Debian window TOO small and blinking cursor only

[wxmod]

Hi,

I am building a VirtualBox Linux emulator instance using Debian-9.8.0, 64 bit. My host system is a MacBook Pro (macOS High Sierra). After the last query from VBox regarding the setup (for example, I picked GNOME to be added), it "boots" into a really tiny window (1" x 2"). And all I see is a blinking cursor inside the window. When I try to manually expand the window, I just get a big white window, with the tiny black terminal staying the same size. It is totally useless. This is my first time trying to build a VBox instance on MacOS. (Not that it's really relevant, but I'm somewhat shocked after having things go perfectly running a VBox Debian Linux instance on Windows OS.)

The VBox.log shows (if it is of any use):

00:47:17.202982 GUI: UIDesktopWidgetWatchdog::sltHandleHostScreenWorkAreaResized: Screen 0 work area is formally resized to: 0x23 x 1680x964

Did I somehow foul things up on setup?

TIA,
wxmod

UPDATE: I went to Settings -> Display -> Screen -> Scale Factor -> 300%
This gave me a bigger guest terminal window, but it still just has a blinking cursor and does not boot all the way up to a login prompt. If anybody has any ideas, please let me know. Thanks!!

[socratis]

I went to Settings -> Display -> Screen -> Scale Factor -> 300%

Make that 200%. It's more appropriate based on your OSX settings. I assume that you have chosen the "More Space" option in the OSX System Preferences » Display.

The VBox.log shows (if it is of any use):

Partial (actually one line) logs are not useful. We need to see a complete VBox.log, from a complete VM run, where the problem occurs:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe problem / 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.

Moving to "Linux Guests" from "OSX Hosts". The problem is in setting up your Guest, not something wrong with your Host.