Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
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: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by socratis »

SamH wrote:Is these enough proof that Guest Additions 5.2.10 are causing problems? How can I prove to you that it is not RAM, number of processors etc. but again new Virtual Box Guest Additions causing problems?
Well, as long as another user that uses the 5.2.10 GAs has no problems, then your argument is not valid anymore, right? That user would be me, with an Ubuntu 16.04.1 32-bit guest:
Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 5.2.10 Guest Additions for Linux........
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Removing installed version 5.1.26 of VirtualBox Guest Additions...
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel modules.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Running kernel modules will not be replaced until the system is restarted
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: modprobe vboxsf failed
You may need to restart the Window System (or just restart the guest system)
to enable the Guest Additions.

Press Return to close this window...
and from within the VM (as up-to-date as they come):
socratis@VB-Ubuntu:~$ uname -a
Linux VB-Ubuntu 4.4.0-121-generic #145-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 13 13:46:32 UTC 2018 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux
And for comparison, here's the VM info:

Code: Select all

$ VBoxManage showvminfo Ubuntu
Name:            Ubuntu
Groups:          /
Guest OS:        Ubuntu (32-bit)
UUID:            d1a66d53-bf52-4af5-b326-f3990dfa14ff
Config file:     /Users/Shared/VirtualBox/Machines/Ubuntu/Ubuntu.vbox
Snapshot folder: /Users/Shared/VirtualBox/Machines/Ubuntu/Snapshots
Log folder:      /Users/Shared/VirtualBox/Machines/Ubuntu/Logs
Hardware UUID:   d1a66d53-bf52-4af5-b326-f3990dfa14ff
Memory size:     1536MB
Page Fusion:     off
VRAM size:       128MB
CPU exec cap:    100%
HPET:            off
Chipset:         piix3
Firmware:        BIOS
Number of CPUs:  2
PAE:             on
Long Mode:       on
Triple Fault Reset: off
APIC:            on
X2APIC:          off
CPUID Portability Level: 0
CPUID overrides: None
Boot menu mode:  message and menu
Boot Device (1): DVD
Boot Device (2): HardDisk
Boot Device (3): Not Assigned
Boot Device (4): Not Assigned
ACPI:            on
IOAPIC:          on
BIOS APIC mode:  APIC
Time offset:     0ms
RTC:             UTC
Hardw. virt.ext: on
Nested Paging:   on
Large Pages:     on
VT-x VPID:       on
VT-x unr. exec.: on
Paravirt. Provider: Legacy
Effective Paravirt. Provider: None
State:           powered off (since 2018-04-23T23:44:37.176000000)
Monitor count:   1
3D Acceleration: on
2D Video Acceleration: off
Teleporter Enabled: off
Teleporter Port: 0
Teleporter Address: 
Teleporter Password: 
Tracing Enabled: off
Allow Tracing to Access VM: off
Tracing Configuration: 
Autostart Enabled: off
Autostart Delay: 0
Default Frontend: 
Storage Controller Name (0):            IDE
Storage Controller Type (0):            PIIX4
Storage Controller Instance Number (0): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (0):  2
Storage Controller Port Count (0):      2
Storage Controller Bootable (0):        on
Storage Controller Name (1):            SATA
Storage Controller Type (1):            IntelAhci
Storage Controller Instance Number (1): 0
Storage Controller Max Port Count (1):  30
Storage Controller Port Count (1):      1
Storage Controller Bootable (1):        on
IDE (1, 0): Empty (ejected)
SATA (0, 0): /Users/Shared/VirtualBox/Machines/Ubuntu/Snapshots/{338b3eda-7401-41dd-8a6f-b071851a4439}.vdi (UUID: 338b3eda-7401-41dd-8a6f-b071851a4439)
NIC 1:           MAC: 08002740511A, Attachment: Host-only Interface 'vboxnet0', Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 2:           MAC: 0800275AB635, Attachment: Internal Network 'VBoxIntNetwork', Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 3:           MAC: 080027A87F35, Attachment: NAT Network 'VBoxNATNetwork', Cable connected: on, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 4:           MAC: 08002766D4E4, Attachment: Bridged Interface 'en0: Wi-Fi (AirPort)', Cable connected: off, Trace: off (file: none), Type: 82540EM, Reported speed: 0 Mbps, Boot priority: 0, Promisc Policy: deny, Bandwidth group: none
NIC 5:           disabled
NIC 6:           disabled
NIC 7:           disabled
NIC 8:           disabled
Pointing Device: USB Tablet
Keyboard Device: PS/2 Keyboard
UART 1:          I/O base: 0x03f8, IRQ: 4, disconnected
UART 2:          I/O base: 0x02f8, IRQ: 3, disconnected
UART 3:          disabled
UART 4:          disabled
LPT 1:           disabled
LPT 2:           disabled
Audio:           enabled (Driver: CoreAudio, Controller: AC97, Codec: STAC9700)
Audio playback:  enabled
Audio capture: enabled
Clipboard Mode:  Bidirectional
Drag and drop Mode: Bidirectional
VRDE:            disabled
USB:             disabled
EHCI:            disabled
XHCI:            enabled

USB Device Filters:

Index:            0
Active:           no
Name:             Joystick: Logitech Attack 3
VendorId:         046d
ProductId:        c214
Revision:         0205
Manufacturer:     
Product:          
Remote:           0
Serial Number:    

Bandwidth groups:  <none>

Shared folders:  

Name: 'ReadWrite', Host path: '/Users/Shared/VirtualBox/ReadWrite' (machine mapping), writable
Name: 'Shared', Host path: '/Users/Shared' (machine mapping), readonly

Capturing:          not active
Capture audio:      not active
Capture screens:    0
Capture file:       /Users/Shared/VirtualBox/Machines/Ubuntu/Ubuntu.webm
Capture dimensions: 1024x768
Capture rate:       512 kbps
Capture FPS:        25
Capture options:    

Description:
Ubuntu 16.04.1

Guest:

Configured memory balloon size:      0 MB

Snapshots:

   Name: 5.1.26-2017.07.28 (UUID: a6351cd0-43cc-4d9a-92fa-2329a5f9eabc) *

Do yourself a favor and compare my "VBoxManage showvminfo" output with yours. Adjust your settings accordingly.

Alternatively, download a fresh 16.04 ISO and create a second VM, accepting the default settings (I mean that last part). And then try to remove the GAs that come with Ubuntu and install the 5.2.10 GAs that come with your VirtualBox installation. Please let me know if it fails...
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.
SamH
Posts: 38
Joined: 13. Feb 2015, 13:57

Re: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by SamH »

Thank you for your input.

I "solved" the problem until next upgrade/update of VirtualBox Guest additions. The problem will re emerge at that point, I am sure, since it happened on last two occasions (now and here https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/17467). I am back operating on "huge" RAM settings and "high" CPU numbers running smoothly. ;)

The "cure" (managing the symptoms) was the same as in https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/17467 . I needed to reinstall(!) last Linux kernel. And then reinstall VirtualBox Guest Additions 5.2.10. And it worked... Just re-installation of VirtualBox Guest Additions did not do the trick. Why re-installation of Linux kernel was a prerequisite to have it working? I have no idea.

What is the underlying cause and how to make it extinct I have no idea. It did, however, only came to surface on last two occasions of VirtualBox Guest Additions upgrade.

Any hints? Thanks.
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: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by socratis »

SamH wrote:Why re-installation of Linux kernel was a prerequisite to have it working?
I don't know what you've done with your VM/guest, but that is definitely not a prerequisite. You remember that Ubuntu VM of mine that worked successfully? Well, I first updated the 5.1.26 additions, and then I updated the kernel. The kernel that Ubuntu was running when I installed the 5.2.10 GAs was:
socratis@VB-Ubuntu:~$ uname -a
Linux VB-Ubuntu 4.4.0-87-generic #110-Ubuntu SMP Tue Jul 18 12:54:58 UTC 2017 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux
GAs got installed and then the system updated to:
socratis@VB-Ubuntu:~$ uname -a
Linux VB-Ubuntu 4.4.0-121-generic #145-Ubuntu SMP Fri Apr 13 13:46:32 UTC 2018 i686 i686 i686 GNU/Linux
I have a snapshot of this VM, called "5.1.26-2017.07.28" (VirtualBoxVersion-DateOfSnapshot), so I can do this all day if needed. I don't think the outcome will change... ;)

Since you reference ticket #17467, I didn't see too much fuss about having the kernel up to date. What I *did* notice however was a plea by "Michael" that fell on deaf ears (seems to be spreading):
Could you please try reproducing this with a freshly installed guest? I have a suspicion that there may be a problem with the guest itself, and reproducing as I said would disprove my suspicion.
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.
calang
Posts: 2
Joined: 24. Apr 2018, 19:22

Re: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by calang »

I tested with a fresh installation of the ubuntu desktop 16.04 and the issue definitely shows up right after installing virtualbox-guest-utils and virtualbox-guest-x11.

Furthermore, I purged those two packages (virtualbox-guest-utils and virtualbox-guest-x11) from the system that had stopped booting the GUI and it came back to work just fine - althought (of course) extensions like clipboard copy and pasting doesn't work any more across host/guest.
Last edited by calang on 24. Apr 2018, 19:46, edited 1 time in total.
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: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by socratis »

And who exactly told you to install those competing/incompatible packages? Are you trying to destroy your VM on purpose?!?!?
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.
calang
Posts: 2
Joined: 24. Apr 2018, 19:22

Re: Ubuntu 16.04 guest fails to start after upgrade to VirtualBox 5.2.10 (#17707)

Post by calang »

Who told me to "install those competing/incompatible packages"?
(virtualbox-guest-utils and virtualbox-guest-x11, I suppose you mean)

Fair question, to be sure.
They were installed in my system as part of my regular checking (and manual update) of packages to be updated.
I didn't realize they were incompatible - so thanks for the additional info, that I realize I more than likely should have known.

While I don't deny I should have paid more attention to VB release notes and installation instructions - for sure - all I have done, historically, is follow the default installation options. So I wonder if there is some automated installed option that might lead one into unknowingly have those two installed at the same time, as it happened to me.

I will look deeper into the documentation now and try to select installing only the one I should be using; then see if that solves my problem and hopefully some others' as well.
:)

EDIT: after purging all virtualbox guest packages from my Linux guest, I reinstalled the guest utils from the original .iso image. All went well from there and my system is back all-well. Could it be more people than me had at some point wrongly installed the guest packages (as it very much seems i did)? :D
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