Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Linux hosts.
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t_mallet
Posts: 3
Joined: 27. May 2022, 14:02
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 Pro 32 & 64 b, OS/2 warp 4

Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Post by t_mallet »

Hello everyone,
I'm here beacuse i can't not solve a problem on some guest on my machine.
  • Machine : Lenovo Thinkbook 15 G2 ITL (core i5, 11th gen, 8+32 Go ram, 256+1000 Mo ssd).
    OS : linux mint 20.3 (kernel 5.4 and 5.13).
    Guest : OS/2 Warp 4.5, Win7 Pro 32b, Win7 Pro 64b, Win10 Pro 64b.
    VirtualBox : 6.1.32_Ubuntu r149290 with is Oracle extension pack, each guest have the guest addition up to date.
My problem :
  • When i lauch a windows guest on kernel 5.4, all things seems ok, all my USB devices work well. The only thing that don't work is that kernel 5.4 doesn't support the video card (Intel Iris XE).
    When i launch a windows guest on kernel 5.13, the guest freeze when displaying the desktop. After a lot of test, i have notice that some service or program are responsable of this state. On a Win7 Pro 64b guest, the program is Garmin Express.
I've made other test :
  • Creating a new guest (Win10 Pro 64b) works correctly, then freeze when i install Garmin Express (exactly when it lauches).
    OS/2 guest never freeze.
    My other guest (Win7 Pro 32b and 64b) are for my job and freeze when some services are starting (network or usb related services).
    Disabling USB or network in the bios does nothing.
    Disabling USB or changing usb support in the virtualbox options does nothing.
    Changing the paravirtulisation in the virtualbox options does nothing.
    Virtualisation in bios is activated.
I don't understand what's going wrong. This is the first time it arrive and i think something's wrong with the hardware that kernel 5.4 is disabling (video card ? usb 3 ?).

So if anyone has had this problem or has a solution.
Thank you.
Attachments
Logs VirtualBox.zip
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scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Post by scottgus1 »

Only the 5.4 log shows the USB device being used. The '5.13 launching Garmin' doesn't show the device either.

None of the logs show any trouble in the VM's 'hardware' that I can see. The VM could use another processor, and the host has room. The VM OS might perform better.
t_mallet
Posts: 3
Joined: 27. May 2022, 14:02
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 Pro 32 & 64 b, OS/2 warp 4

Re: Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Post by t_mallet »

Hy scottgus1 and thank you for your answer.
scottgus1 wrote:Only the 5.4 log shows the USB device being used. The '5.13 launching Garmin' doesn't show the device either.
In the Win7 guest no need to plug the gps, windows freeze when it launches garmin express (at start up), that's why you don't see the device.
If i disable the autostart of garmin express, windows start correctly.

What i don't understand is why it works correctly on a 5.4 kernel, and it freezes with the 5.13 kernel.
t_mallet
Posts: 3
Joined: 27. May 2022, 14:02
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 Pro 32 & 64 b, OS/2 warp 4

Re: [Solved] Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Post by t_mallet »

Hi everyone,
This post to say that the problem is solved!
Thanks scottgus1 for your help.
The virtual machine could use another CPU and the host has room. VM OS could be better.
I added a core to all my guests (except OS/2 Warp), going from 1 to 2 processors and now it works fine, no more freeze on startup.
I don't understand why, but it works!
Thank you for everything.
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Windows freeze when some services / program are starting

Post by scottgus1 »

Glad you're up and running! I'm not certain about why the extra processor helps, except that if some app in the VM OS consumes a full processor in the single-processor VM, then other apps would have no room to run and would need to wait. Why that happens more with a different host kernel might mean there is something newer regarding processor scheduling in the newer kernel that makes single-processor VMs run slower, which could exacerbate the activity of the processor-hogging VM app.

FWIW you're running the Ubuntu fork of Virtualbox, which probably behaves differently than official Virtualbox from Virtualbox.org. Their fork might require better tuning to the installed kernel.
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