Guest freezing frequently

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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omnivision
Posts: 2
Joined: 18. Jun 2010, 00:13
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Vista 32

Guest freezing frequently

Post by omnivision »

I'm running VirtualBox 3.2.4 on a Windows 7 x64 host - Xeon X3440 with 8GB of RAM.

I have a Windows Vista 32 guest (assigned 1 CPU, 1.5GB RAM) which frequently freezes for 30-60 seconds.It doesn't seem to freeze when idle, only when I'm doing things. I can still move the mouse cursor when it freezes, but can't do anything and video doesn't update. When it freezes, I get the following in the VirtualBox logs:

00:01:42.516 Guest Log: VBOXNP: DLL loaded.
00:01:43.123 Guest Log: VBOXNP: DLL loaded.
00:01:43.902 Guest Log: VBOXNP: DLL loaded.
00:01:44.119 Guest Log: VBOXNP: DLL loaded.
00:01:45.968 Guest Log: VBoxTray: 3.2.4 r62467 started.
00:01:45.991 Guest Additions capability report: (0x5) seamless: yes, hostWindowMapping: no, graphics: yes
00:02:18.111 Guest Log: VBOXNP: DLL unloaded.
00:06:49.330 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:06:49.341 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 59 seconds
00:06:49.365 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 32 seconds
00:09:41.846 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:09:41.857 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 59 seconds
00:09:41.868 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 37 seconds
00:10:59.826 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:10:59.844 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 46 seconds
00:12:38.831 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:12:38.843 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 56 seconds
00:18:37.332 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:20:36.331 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 60 seconds
00:20:36.350 AsyncCompletion: Task completed after 55 seconds

I should note that I also have a Ubuntu guest which doesn't exhibit the freezing issue.

Can anyone suggest a solution to this problem? The Vista guest is unusable in it's current state of frequent freezing. Thanks.
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Re: Guest freezing frequently

Post by Sasquatch »

Sounds like a problem with the async feature they added for writing VDI files. Do you have I/O Cache enabled or disabled? Try the other setting than what you have now.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
omnivision
Posts: 2
Joined: 18. Jun 2010, 00:13
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Vista 32

Re: Guest freezing frequently

Post by omnivision »

Thanks Sasquatch. I disabled host I/O caching and I haven't been able to recreate the problem in 5 minutes of hard testing (it was very easy to create the problem before). I won't get a chance to use the Guest VM for an extended period for another couple days, but so far so good. Thanks again.
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