Display resolution problem on CentOS 6.2 Guest (#17729)

[Mats62]

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[ModEdit; related ticket: #17729: Current GuestAdditions have problems with resolutions on CentOS 6.2 guests]

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Hi all:-)
Issue: Although Guest Additions are installed, the guest screen does not know of any resolution better than 1024x768 and the auto-resize-guest-display is greyed out.

Having followed many different suggestions here and from other sources to resolve the issue, I ended up searching older VB Guest Additions (GAs) since I did not have the problem in a VM I created two years ago: With the 5.0.40 GAs I am able to auto-resize the guest display and/or set resolutions beyond 1024x768. With any newer GAs version I am back to the same problem. This applies to a VM created in earlier VB versions as well as to one created in 5.2.8. I am on a Win7 host.

Is this simply a problem with the newer GuestAdditions or is there some subtlety I am missing?
Thx in advance for any insights + best regards / Mats

[socratis]

We're going to need to see a VM log from a complete VM run:

• Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state) / Observe error / Shutdown the VM (force close it if you have to).
• With the VM completely shut down (not paused or saved), right-click on the VM in the VirtualBox Manager and select "Show Log".
• Save only the first "VBox.log", ZIP it and attach it to your response. See the "Upload attachment" tab below the reply form.

[Mats62]

Hi socratis, thx for quick reply. I will attach a zip file with two sets of logfiles and a text file describing what I did. This is what my problem looks like:

1. VM has 5.2.8 VBoxGuestAdditions: View -> Auto re-size Guest display is greyed out. Only three resolutions are available for selection in the guest. (1024x768 is the largest of those) The guest display's name seems to be "unknown".
2. Use cvt and xrandr to add 1280x1024 as a mode, that is now selectable but can not be applied, says the "graphics adapter".

   [root@centos62 ~]# cvt 1280 1024
   # 1280x1024 59.89 Hz (CVT 1.31M4) hsync: 63.67 kHz; pclk: 109.00 MHz
   Modeline "1280x1024_60.00"  109.00  1280 1368 1496 1712  1024 1027 1034 1063 -hsync +vsync
   [root@centos62 ~]# xrandr --newmode "tryThisOut" 109.00  1280 1368 1496 1712  1024 1027 1034 1063 -hsync +vsync
   [root@centos62 ~]# xrandr --addmode default tryThisOut

   After this the resolution 1280x1024 shows up when opening System -> Preferences -> Display in the CentOS 6.2 Guest. However, when trying to apply it, a window pops up with:

   "The selected configuration for displays could not be applied for CRTC 262"

   After this I collected the first set of log files.
3. De-install 5.2.8 GuestAdditions, install 5.0.40 GuestAdditions. Once the older ones are installed and I have booted again, the View -> auto resize button is no longer grey and I have many resolutions to choose from. Also, at this point the display name in the guest is "VBX", no longer "unknown".

The VM I used was created under 5.2.8 but I can also "break" an older VM by installing any VBoxGuestAdditions newer than 5.0.40.

To me it seems like the newer GuestAdditions are simply broken. thx + rgds / Mats

[socratis]

I merged your attachment with the steps that you took into the main post, there was no reason to have it separately...

From the VBoxHardening.log, even though you have the full Kaspersky suite installed, you get in the last line:

1568.1e0: supR3HardNtChildWaitFor[1]: Quitting: ExitCode=0x0 (rcNtWait=0x0, rcNt1=0x0, rcNt2=0x103, rcNt3=0x103, 293670 ms, the end);

An ExitCode of "0", means "no problem/error", so you do not need to include that log file. Only include it if the ExitCode is non-zero.

From your VBox.log however, you have:

00:00:02.409869 supR3HardenedErrorV: supR3HardenedScreenImage/LdrLoadDll: cached rc=VERR_LDRVI_NOT_SIGNED
         fImage=1 fProtect=0x0 fAccess=0x0 cHits=32 \Device\HarddiskVolume2\Program Files (x86)\
         Stardock\ObjectDock\Dock64.dll

This library/program is being rejected at run-time because it's not signed. You should definitely let them know that their program is not properly signed. I take it that it's not vital to your host's operations. But, you should completely uninstall ObjectDock and see if there's a difference. You never know about the complex interactions between software...

Can you please post a link to the CentOS ISO that you used? I'd like to replicate your problem, if I can...

[socratis]

As a first step, I'd also like to see the output of the GAs installation process, both for 5.0.40 and 5.2.8. Example from a Fedora guest of mine:

Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 5.2.10 Guest Additions for Linux........
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Removing installed version 5.1.26 of VirtualBox Guest Additions...
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel modules.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Running kernel modules will not be replaced until the system is restarted
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: modprobe vboxsf failed <--- This is NOT an actual problem
Press Return to close this window...

Everything passes with flying colors...

[Mats62]

Thx socratis. I am seeing the same thing on my home PC with no ObjectDock software and the person for whom I originally set out to create a VM probably also does not have it. I can't rule it out, of course, but I doubt that is causing the issue. As for the CentOS 6.2 .iso, I am using a local copy on disk that we use internally. I don't know it's origin, to be honest. I will download a .iso from centos.org and re-try. (that will probably be a few days though, since I have a solution to the immediate problem)

I don't see a smoking gun looking at the install transcripts, which may or may not mean anything:

Code: Select all

[root@centos62 VBox_GAs_5.2.8]# ls
32Bit        OS2                       VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64.exe
64Bit        runasroot.sh              VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe
AUTORUN.INF  TRANS.TBL                 VBoxWindowsAdditions-x86.exe
autorun.sh   VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
cert         VBoxSolarisAdditions.pkg
[root@centos62 VBox_GAs_5.2.8]# ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run install
Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 5.2.8 Guest Additions for Linux........
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel modules.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.
You may need to restart the Window System (or just restart the guest system)
to enable the Guest Additions.

[root@centos62 VBox_GAs_5.2.8]# 

Code: Select all

[root@centos62 VBOXADDITIONS_5.0.40_115130]# ls
32Bit        cert                    VBoxSolarisAdditions.pkg
64Bit        OS2                     VBoxWindowsAdditions-amd64.exe
AUTORUN.INF  runasroot.sh            VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe
autorun.sh   VBoxLinuxAdditions.run  VBoxWindowsAdditions-x86.exe
[root@centos62 VBOXADDITIONS_5.0.40_115130]# ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run install
Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 5.0.40 Guest Additions for Linux............
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
Removing existing VirtualBox non-DKMS kernel modules       [  OK  ]
Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel modules
Building the main Guest Additions module                   [  OK  ]
Building the shared folder support module                  [  OK  ]
Building the graphics driver module                        [  OK  ]
Doing non-kernel setup of the Guest Additions              [  OK  ]
Starting the VirtualBox Guest Additions Installing the Window System drivers
Installing X.Org Server 1.10 modules                       [  OK  ]
Setting up the Window System to use the Guest Additions    [  OK  ]
You may need to restart the the Window System (or just restart the guest system)
to enable the Guest Additions.

Installing graphics libraries and desktop services componen[  OK  ]
                                                           [  OK  ]
[root@centos62 VBOXADDITIONS_5.0.40_115130]# 

[socratis]

Cool. Both GAs seem to install fine. There's one thing to resolve:

As for the CentOS 6.2 .iso, I am using a local copy on disk that we use internally. I don't know it's origin, to be honest. I will download a .iso from centos.org and re-try.

[Mats62]

Hi socratis. I downloaded a DVD1 .iso from here:
http://mirror.nsc.liu.se/centos-store/6 ... n-DVD1.iso
and installed a fresh VM selecting the pre-cooked "Desktop" setup. Initially I thought I was fine, only to realize that I still had the 5.0.40 GAs. Removed those and installed 5.2.8 GAs: Problem is back. There are a couple of logfiles in /var/log that seem to pertain to the GAs, particularly the last few lines in vboxadd-setup.log look fishy to me: It does not seem to do a lot of stuff with the graphics, which seems to be my problem... Maybe 5.0.40 is successful in installing graphics but 5.2.8 not. These are the last few lines:

Building the graphics driver module
make: Nothing to be done for `install'.
Creating user for the Guest Additions.
Creating udev rule for the Guest Additions kernel module.
Installing X.Org Server 1.10 modules

I have attached an archive with the two files from /var/log.

[socratis]

• I did download and install the same CentOS that you linked to.
• I did not see any signs of any GAs being installed. The screen was at 1024x768, no higher resolutions available. Full screen left black borders. No sign of any "virtual", "Virtual" "VBox" or anything that I tried. So, I don't know where you see the GAs.
• I took a snapshot so I won't have to repeat the whole thing.
• I inserted the GAs CD, complained about missing building tools (gcc make perl) and the kernel-hearers (2.6.32-220.el6_x86_64). Installed the tools, but the headers are MIA:

  [root@VB-Centos socratis]# uname -r
  2.6.32.220.el6.x86_64
  [root@VB-Centos socratis]# yum install kernel-headers-2.6.32.220.el6.x86_64
  Loaded plugins: fastestmirror, refresh-packagekit, security
  Loading mirror speeds from cached hostfile
   * base: mirror.teknoboss.com.tr
   * extras: repo.boun.edu.tr
   * updates: mirror.teknoboss.com.tr
  Setting up Install Process
  No package kernel-headers-2.6.32.220.el6.x86_64 available.
  Error: Nothing to do

So, I'm pretty much stuck here. Can't upgrade, can't install the headers. Why aren't the headers available for all kernels? Why a half-baked job?


PS. I don't know why it picked .tr over .gr. Sabotage?

[Mats62]

Hi socratis, thanks a lot for your help. (Btw, you're probably right: The .tr broke it
I also installed the GAs manually by inserting the CD, sorry that was not clear.

Pretty weird that it complains about missing components, it did not when I tried. The only explanation I have for that would be that I may have selected some additional packages on top of the "Desktop config" and forgotten to take notice of that fact. If that is the case, I apologize for the confusion.

My next step will be to set up a CentOS 7.2 VM. I am pretty confident that I will be able to use the current GAs version with that and resolutions will be abavailbe. CentOS 7.2 is where our newer software will run. I will still have to use CentOS 6.2 VMs to support customers with older s/w versions but I have a viable workaround with the 5.0.40 GAs. I am unable to drag 'n drop from host to guest, apparently irrespective of which GAs version I use but that's not a big deal. I'm planning to make the 7.2 VM today.

Do you wish to continue looking at this?
If so, I'll make an attempt to provide a "clean procedure" for how to reproduce this.
If not, as stated above, my immediate issue is resolved by using the older GAs version. thx again + BR / Mats

[socratis]

Do you wish to continue looking at this?

If I have some free time this weekend (I have to take a look at about 2000 changesets), maybe, just because it got into my nerves. Not enough to throw everything at it, but enough to have it being tested in the background.

If I find anything, I'll let you know. But definitely don't hold your breath, I might not even work on the issue at all...

[Mats62]

Hi socratis, seems I was not very clear with my question. What I mean is:

1. I am definitely not asking you to look further into this for my benefit, I'm good to go with what I have, thanks:-)
2. If you do want to look at it, I would create a VM, zip and attach it here before installing, then install it, remaining completely local using said .iso and note down the details on how I installed. That way you would be able to look at it with the same "hardware" and software config as I have.

One hunch that may be interesting here is:
To be able to see shared folders, the user in the guest must belong to a specific group, from what I read. (have not yet tried using shared folders so only know about it theoretically) I wonder if a similar mechanism is the difference between older and newer versions of the GAs. This is one thing I will look into later, but that is not likely to happen any time soon.

In case you do want to try and reproduce this, I would try to help by getting you the same environment I am looking at. thx + BR / Mats

[Mats62]

Hi socratis, a short update: Have now installed CentOS 7.2 on a VM. Got an error message installing 5.2.8 GAs, said to look in /var/log/vboxadd-setup.log. Here's the top of it:

Removing existing VirtualBox kernel modules.
Building the main Guest Additions module.
make V=1 CONFIG_MODULE_SIG= -C /lib/modules/3.10.0-327.el7.x86_64/build SUBDIRS=/tmp/vbox.0 SRCROOT=/tmp/vbox.0 -j1 modules
test -e include/generated/autoconf.h -a -e include/config/auto.conf || (		\
echo >&2;							\
echo >&2 "  ERROR: Kernel configuration is invalid.";		\
echo >&2 "         include/generated/autoconf.h or include/config/auto.conf are missing.";\
echo >&2 "         Run 'make oldconfig && make prepare' on kernel src to fix it.";	\
echo >&2 ;							\
/bin/false)
mkdir -p /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions ; rm -f /tmp/vbox.0/.tmp_versions/*

Since the mouse capturing started to work instantly, I just rebooted despite the error. My View -Auto-resize Guest Display is not grey. Unfortunately, for still unknown reasons, my SystemTools have disappeared but I am confident that once I can get to the display settings, I have more resolution now than only the 1024x768.

Seems 5.2.8 GAs are just fine in my CentOS 7.2 installation....

[socratis]

Got an error message installing 5.2.8 GAs

That's not an error message (the passage that you posted). Do you see that it starts with "echo"? Those are statements to print the error. BTW, you'd need to ZIP and attach the whole log to see what's going on...

Seems 5.2.8 GAs are just fine in my CentOS 7.2 installation....

Well, no, according to your previous statement. You can't be getting an error AND the GAs installing "just fine". Doesn't compute...

I would create a VM, zip and attach it here before installing, then install it, remaining completely local using said .iso and note down the details on how I installed
...
In case you do want to try and reproduce this, I would try to help by getting you the same environment I am looking at.

That's not a bad idea, we could compare notes...

[Mats62]

Hi socratis. I did not want to suggest that I was posting the error message. I was speaking about the logfile, logfile, the logfile which said error message wanted me to look at. (as in "it" referring to the most recent thing I mentioned, the logfile)

I also did not state that the GAs seemed to install just fine, I think. What I wanted to express was that they seem to be doing what they should.

At some later point I will attach a zip'd virgin VM, install that same VM my end with the known .iso and you can check if you can see the same issue with your copy.

Have a good weekend, I will not post anything more this week, it seems I am unable to express myself clearly, I apologize for the confusion.