very confused. :?
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

fth0 wrote:You have installed the VirtualBox Guest Additions 6.1.18, but probably you've ignored error messages during the installation. Did you install the Linux kernel headers matching your running kernel? Repeat the installation and note any complaints in the shell building the VirtualBox kernel modules.
Yes. Headers for both the Host and Guest machines are installed and correct. I just reinstalled the GA to the problematic VM in my OP, and here is the output (sorry to be so pedantic here):

Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 6.1.18 Guest Additions for Linux........
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Removing installed version 6.1.18 of VirtualBox Guest Additions...
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel
modules. This may take a while.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: To build modules for other installed kernels, run
VirtualBox Guest Additions: /sbin/rcvboxadd quicksetup <version>
VirtualBox Guest Additions: or
VirtualBox Guest Additions: /sbin/rcvboxadd quicksetup all
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Running kernel modules will not be replaced until
the system is restarted
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

Jack21 wrote:sorry to be so pedantic here
No problem, let's get even more pedantic: :)

If you've verified that after the repeated installation and a shutdown and power on(*) of the guest, the log message with the "Version 6.0.0" is still generated anew, execute the following commands in the guest:

Code: Select all

uname -a
lsmod | grep -i vbox
find /lib/modules -name "vbox*"
modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name vboxguest.ko)
(*) The "shutdown and power on" of the guest will start a new VBox.log file (in contrast to a reboot).
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

If you've verified that after the repeated installation and a shutdown and power on(*) of the guest, the log message with the "Version 6.0.0" is still generated anew, execute the following commands in the guest:

Code: Select all

uname -a
lsmod | grep -i vbox
find /lib/modules -name "vbox*"
modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name vboxguest.ko)
(*) The "shutdown and power on" of the guest will start a new VBox.log file (in contrast to a reboot).
Ok, here's the output from all commands:
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
[john@johnarch ~]$ uname -a
Linux johnarch 5.10.27-1-lts #1 SMP Tue, 30 Mar 2021 13:22:29 +0000 x86_64 GNU/Linux
[john@johnarch ~]$ lsmod | grep -i vbox
vboxvideo 32768 0
drm_vram_helper 24576 1 vboxvideo
drm_kms_helper 278528 3 vmwgfx,drm_vram_helper,vboxvideo
vboxsf 40960 0
vboxguest 49152 6 vboxsf
drm 569344 8 vmwgfx,drm_kms_helper,drm_vram_helper,vboxvideo,drm_ttm_helper,ttm
[john@johnarch ~]$ find /lib/modules -name "vbox*"
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/fs/vboxsf
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/fs/vboxsf/vboxsf.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/vboxvideo
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/vboxvideo/vboxvideo.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest/vboxguest.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/fs/vboxsf
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/uapi/linux/vboxguest.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/uapi/linux/vbox_err.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/uapi/linux/vbox_vmmdev_types.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/linux/vbox_utils.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/config/vboxguest.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/config/vboxsf
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/include/config/drm/vboxvideo.h
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/drivers/gpu/drm/vboxvideo
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/build/drivers/virt/vboxguest
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/misc/vboxsf.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/misc/vboxvideo.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/misc/vboxguest.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/fs/vboxsf
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/fs/vboxsf/vboxsf.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/vboxvideo
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/drivers/gpu/drm/vboxvideo/vboxvideo.ko.xz
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest
/lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest/vboxguest.ko.xz
[john@johnarch ~]$ modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name vboxguest.ko)
modinfo: ERROR: missing module or filename.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

Coming from the Debian/Ubuntu/Mint world, I didn't encounter compressed kernel modules before, so the last command was inappropriate. Please use the following command instead:

Code: Select all

modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name "vboxguest.ko*")
The modules with "/kernel/" in their path are the Arch supplied ones, and the modules with "/misc/" in their path are the ones compiled during the installation of the VirtualBox Guest Additions. If the output will show the different versions as I expect, you'll have to find out why the Arch supplied module is used instead of the VirtualBox supplied one. As a workaround, it may suffice to rename the Arch supplied module, to keep it from being used.
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

fth0 wrote:Coming from the Debian/Ubuntu/Mint world, I didn't encounter compressed kernel modules before, so the last command was inappropriate. Please use the following command instead:

Code: Select all

modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name "vboxguest.ko*")
The modules with "/kernel/" in their path are the Arch supplied ones, and the modules with "/misc/" in their path are the ones compiled during the installation of the VirtualBox Guest Additions. If the output will show the different versions as I expect, you'll have to find out why the Arch supplied module is used instead of the VirtualBox supplied one. As a workaround, it may suffice to rename the Arch supplied module, to keep it from being used.
Ok, here's the output (I have not included all the sig hex characters for brevity):

[john@johnarch ~]$ modinfo $(find /lib/modules -name "vboxguest.ko*")
filename: /lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest/vboxguest.ko.xz
license: GPL
description: Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions for Linux Module
author: Oracle Corporation
srcversion: 59B45E9C40EF8E9469ADBCA
alias: pci:v000080EEd0000CAFEsv00000000sd00000000bc*sc*i*
depends:
retpoline: Y
intree: Y
name: vboxguest
vermagic: 5.10.27-1-lts SMP mod_unload
sig_id: PKCS#7
signer: Build time autogenerated kernel key
sig_key: 5E:FB:AC:22:38:C0:3F:C8:D4:46:B2:3C:2F:C6:E3:C4:24:04:04:7D
sig_hashalgo: sha512
signature:
filename: /lib/modules/5.10.27-1-lts/misc/vboxguest.ko.xz
version: 6.1.18 r142142
license: GPL
description: Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions for Linux Module
author: Oracle Corporation
srcversion: F9C13656AD022DE93292167
alias: pci:v000080EEd0000CAFEsv00000000sd00000000bc*sc*i*
depends:
retpoline: Y
name: vboxguest
vermagic: 5.10.27-1-lts SMP mod_unload
filename: /lib/modules/5.11.11-arch1-1/kernel/drivers/virt/vboxguest/vboxguest.ko.xz
license: GPL
description: Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions for Linux Module
author: Oracle Corporation
srcversion: 59B45E9C40EF8E9469ADBCA
alias: pci:v000080EEd0000CAFEsv00000000sd00000000bc*sc*i*
depends:
retpoline: Y
intree: Y
name: vboxguest
vermagic: 5.11.11-arch1-1 SMP preempt mod_unload
sig_id: PKCS#7
signer: Build time autogenerated kernel key
sig_key: 35:78:81:5C:E7:55:BC:19:90:71:73:A7:8F:AE:DE:2E:97:B3:88:2D
sig_hashalgo: sha512
signature:
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

Whereas the VirtualBox supplied vboxguest.ko.xz module contains a version attribute, the Arch supplied ones do not. I don't know if this is because they are version 6.0.0, or if this is an Arch specialty. For comparison, in my Linux Mint 20 guests, the Mint supplied vboxguest.ko shows version "6.1.16_Ubuntu r140961", that's why I can't draw any conclusions.

I've discovered that in my Linux Mint 20 guests, the precedence of the two vboxguest.ko modules is controlled by a file name /etc/depmod.d/vboxvideo-upstream.conf. Perhaps this knowledge can help you in your research how duplicate modules are handled in Arch Linux. Please tell us what you discover ...

PS: If I find some spare time in the coming days, what would I have to do to replicate your Arch Linux VM as close as possible?
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

fth0 wrote:Whereas the VirtualBox supplied vboxguest.ko.xz module contains a version attribute, the Arch supplied ones do not. I don't know if this is because they are version 6.0.0, or if this is an Arch specialty. For comparison, in my Linux Mint 20 guests, the Mint supplied vboxguest.ko shows version "6.1.16_Ubuntu r140961", that's why I can't draw any conclusions.
I've discovered that in my Linux Mint 20 guests, the precedence of the two vboxguest.ko modules is controlled by a file name /etc/depmod.d/vboxvideo-upstream.conf. Perhaps this knowledge can help you in your research how duplicate modules are handled in Arch Linux. Please tell us what you discover ...
Thanks for all your help so far. You know, over the last few days I've probably done 20 different Arch installs to VM's trying to sort out the problem. I can't, and am therefore giving up for now in the hopes that both the VB devs and the Arch devs will someday sort it out. I've been paying more attention to the ArchWiki and although helpful, clearly the problem goes back a few years now and has not been solved:

https://wiki.archlinux.org/index.php/Vi ... as_a_guest
https://bugs.archlinux.org/task/49752

So I'm calling it quits for the moment, as I've got other things to do, a business to run, a nagging wife who won't leave me tf alone, and kids that need attention. :|
PS: If I find some spare time in the coming days, what would I have to do to replicate your Arch Linux VM as close as possible?
Sure, if you're up to it for curiosity's sake and want to invest the time. I can DM a list of the packages I used during the pacstrap part, the "base packages" part, and the "cinnamon package" part if you wish, or I could direct you to some install scripts I setup for myself over at Gitlab (it just makes repeated Arch installs much faster for me). Or I can post here. Just let me know.
fth0
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by fth0 »

I visited the Arch Linux links you posted, and (without judging it) the contents look quite outdated, still writing about the obsoleted VirtualBox versions 4.3.x and 5.2.x, so I'll ignore them for now.

I'd rather analyze a VM having the problem. You can send me a PM with information about how to create a VM (supposedly) exhibiting the problem as easy as possible and as close as necessary. No promises, though. ;)

PS: Family and work should have priority, of course. :)
Jack21
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Re: Strange issue with Arch installs and Cinnamon DE; software rendering mode only

Post by Jack21 »

fth0 wrote:I visited the Arch Linux links you posted, and (without judging it) the contents look quite outdated, still writing about the obsoleted VirtualBox versions 4.3.x and 5.2.x, so I'll ignore them for now.

I'd rather analyze a VM having the problem. You can send me a PM with information about how to create a VM (supposedly) exhibiting the problem as easy as possible and as close as necessary. No promises, though. ;)
Ok then. How do you want it? Are you familiar with an Arch install? If yes, that means I can just send you a list of packages I installed and the order I did it. If not, I would then need to send you a "How To" step by step guide, starting once you've booted into the Arch live environment. You probably would like to see what settings I used when creating the VM itself, no? Let me know.
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