3D stopped working in guest after host hardware upgrade

[UnitedWallabies]

My host -- running Windows 10 -- got upgraded today. The harddrive was moved into a new machine with faster processors and more RAM. There were neither software nor configuration changes.

My FreeBSD guest (8GB RAM, 32-bit with PAE enabled) came up almost as before. The X11-server started up and so did the window manager (XFCE4) and a couple of xterms. However, some other programs (including gvim) would not start complaining:

OpenGL Warning: Failed to connect to host. Make sure 3D acceleration is enabled for this VM.

In an attempt to resolve this error I:

• upgraded the Virtual Box itself (from 5.x) to 6.0.10 -- including the "Extension Pack" -- on the host
• I then also upgraded the "OSE additions" inside the guest (from 5.2.30 to 5.2.32).

Nothing helped...

How do I fix this problem? Thanks!

[andyp73]

We will need to see the VBox.log file from the guest in question to see what it thinks is going on with the 3D acceleration. Boot the guest, make sure the problem occurs then shut the guest down (by force if necessary). zip the log file and post it using the upload attachment option.

-Andy.

[UnitedWallabies]

Thanks, Andrew. Here is a ZIP with two such logs...

[socratis]

upgraded the Virtual Box itself (from 5.x) to 6.0.10 ... I then also upgraded the "OSE additions" inside the guest (from 5.2.30 to 5.2.32)

00:00:01.327131 File system of 'C:\VBox\VBoxGuestAdditions.iso' (DVD) is ntfs

Do not download the Guest Additions (GAs) separately, they're bundled with the main program. With the VM window having the focus, go to the host's menu "Devices" » "Insert Guest Additions CD Image...".

00:00:01.474788 NumCPUs <integer> = 0x0000000000000004 (4)
00:00:02.377172 CPUM: Physical host cores: 4

You have assigned all your CPUs to the VM. The host is going to run low on resources, since VirtualBox cares about physical processors (cores), not logical ones (threads). See "CPU Cores versus threads" and "Why is it a bad idea to allocate as many VCPUs as there are physical CPUs?".

00:00:01.474857   ICH9 <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)

Any particular reason why you decided to override the template defaults, and go with an unsupported, experimental, OSX-guests-only option? Please change it back to the default PIIX3. Do not change the defaults unless you know what you're getting into.

00:00:02.378555     Host path 'C:\', map name 'C_DRIVE', writable, automount=false, automntpnt=, create_symlinks=false, missing=false

Are you sure you want to give your host's hard drive read-write access?

[UnitedWallabies]

None of the parameters flagged by @socratis have changed since the happy days, when 3D worked well enough for all X11-clients to start.

Can we, please, go back to my original topic -- what could've broken the functionality and how do I regain it?

[andyp73]

Can we, please, go back to my original topic -- what could've broken the functionality and how do I regain it?

If there aren't any FreeBSD guest additions specifically targeting VirtualBox 6.0.x then I would downgrade back to 5.2.32. There are significant changes between 5.2.xx and 6.0.x and I wouldn't expect the two to work together.

New host machine could also mean new host GPU with different drivers. For any 3D support to work in the guest then you need OpenGL to be working properly on the host. Sometimes host GPU drivers are problematic. Do you have the latest version installed?

00:00:01.472101   3DEnabled        <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:01.472105   VMSVGA3dEnabled  <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:01.472106   VMSVGAEnabled    <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)

If this were a guest that had been created using VirtualBox 5.2.xx I wouldn't expect to see these settings in the log file as they are related to the VMSVGA vGPU that wasn't easily accessible until 6.0.x came along. Can you switch it back to VBoxVGA and see if that restores the functionality.

-Andy.

[UnitedWallabies]

The changes I made:

• Upgrade of the Virtual Box hosting software (from 5.x to 6.x);
• Switching the VGA emulation mode (from VBoxVGA to whatever);
• Upgrade of the guest additions inside the guest

were all after the 3D stopped working... Thus, even if I roll them back, it is unlikely to work...

Yes, the new machine may have a different video card, but I'm accessing it via Remote Desktop anyway...

[fth0]

If I had your problem, I would do the following to simplify the scenario again:

1. Verify that OpenGL is working correctly on your new host by using a program (on your Windows 10 host ) that uses OpenGL.
2. Uninstall VirtualBox 6.0.10 (your VMs are not uninstalled by this process) and install VirtualBox 5.2.32 and the corresponding VirtualBox Extension Pack. This step is intended to get rid of new and improved bugs VirtualBox 6.0.10 may have.
3. Remove the VM from the VirtualBox GUI without removing the files. Create a new VM, using a copy of the virtual hard disk of your old VM. This step is intended to get rid of settings in the VM configuration file (*.vbox) that have been made by VirtualBox 6.0.10.
4. Start the VM, and if the problem persists, post the VBox.log file.

[mpack]

Create a new VM, using a copy of the virtual hard disk of your old VM

Be sure that the VM doesn't use snapshots and isn't a linked clone, before you try that.