Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

Host: Windows 10 Pro 21H2, Vbox 6.1.34 (the free version, no Extension Pack) , 64 bit, 32 GB RAM
Guest: Windows 7 + Guest Additions v6.1.34 , 64 bit, 2 GB RAM

When I open the Devices menu in a running VM window, and then move down to the first menu item ("Optical Drives"), instead of showing the submenu, it just freezes for a few seconds. The entire window. Then, it does display the submenu.

I noticed this happening (on some virtual machines, not necessarily all) years ago.

Today, this freeze was followed by an error dialog and VM crash.

The dialog was:

Code: Select all

---------------------------
VirtualBoxVM: VirtualBoxVM.exe - Application Error
---------------------------
The instruction at 0x0000000064198A90 referenced memory at 0x0000000000000008. The memory could not be read.


Click on OK to terminate the program
---------------------------
OK   
---------------------------
After clicking OK, the VM window disappeared.

The logs are attached.
Attachments
Logs.zip
(88.28 KiB) Downloaded 7 times
Whiskeyjack
Oracle Corporation
Posts: 122
Joined: 28. Aug 2017, 13:14

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by Whiskeyjack »

Does this happen all the time or time to time? Can you give us some reliable reproduction scenario?
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

Not sure. I tried it with the few VMs I have on my PC, and it happens with all of them (that is 1 from the original report and two more, so 3 total).

On VM 2 ("or") it was about 4 seconds freeze.

On VM 3 ("sic") it was 7 seconds.
Then I tried it again on VM 3 , it froze again for 7 seconds and then threw the exact same error dialog as before in the first post. And the VM crashed/closed after clicking OK.

Here is a pic of the menu contents, when they appear:
VM_OD_menu.png
VM_OD_menu.png (17.54 KiB) Viewed 3081 times
At that moment, the VM had the Guest Additions ISO mounted.

So:
- the optical drives menu causing a temporary freeze: I have been seeing this for years
- it seems to happen with all virtual machines I have on my current PC
- if done several times it triggers a crash

Not sure what triggers it. You say you don't see this at all?
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

I tried on another PC, running Windows 8.1, and it is the same:
Opening the OD submenu takes several seconds. But not crashes there.

The pattern is so:
- try to open the "Optical Drives" submenu
- freezes for some seconds (sometimes 1-2, sometimes up to 8)
- unfreeze, work normal
- open it again: works normal (no delay or freeze)
- wait 30 or so seconds
- try again: now it freezes again
- repeat...
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

The only idea I have is that I may have used an ISO image stored on a network shared folder in the past, and now that server is inaccessible. Causing a delay when my PC is trying to contact it.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by mpack »

When this has happened before it has been for one of two reasons, neither being what I'd consider a bug in VirtualBox :-
  1. Presence of some third party virtual drive software, e.g. a blue tooth device enumerator e.g. for storage on your phone. They have been known to hang or just take a long time.
  2. In a similar vein, if an ISO file was previously taken from a network drive, and that network drive is no longer available.
In both cases VirtualBox is simply asking for a standard host (Windows) file selection dialog, and it's the host dialog that takes a while to appear.
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

I don't see any file selection dialog appearing. Not even when there is no delay.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by scottgus1 »

Please run the following commands in your host Command Prompt:

cd "C:\Program Files\Oracle\Virtualbox"
vboxmanage list dvds


Post the full output of the command here in the forum.
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

Code: Select all

C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox>vboxmanage list dvds
UUID:           93943d8e-3124-4eac-9dba-8f4ff634d712
State:          locked read
Type:           readonly
Location:       C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxGuestAdditions.iso
Storage format: RAW
Capacity:       58 MBytes
Encryption:     disabled
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

Additional note:

The submenu does not show the Ubuntu ISO as id did before (on the previous screenshot). Not sure why, I did not change anything related.

But the delay is still here.
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

Additional info:

- I mounted an ISO file (from local host SSD)
- later unmounted it (Remove disk from virtual drive)
- after that, opening the Optical Drives submenu shows that ISO in the list
- then I renamed the ISO file on disk
- the Optical Drives submenu does not list it any more

The point is that before I had the mentioned ubuntu ISO in the submenu all the time. So it was probably available. Otherwise VB would remove it?

So the delay is not due to an unavailable ISO file that was remembered, but is not available any more.
Or maybe the file was unavailable, but VB did not remove it from the menu for some reason...

Anyway, I still get the 3-6 second delay whenever opening the Optical Drives submenu.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by scottgus1 »

Thanks for the command output, and sorry for the delay getting back.

I note that your issue seems to be the flyout menu from Optical Drives is delaying. So it may be the we've not got to the request for the host system selection dialog box yet, for that's another click away. It seems that some issue is happening when developing the menu contents.

The list of iso's shown in the menu appear to be the iso's previously chosen in the host system selection dialog box that is brought up when "Choose a Disk Image" gets clicked, or when "Choose/Create a Disk Image" brings up the mini Virtual Media Manager and an iso is chosen. Your screenshot above shows only the Ubuntu iso, then you report hat the Ubuntu iso no longer shows. Your command output only shows the GAs iso. The Ubuntu iso may no longer show if you logged in on a different account. You'd have to do some manual stuff you'd remember doing to Virtualbox config files or the Virtual Media Manager to get the Ubuntu iso to disappear in your usual account.

One thing we can try is to look at Virtualbox's config files for any unregistered iso's.

Please reboot your host so no Virtualbox processes are running.
Go to {home}/.config/virtualbox, Virtualbox, and copy "Virtualbox.xml" to your desktop.
Open Virtualbox. Right-click each VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/File Manager. Copy the VM's .vbox file (not the .vbox-prev file) to the desktop. (Configure your host OS to show all extensions if the folder that opens does not show a .vbox file.)
Zip the desktop copies of Virtualbox.xml and all the .vbox files, and post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab.
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by fth0 »

scottgus1 wrote:Go to {home}/.config/virtualbox, Virtualbox, and copy "Virtualbox.xml" to your desktop.
I think the OP has a Windows host, so better look for C:\Users\<username>\.VirtualBox\VirtualBox.xml. ;)

FWIW, you can open this menu from different locations: (a) the VM window's Device > Optical Drives menu, (b) the VM window's DVD icon in the status bar (right click), and (c) in the VM configuration Storage dialog when selecting the DVD drive on the left pane and then the DVD icon on the right pane. Does the delay occur in all of the three locations? Does it occur in the VM configuration dialog while the VM is not running?
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by scottgus1 »

fth0 wrote:I think the OP has a Windows host
:lol: What on earth made me think it was Linux?! I had a good night's sleep too...
xerces8foo
Posts: 99
Joined: 3. May 2014, 16:44

Re: Optical Drives menu hangs, leading to VB crash

Post by xerces8foo »

fth0 wrote: FWIW, you can open this menu from different locations: (a) the VM window's Device > Optical Drives menu, (b) the VM window's DVD icon in the status bar (right click), and (c) in the VM configuration Storage dialog when selecting the DVD drive on the left pane and then the DVD icon on the right pane. Does the delay occur in all of the three locations? Does it occur in the VM configuration dialog while the VM is not running?
a) delay occurs
b) delay occurs
c) opened form VM window: delay occurs
c) opened from VM Manager window (while VM is running): delay occurs

> Does it occur in the VM configuration dialog while the VM is not running?
Yes.

I'll send the files later.
Post Reply