FORCE a resolution...

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
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MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

Hi,

I've been struggling for weeks with this now, and I cannot find a decent answer. The video card that Vbox emulates must report a resolution of the 'display' to the VM.

I'm getting beyond fedup with having to scroll up and down, left and right in ANY Linux distribution I run in Vbox, desktop environment or worse, the CLI, where I have to release the cursor to scroll every 5 seconds.

I am running on a laptop and as such (Windows 7), have a limited vertical resolution. How can I force a resolution GLOBALLY over all the VM's that I run? I use a lot of live images to do certain things, so no, I am not installing the tools every time I boot a read only image. The option in preferences to hint a resolution is useless at best and infuriating at worst. Why isn't there a force option?
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

No one knows?
loukingjr
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Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

The simple answer is VirtualBox is designed to install and run guest OS's. The guest additions add features to installed guests.

It was not designed to do whatever you want it to do with LiveCDs.
OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
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MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

So how do I change the reported resolution of the display?
loukingjr
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Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

If you install the guest additions in an installed guest, pressing the Host+F (Full Screen) key will resize the guest to match your monitor. If you want a different size you can select from the multiple sizes from the View Menu.
OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
There are three groups of people. Those that can count and those that can't.
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

Also, if you had read my post, it does it in all Linux distributions I run on it. Not just live images.

Don't take this personally, but if you don't have an answer that suits the user, don't answer.

It's obvious VBox is at fault here as the resolution changes on boot various times to suit the resolution requested by the boot loader but as it loads, it goes to the resolution set by the resolution of the screen that is set by VBox.

Don't criticise the way I use the software. I have no need to install the tools on any Linux system as the drivers are already present.
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

loukingjr wrote:If you install the guest additions in an installed guest, pressing the Host+F (Full Screen) key will resize the guest to match your monitor. If you want a different size you can select from the multiple sizes from the View Menu.
Those resolutions are greyed out.
loukingjr
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Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

You are more than welcome to use one of the commercial hypervisors. Just be aware they all require installing tools for auto-resizing the guest screen.

good luck.
OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
There are three groups of people. Those that can count and those that can't.
loukingjr
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Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

MrMe01 wrote:Those resolutions are greyed out.
They are greyed out because the guest additions aren't installed.
OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
There are three groups of people. Those that can count and those that can't.
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

loukingjr wrote:You are more than welcome to use one of the commercial hypervisors. Just be aware they all require installing tools for auto-resizing the guest screen.

good luck.
No, wrong answer. There should be an option, regardless of guest side tools, that sets a maximum resolution. I don't need a separate driver or tool on a real system for Linux to know the maximum resolution of the display.
loukingjr
Volunteer
Posts: 8851
Joined: 30. Apr 2009, 09:45
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Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

Well it seems the developers and the nearly 90,000 members of this forum and however many users there are that aren't members of this forum don't seem to feel the same as you do. VirtualBox is however open source so you can always download the source code and modify it to fit your need.
Last edited by loukingjr on 14. Nov 2015, 05:00, edited 1 time in total.
OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
There are three groups of people. Those that can count and those that can't.
loukingjr
Volunteer
Posts: 8851
Joined: 30. Apr 2009, 09:45
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: just about all that run

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by loukingjr »

OSX, Linux and Windows Hosts & Guests
There are three groups of people. Those that can count and those that can't.
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

So, I can change how much video RAM I give the guest, but an option like this isn't possible?
http://s12.postimg.org/sbep0hrt9/VM1.png

This was a live image, booted from ISO, without any tools installed. For kicks, I rebooted this VM with the option set to host settings and it was still a sensible resolution that fitted inside of the resolution of my display. Again, from ISO without any tools running.
MrMe01
Posts: 16
Joined: 31. Oct 2015, 11:55

Re: FORCE a resolution...

Post by MrMe01 »

loukingjr wrote:Maybe this will help…
https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch09. ... 4857611312
Hey, an answer! Still far too complicated, but still, an answer! Thank you :)
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