No graphics for VM

[vladdu]

Hi,

I am running VB 5.1.14 on Win10 insider (the latest right now 15xxx, but it was like this for several releases) and my Ubuntu VM starts all right but the window is black. The minipreview in the VB window shows the right content and clicking around works (programs start, windows open). When trying to shut down and the confirmation dialog appears, the big window shows the Ubuntu desktop contents, but if canceling itremains just as a static image.

I have even tried with the latest VB 5.1.15, with the same result. My NVidia drivers are the latest. Everything else works fine.

Has anyone any suggestion about what might be wrong?

best regards,
Vlad

[socratis]

15xxx, but it was like this for several releases

Seriously? 15xxx? Would it kill you to plug the actual numbers of your build? And "several releases" means more than 2, but definitely less than 16000 (you're on build 15xxx). So, when did you start noticing that exactly?

Have you updated the Guest Additions (GAs) in your Ubuntu? With the VM shut down completely (not paused or saved), right-click on the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log". Save the first "VBox.log" only, ZIP it and attach it in your response (see the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form).

[vladdu]

Sorry for the lack of details, I'm not on my machine at home. I was hoping that somebody has had a similar issue and has an answer, making the exact numbers less relevant.

Will attach all details.

[socratis]

There are a lot of graphics issues and the details are really important to be able to pinpoint the culprit. Looking forward to the details.

[vladdu]

Ok, so I am currently using Win10 build 15031. I'm not sure when this started to happen, as I had a period when I didn't use VB. There were a lot of problems in build 14926 and 14931, and I remember I got it working after that. So a reasonable guess is that something happened around build 15000. Guest additions are updated to the matching version. I am attaching the VBox.log.

Actually, I tries something that I should have done earlier: I inserted the ubuntu DVD and started from it. The "Try Ubuntu" desktop displays all right... I don't really want to reinstall, but I think this means that something is wrong with the VM, not with VB and so I will do that. Will return here with the results.

[vladdu]

Hmmm, the new installation worked fine, until I installed the guest additions. Then the same problem occured. I will try some more, to see if it was a coincidence or not.

[vladdu]

Yes, I can reproduce this every time: install guest additions -> black screen; remove guest additions -> normal screen.

I am currently using 5.1.15, will try with the stable version (but since I had the black screen then too, I am almost certain the result will be the same)

[socratis]

Try to disable 3D acceleration.

[socratis]

Plus, I just saw the following in your log:

00:00:36.996784 supR3HardenedErrorV: supR3HardenedScreenImage/LdrLoadDll:
    rc=VERR_CR_PKCS7_KEY_USAGE_MISMATCH fImage=1 fProtect=0x0 fAccess=0x0
    \Device\HarddiskVolume3\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0cc477a6fec64d8c\nvwgf2umx.dll:
    WinVerifyTrust failed with hrc=CERT_E_CHAINING on
    '\Device\HarddiskVolume3\Windows\System32\DriverStore\FileRepository\nv_dispi.inf_amd64_0cc477a6fec64d8c\nvwgf2umx.dll'

Some DLLs from your NVidia graphics card are being rejected for not being properly signed. Since this doesn't happen at the beginning of the run, it might be something that's not basic, i.e. not the core graphics driver. It might be an additional piece of software that comes with the drivers that "enhances the user experience", but messes with VirtualBox.

[vladdu]

YES! That helps! Thanks!

Don't I need that though to get good UI performance?

[socratis]

Don't I need that though to get good UI performance?

It depends on your definition. Most modern OSes use 3D accelerated graphics, mostly for fancy stuff. If you resolve the problem with your NVidia drivers/helpers, you might be able to re-enable 3D acceleration again.

[vladdu]

Thank you very much!