Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
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StarkRays
Posts: 2
Joined: 10. Jul 2022, 19:00

Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by StarkRays »

Hello,
It seems I am not the only one who is facing the issue of VM screen going black after boot. I did check the posts related to this and tried on my own to solve this issue but couldn't. I use Virtualbox on Win11(host OS) and have been using Ubuntu Linux VM without any issues for quite a long time until recently. The specs. are as below:

Ubuntu 20.04(64 bit)/Virtual Box 6.1.34
3GB RAM
Processors 3 CPUs
Paravirtualization Interface: Default
128 MB Video Memory
Graphics Controller: VMSVGA
3D Acceleration: Enabled

VM Log file has been attached.
Attachments
Ubuntu -2022-07-11-00-02-15.zip
Log file
(36.43 KiB) Downloaded 18 times
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by scottgus1 »

RAM is overprovisioned:
00:00:07.747864 Host RAM: 6091MB (5.9GB) total, 2276MB (2.2GB) available
00:00:08.160630 RamSize <integer> = 0x00000000c0000000 (3 221 225 472, 3 072 MB, 3.0 GB)
00:00:08.161218 VRamSize <integer> = 0x0000000008000000 (134 217 728, 128 MB)
The host does not have much RAM left over after Windows takes its share. Try 2GB and start the VM right after you log in on the host, so Virtualbox gets first pick at free RAM.

Guest Additions are too old for 3D Acceleration:
00:00:07.440447 VirtualBox VM 6.1.34 r150636 win.amd64 (Mar 23 2022 00:36:21) release log
00:00:08.161198 3DEnabled <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:08.161212 VMSVGA3dEnabled <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:23.756602 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.0.0 r127566 '6.0.0'
Your host does not have Hyper-V enabled, which is good.

The above might help. Also try the 6.1.35 test build. Save the test build installer until you update again later. You'll need it if your host's MSI installation database goes south (they do) and the installer will not be available for download after the next even-number version gets released.

Also, Ubuntu is known to go blackscreen if there is not enough free disk space to start the desktop environment. This happens in real PCs too. The solution is to log on text-only and delete stuff until the desktop environment can start. Web-search how to fix this in an Ubuntu PC and apply the steps to the VM. Also see How to Resize a Drive
StarkRays
Posts: 2
Joined: 10. Jul 2022, 19:00

Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by StarkRays »

I decreased the allocated RAM to 2GB.
Disabled 3D Acceleration.
Increased the drive size to 30 GB.

But none of the options helped in resolving the issue. The problem is still there.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by scottgus1 »

StarkRays wrote:none of the options
There were a couple more mentioned:
scottgus1 wrote:try the 6.1.35 test build
scottgus1 wrote:Ubuntu is known to go blackscreen if there is not enough free disk space to start the desktop environment. This happens in real PCs too. The solution is to log on text-only and delete stuff until the desktop environment can start. Web-search how to fix this in an Ubuntu PC and apply the steps to the VM.
"None" doesn't appear to apply yet? Or did you forget to mention a few things? :lol:

Also, any changes have to be substantiated with a new vbox.log, so we know the changes stuck.
davidbaumann
Posts: 15
Joined: 22. Dec 2015, 16:02
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Any

Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by davidbaumann »

I just had a black screen issue

Created a new machine as Ubuntu 64 Bit, installed Kubuntu 22.04. After installing the open tools the machine was blank, but I was able to switch to tty2.
Uninstalling the tools and rebooting would fix the issue, until installing the tools again.

Turned out the default vram size is 16M, after changing to 128M it worked

Maybe the default value should be raised. My machine has 2K resolution, maybe no problem with fhd.

David.
Last edited by davidbaumann on 18. Jul 2022, 20:41, edited 1 time in total.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by scottgus1 »

davidbaumann wrote:After installing the open tools
What are these "open tools"?
davidbaumann
Posts: 15
Joined: 22. Dec 2015, 16:02
Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: OSE other
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Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by davidbaumann »

Code: Select all

apt install virtualbox-guest-utils virtualbox-guest-x11
Basically this triggers the resolution to change from 640*480 to a much higher resolution.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
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Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by scottgus1 »

Hmm, doesn't ring a bell to me, though I'm no Linux guru. Sounds like a Linux distro fork of the Guest Additions, normally available in the ISO bundled with official Virtualbox from virtualbox.org. See https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch04. ... ions-linux and prerequisites https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch02. ... nux-prereq

Glad it worked for you, though!
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
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Location: Germany

Re: Ubuntu Linux 20.04 stuck on Black screen with Ubuntu Logo after boot

Post by fth0 »

scottgus1 wrote:Sounds like a Linux distro fork of the Guest Additions
Correct. On a Debian/Ubuntu/Mint guest, those are 2 of the 4 packages comprising the distribution-provided VirtualBox Guest Additions, and they depend on and automatically install the other 2 packages:

Code: Select all

virtualbox-guest-x11 < virtualbox-guest-utils < virtualbox-guest-dkms, virtualbox-guest-source
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