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[Resolved] Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 9. Dec 2018, 10:04
by lordjim
Hello,

for a time I've been having a problem with Virtualbox running slow on Windows 10 host. I am wondering am I the only who expieriences this kind of problem.
First a word about my host and guest config:

Host hardware:
CPU: Intel Core i5-4670K, 4-cores
Memory: 16GB DDR3 1866MHz
Motherboard: Gigabyte Z87N-WIFI
Hard Drive: Samsung Evo 840 500GB
GPU: MSI Nvidia Geforce GTX 970
Operating System: Windows 10 Pro

Guest machine configuration:
CPU: 2 cores (PAE/NX enabled, VT-x/AMD-v enabled, Nested paging enabled, paravirtualization interface: Default)
Memory: 8GB
Screen: 128MB
Chipset: PIIX3
Controller 1: IDE of ICH6 type
Controller 2: SATA of AHCI type (using host buffering with SSD disk option checked)
Operating System: Gentoo 17, Kernel: 4.14
Network Controller: Intel Ethernet Connection I217-V, Bridged
Guest additions: installed
Virtual machine is run installed from the SSD drive.
Primary purpose: Minecraft Server

When I'm launching a Minecraft server, it takes over 88-100 seconds to start it. Things run so slow then when a client connects to the server it takes not only long to initialize a session but usually ends in being disconnected because of a timeout built-in to the server.
For example, the same virtual machine running under VMware Workstation Player 14,15 takes around 12-20 seconds (worst case measured 29 seconds) to start and has no problems accepting connections within short enough amount of time to avoid a server side disconnect.

I have also tested one more scenario.
When the Host operating system is changed to Debian 9.6.0 on the same hardware, everything works fast on VirtualBox, if not even faster then on VMware Workstation Player.
Does anyone have an idea why hosting this virtual machine (or any that I've tested) on Windows 10 is slow?
What additional information can I provide?

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 9. Dec 2018, 13:08
by socratis
Since this is your first post, and since you don't mention the VirtualBox version, and since you posted in the Beta section of the forums, I got to ask you: is this a 6.0.0 beta# regression? Do you actually have 6.0.0 beta#? Did you ever try with the latest 5.2.22? I got to know so that I can move (maybe) the post to its appropriate sub-forum location.

In any event, we need to see a complete VBox.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.
Image

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 9. Dec 2018, 23:14
by lordjim
Hi,

What Can I answer at this moment is that I'm using Windows 10 1803 Pro. VirtualBox versions that I'm testing are 5.2.22 for Windows 10 and 5.2.22 for Debian 9.6.0 Linux. I'll attach the logs after completing series of tests. I will also test Virtualbox 6.0.0-Beta3.

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 10. Dec 2018, 00:33
by lordjim
Hi,

I'm uploading Vbox.log and VboxHardening.log for both versions that I've tested 5.2.22 and 6.0.0-BETA3.
The problem is still there on the 6.0.0-BETA3 though it runs a bit faster. 89 seconds to start a Minecraft Server compared to 100-116 seconds on 5.2.22.
In both test cases it takes 3 attempts to sucessfully connect to the server.

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 10. Dec 2018, 01:10
by lordjim
Hi,

since my first post I've gotten an idea. I've removed Avast Free.
Guess what? Strange slow down bug that occured during BIOS POST disappeared (I haven't mentioned that earlier).
Anyway, server start time: 23-26 seconds on Oracle Virtualbox 6.0.0-Beta3! The client sucessfully connects during the first attempt.

The problem seems to be solved. It's still slower than running Virtualbox under Debian 9.6.0 but that maybe a hard drive performance issue.
Strange that I had to remove Avast because I've added Virtualbox to scanning exceptions.
I'll check my SSD because Debian is run from Corsair Voyager GTX.
It may be the cause of the difference in Windows and Debian where Virtualbox on Debian starts the server in 6-10 seconds.

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 12. Dec 2018, 02:03
by socratis
Well, I'm sure glad that you found the potential culprit. I was just replying to another thread, where the OP had similar symptoms, only they were running 2 antivirus in parallel, making the problem even worse.

Antivirus are really aggressive and overzealous these days, causing all sorts of problems to VirtualBox. You are running Win10, which has a perfectly good built-in antivirus. Stick with that...

I'll wait for confirmation before marking the topic as [Resolved].

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 13. Dec 2018, 02:39
by lordjim
After some testing I can confirm that the remaining difference (26 seconds on Windows 10 1803, about 10 seconds on Debian 9.6.0) between operating systems was a hard drive performance issue.
I've used Virtualbox on Windows 10 with a PhysicalDrive - Corsair Voyager GTX - running same Debian I've used before in a bare-metal case scenario.
The results are great.
About 7 seconds to start the Minecraft Server.
Just as fast as running Debian 9.6.0 on hardware.
Please mark this thread as solved because all of my problems are gone.
Thank You for Your time and support! :)

Re: Virtualbox slow on Windows 10 Host

Posted: 13. Dec 2018, 02:54
by socratis
Great, thank you for the feedback. Marking as [Resolved].