Fresh Windows 10 Pro 21H2 Install Display Settings stuck between 800x600 or 1024x768

[EdLudwig]

I used to use VirtualBox quite a bit, and then my job changed, but now I'm back. It used to work beautifully, I could have any resolution I wanted just by dragging and change the size of the Window. That isn't working at all anymore.

The Guest Additions have been installed.

Is there away to fix this? Because this product is pretty much useless right now.

[scottgus1]

In the VM's View menu, make sure that Auto Resize Guest Display is checked.

If that doesn't help, start the VM from full normal shutdown, not save-state. Run until you see the problem happen, then shut down the VM from within the VM's OS if possible. If not possible, close the Virtualbox window for the VM with the Power Off option set.

Right-click the VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show Log. Save the far left tab's log, zip it, and post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab.

[EdLudwig]

Auto Resized is checked, but greyed out in the menu. I can't seem to add a bridged network either.

Here is the Zip of the log.

[scottgus1]

Though Guest Additions are installed:

00:00:16.223053 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.1.36 r152435 '6.1.36'

it appears that the GAs did not engage:

00:00:16.225493 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x0) seamless: no, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no

Please uninstall them, reboot the VM, then reinstall the GAs, looking carefully for any error messages.

If they reinstall and the host reboots but the VM window does not auto-resize as it should, please post another log.

[fth0]

FWIW, this is one of the cases where VBoxService.exe could be started, but VBoxTray.exe could not. To give an example from one of my own log files for comparison:

00:00:09.840561 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 6.1.36 r152435 '6.1.36'
00:00:09.840719 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x0) seamless: no, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no
00:00:09.841688 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x0) seamless: no, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no

00:00:10.312633 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxMP::DriverEntry: VBox WDDM Driver for Windows 8+ version 6.1.36r152435 rel, 64 bit; Built Jul 19 2022 22:14:42
00:00:11.934136 Display::i_handleDisplayResize: uScreenId=0 pvVRAM=000000010e70a000 w=1920 h=1200 bpp=32 cbLine=0x1E00 flags=0x1 origin=0,0

00:00:13.455475 VMMDev: Guest Log: 07:19:40.000520 main     VBoxService 6.1.36 r152435 (verbosity: 0) win.amd64 (Jul 19 2022 22:14:40) release log
00:00:40.352906 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x0 -> 0x1) seamless: yes, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: no

00:00:40.354250 VMMDev: Guest Log: Service 'seamless' started
[...]
00:00:40.415468 VMMDev: Guest Log: All services started
00:00:40.435776 VMMDev: Guest Additions capability report: (0x1 -> 0x5) seamless: yes, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: yes

Short explanation of a few details:

The four blocks of log messages shown above roughly correspond to VBoxGuest.sys, VBoxWddm.sys, VBoxService.exe and VBoxTray.exe. After the WDDM driver has been started, the display changes to its final resolution with a black screen displayed, and only the 4th capability report indicates where the screen contents are being displayed.

When the VirtualBox services (not to be confused with VBoxService.exe) cannot be started, this usually corresponds to VBoxTray.exe not being started, but I don't know the background reason for that.

[EdLudwig]

Still no dice. I added the latest log file.

[EdLudwig]

By the way, VBoxTray.exe is alive and visible in the System Tray.

[scottgus1]

I'll have to leave the Guest Additions diagnoses to fth0 and the other gurus, but I'd recommend that the VM be given two processors, especially now that 3D acceleration is being used, and Hyper-V is enabled on the host.

[fth0]

VBoxTray.exe is alive and visible in the System Tray.

Yes, and you may have seen that your new VBox.log file confirms that. But the services are only started after two minutes of runtime, which may be related to VirtualBox having to use Microsoft's Hyper-V hypervisor ...

[fth0]

I'll have to leave the Guest Additions diagnoses to fth0

FWIW, I'd prefer to have Hyper-V out of the way first.

[scottgus1]

It would be curious if Hyper-V interfered at this level...

EdLudwig, please put two processors in the VM, then see if the graphics work correctly. If they still don't, please turn off Hyper-V, see HMR3Init: Attempting fall back to NEM (Hyper-V is active).