Visual Issue

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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RetroGaming
Posts: 5
Joined: 4. May 2018, 05:31

Visual Issue

Post by RetroGaming »

I hope this is the right place to ask this. Currently, trying to run an old game on my VirtualBox, and encountering this strange problem (attaching image). The main menu works perfectly fine as one centered screen, but as soon as you start, I always get this. Can't get around it. Any thoughts? Thanks so much.
Attachments
VirtualBox_Windows XP_03_05_2018_23_29_01.png
VirtualBox_Windows XP_03_05_2018_23_29_01.png (37.83 KiB) Viewed 1665 times
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Visual Issue

Post by socratis »

Programs like games have strict requirements for the graphics card (GPU) specifications. Virtual machines will never be as powerful as the host, especially on the video side. They use after all a virtual graphics card, not your host's real graphics card. Applications that have high requirements on the GPU (drawing, 3D, games, video) are expected to not work as good as on the real hardware, if they work at all.

You only option is to pretty much wait for improved graphics support. I have no clue when this will happen, or if it will happen at all.

Having said that, we're going to need a complete VBox.log, from a complete VM run:
  • Gathering the necessary information:
    1. Start the VM from cold-boot (not from a paused or saved state).
    2. Observe the error, i.e. launch the game, observe the graphics corruption.
    3. 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.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Visual Issue

Post by mpack »

It looks like the game may be configured for interlaced video. In any case a mismatch between the display modes which the VM is capable of delivering, and the display mode currently required/configured by the game.
RetroGaming
Posts: 5
Joined: 4. May 2018, 05:31

Re: Visual Issue

Post by RetroGaming »

Attempting to do as requested. Attaching a zip of a VM run with the problem.
Attachments
Windows XP-2018-05-04-14-08-35.zip
(26.88 KiB) Downloaded 6 times
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Visual Issue

Post by socratis »

00:00:12.001346 GUI: 2D video acceleration is disabled
And so is the 3D acceleration. Shutdown the VM and enable them in the VM settings » Display. Then re-install the GAs in the guest in Safe Mode. Speaking of additions...
VirtualBox VM 5.2.8 r121009 win.amd64 (Feb 26 2018 15:44:39) release log
00:00:21.850121 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 5.1.36 r122416 '5.1.36'
You hadn't updated them to match the main VirtualBox program. The previous step instructions will take care of that. But even before that...
00:00:07.769458 VRamSize <integer> = 0x0000000001000000 (16 777 216, 16 MB)
That needs to go up, quite up. Either 128 or 256 MB. It's at the same place where you're going to change the 2D/3D acceleration, so do them both at the same time.

So, in summary, not only was your "graphics" sub-par for the game, they were sub-par for the built-in Minesweeper ;):
  • Enable 2D/3D acceleration.
  • Increase the VRAM to 128 or 256 MB
  • Re-install the GAs, in safe mode (keep smashing the F8 during boot to get in the Safe Mode menu).
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
RetroGaming
Posts: 5
Joined: 4. May 2018, 05:31

Re: Visual Issue

Post by RetroGaming »

Can you explain what GA is? Sorry, I'm not great with this stuff, although my IT guy had no idea what that meant either, lol. I have fixed the other settings. Thanks so much for the help! Have to pump this up over minesweeper lol.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Visual Issue

Post by socratis »

Oops... Sorry about that! :shock:
It's the Guest Additions, or GAs for short ;).
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
RetroGaming
Posts: 5
Joined: 4. May 2018, 05:31

Re: Visual Issue

Post by RetroGaming »

Any advice for getting safe mode to successfully work? I've tried 10 different times and all different speeds and durations of hitting F8 and it always starts up normally.
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Visual Issue

Post by socratis »

Hmm... There could be. Search for it in the webs. I've never had it not succeed (well, maybe a couple of times at the beginning until I got the hang of it), but the idea is that, as soon as you launch the VM and the window pops up, you click on the window. You know where it's going yo appear approximately, so you going for the ambush! And then you start play piano with the F8 key. Like Sergei Vasilyevich Rachmaninoff! :D

If it doesn't work, rinse and repeat...

PS: yes, we've asked for the delay in the "BIOS" to be longer, or at least customizable. There was a good reason for not doing it, but it escapes me at the moment...
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
Joined: 4. Sep 2008, 17:09
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Mostly XP

Re: Visual Issue

Post by mpack »

Getting XP into safe mode does seem a bit finicky. I start hitting F8 tat tat tat tat... as soon as I see the VirtualBox BIOS splash panel when I start the VM, hoping that at least one keystroke registers, and it usually does. I expect that the underlying problem is that the virtual keyboard is a low priority at this point in time, whereas a physical PC has a physical keyboard and a BIOS that is buffering keys whether the OS is ready or not.

If you can't get the timing right (good luck with the game in that case! :twisted: ) then you can set it as a boot option in XP itself. See https://www.lifewire.com/how-to-start-w ... on-2626115.
RetroGaming
Posts: 5
Joined: 4. May 2018, 05:31

Re: Visual Issue

Post by RetroGaming »

Sorry for the delay. I've now done all of the steps (enabled 2D/3D, increased the VRAM and re-installed the GAs in safe mode), and still no improvement to the game's picture (still tiny split screen up top). Virtually every other game I've tried has worked, so maybe this one just isn't compatible. I appreciate the help.
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