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[Fixed] vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 20. May 2019, 19:33
by jrc55
host = win 10 home 1809
guest=fedora 30 kde spin
host has 16gb and guest 4gb memory.
cpu=intel 6700

A restored snapshot continues to use the date/time the snapshot was taken. A reboot of the guest corrects the issue. This is new to vb 6.0.8.

If there is something I can do to help let me know.
Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 20. May 2019, 20:38
by socratis
jrc55 wrote: This is new to vb 6.0.8.
So, it works with 6.0.6 for example? And what about other guests? Because F30 is really new. And do you have the GAs installed or not?

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 20. May 2019, 21:19
by jrc55
Works with 6.0.6. The Fedora 30 guest is all I have. This is the 6.0.8 from the virtualbox.org website.

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 20. May 2019, 22:33
by socratis
JC, I had someone else over at IRC (maryo) report a very similar issue with one out of two CentOS7 guests. Note the "one out of two"!

I was promised that they'd try with 6.0.6 or .4, waiting them for them to reply. If they don't have a forums account, I'll see if I can get the logs from them and post them. That would make two similar reports, and I'll see if I can reproduce it myself.

Can you tell me the "recipe" to reproduce this step-by-step? Is it simply a:
  • Start VM, login, do nothing for 10 min, just watch the clock.
  • Close the VM, saving its state. Wait for 10 min.
  • Restart the VM, do nothing for 10 min, just watch the clock misbehave.
And please make clear if you're talking about saved-state, or a snapshot, there's a difference.

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 21. May 2019, 17:52
by jrc55
socratis ... I refer to a snapshot.

1. take a snapshot during an active guest session ( I like to let the session quiesce for a couple of minutes first)
2. wait a few minutes. Your example of ten is good
3. restore snapshot to see the clock "misbehave" :)

I'm curious ... do you know if vbox expects the guest OS itself to reset the clock ... or is there code in the guest-addition that is triggered when the guest is restored?

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 21. May 2019, 18:29
by jrc55
I suppose the issue may be related to the new mitigations that RedHat put out for linux to handle the latest issues with intel CPUs ... aka zombieland. Those mitigations are part of linux 5.0.16 that is on my guest vm.

But it's just a guess at how to explain one of the 2 guests you mentioned.

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 12:30
by klaus
You're clearly talking about online snapshots (taken when the VM is running) - in contrast to snapshots taken when the VM is powered off. Both are snapshots (so your " I refer to a snapshot." by itself doesn't clarify anything), but have very different implications.

The question is if you have complete VirtualBox Guest Additions installed (including the userland parts)... the picture is getting very fuzzy with recent kernels, because the VirtualBox GA kernel modules are now included in the kernel, and they achieve something without having the full userland part active.

The userland code contains the "timesync" service, which makes sure that time of the guest gets adjusted to match the host's time. However, that doesn't happen instantly in all cases. The timesync code works every 10 seconds by default (so if you're unlucky and check quickly after continuing an online snapshot, you'll see time which is off). Also, timesync has 2 cases: if the time difference is small (by default the threshold is 2 minutes), it will be corrected gradually, which can take 30 minutes or more in the extreme case. If the time difference is big then it will be adjusted instantly, showing as a jump forward.

If you don't get this, please check if your guest OS has a process called "VBoxService" - that's what performs a good portion of the GA functionality including the mentioned timesync.

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 15:03
by mpack
jrc55 wrote:A reboot of the guest corrects the issue.
Naturally. Even on a physical PC, usually the only time the OS reads the RTC (real time clock) is during a boot, to detect how much time passed while it was powered down. In normal runtime the system tick keeps track of time, along with occasional network time server accesses (if enabled).

Since you haven't provided a log we can only speculate about the status of your VM, e.g. what (if any) GAs are installed. However I'm willing to bet that nothing has changed across the mentioned versions.

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 18:23
by jrc55
Thanks for your replies.

>please check if your guest OS has a process called "VBoxService"
After the restore of a snapshot it does not. Upon reboot of guest is does. (I'm doing a "ps -ef" to verify this)

I have waited 10 minutes or so after a restore and it does not resync ... which looks likely for considering the missing VBoxService.

I put back an old vbox 6.0.6 version and the problem still exists. Both vbox and it's GA come from the virtuabox website. Which leads me to believe it is related to the new Fedora 30 kde spin (and maybe it's zombieload mitigations?) I am sympathetic to desire to change the title of this topic to use "Fedora 30 kde" instead of "vb 6.0.8".

I had hoped this would have been easy to reproduce without providing a log, but I will look into providing a log.

I have enjoyed using vbox since the days of 3.0 and look forward to using it in the future. It's a good piece of software.

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 18:46
by jrc55
I did another restore snapshot and reboot cycle and the VBoxService was *not* there (using ps -ef ). Which means I likely misread the output of the command the first time. Sorry 'bout that. I need new eyes ... the one's I've got now are getting too old. And maybe I'll get a blue set next time.

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 21:25
by socratis
We need to see a complete VBox.log, from a complete VM run, where the problem occurs:
  • Basic steps:
    • Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state)
    • Take a snapshot, wait a couple of minutes.
    • Restore the snapshot, observe the clock.
    • 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.
Image

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 24. May 2019, 23:33
by jrc55
Attached is the vbox.log

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 25. May 2019, 01:19
by socratis
OK, I realize what's going on, and that not what I wanted, mea culpa. :?

Provided that you haven't run the VM since you grabbed that log, can you ZIP and attach "VBox.log.1" as well? In the Basic steps that I gave you, when restoring the VM forces a cycle of the logs and I need both logs.

In the case that you did run the VM, could you please repeat the Basic steps from above, but this time attach both "VBox.log" and "VBox.log.1"? TIA

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 25. May 2019, 03:59
by jrc55
>mea culpa
If that's your biggest mistake for the day then you've had a good day. :)

One log is from after taking a snapshot and then closing the guest with a "power off the machine" plus a check mark in the "restore current snapshot xxx"

The second log is from after a wait ... and then a restore of the snapshot ... watch the misbehaving clock for a few minutes ... and shutdown.

To add to my woes ... I noticed the shared folders are not working either. That may help someone in diagnosing the issue. Hopefully that is related the date/time problem too ... and we can kill 2 birds with 1 stone.

Thanks,
JC

Re: vb 6.0.8 restored snapshots do not use new date/time

Posted: 10. Jun 2019, 01:01
by jrc55
I installed vbox test version 6.0.9-131183 and it solved my problem.

It may sound cliche but .... vbox just continues to get better and better. :)

Thanks again to socratis, mpack and klaus.