Signal 9

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
UKNOWN VM
Posts: 2
Joined: 3. Jan 2023, 23:16

Signal 9

Post by UKNOWN VM »

Hi I am running MacOSX Ventura 13.2 beta and when I try to boot up any VM it says
VM Name: Android 9
The virtual machine
'Android 9° has
terminated unexpectedly during startup because of signal 9.
Result code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE(0X80004005)
Component: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine
{300763af-5d6b-46e6-aa96-273eac155381}

I dunno what to do And I scoured the inter webs and could not find anything

Also no one has said anything on this before at least not of my knowledge.

Please help
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

Getting the same "signal 9" error trying to start any of my VMs in VirtualBox 7.0.4 under Ventura 13.1. As I'd upgraded the host OS over the weekend and previously had VirtualBox 6.1.40 under Monterey, I uninstalled 7.0.4, rebooted, and reinstalled, and this allowed me to get two VMs to start normally, but then the third one gave me the error again, and now I get the error trying to start any VM again, including the ones that started OK earlier today. Another uninstall/reinstall hasn't helped. I've looked at Privacy & Security settings, but I'm not coming across anything. Any ideas?
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

My temporary workaround: enable the Remote Display server in the Display settings for each virtual machine, do a headless start of the desired VM(s), which does not result in the error, and then connect to it via Microsoft Remote Desktop. Not ideal, but at least I can use my VMs again. I'd still like to hear that we aren't the only two experiencing this particular issue with macOS 13.1+ and VirtualBox 7.0.4, and that there's a fix, either something we can do ourselves with the software and/or OS or a forthcoming VB update. I've confirmed that it happens with any existing VM or any new one I create, regardless of OS or VM settings.
multiOS
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Re: Signal 9

Post by multiOS »

As a regular MacOS user I haven't seen a Signal 9 error (yet) on MacOS running Ventura (13.0, 13.01,13.1) even though Ventura is not yet considered to be an officially supported variant by VirtualBox (at the release of Version 7.0.4). Please Note: The VirtualBox Developers do not normally chase compatibility with Beta OS releases.

AFAIK a Signal 9 Error is a 'Linux' Error' with a large number of variants, mostly advising that the Host system has sent a signal to an installed application that it cannot handle. - I'm sure others can provide a better explanation!

In the vast majority of cases it is advisable to provide a 'zipped' copy of the Vbox.log file for a VM that has experienced/caused an error message after that VM is fully shut down (Powered Off). It avoids guessing games. Please attach zipped files to a message in this thread using the Upload Attachment Tab for analysis and, hopefully, someone will be able to identify any problem(s) with the VM.

The one thing I would ask (with little information provided so far) is: "Did those experiencing this problem fully uninstall any previous version of VirtualBox (including ensuring that all the installed VirtualBox Kexts were purged) before installing the initial upgrade to VirtualBox 7.0.x?"
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

multiOS, thanks for the reply. As these VMs don't actually start, there is no log data relevant to the issue. To confirm, I created a new VM and tried to start it. I got the same error:

The virtual machine 'test' has terminated unexpectedly during startup because of signal 9.

Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0X80004005)
Component: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine {300763af-5d6b-46e6-aa96-273eac15538a}

...but no log file was ever created. I did run

Code: Select all

sudo kextcache -prune-staging
after the uninstall script. As these VMs (including the new 'test' one) all start up and function fine in headless mode, it doesn't look like the issue is with the VMs but with the process by which VirtualBox launches the VM window, but beyond that, I'm a bit lost.
fth0
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Re: Signal 9

Post by fth0 »

If you don't have VM-specific log files, check the global log files in /Users/<username>/Library/VirtualBox, for example VBoxSVC.log and selectorwindow.log.
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

fth0, I'm not sure how helpful these logs will be, but then I freely admit that I'm a bit out of my depth, so if anyone can derive/provide any answers from these, please have at them.
Attachments
VBoxSVC.log
(6.29 KiB) Downloaded 45 times
selectorwindow.log
(1.43 KiB) Downloaded 36 times
fth0
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Re: Signal 9

Post by fth0 »

Andy Silva wrote:I'm not sure how helpful these logs will be
Well, the VBoxSVC.log file told me that the Watcher thread got the signal. But I have to admit that the VirtualBox source code would have told me the same. ;)
multiOS wrote:AFAIK a Signal 9 Error is a 'Linux' Error' with a large number of variants, mostly advising that the Host system has sent a signal to an installed application that it cannot handle.
It's a POSIX signal, and as such it's also created by macOS (UNIX heritage). Signal 9 is SIGKILL, ever heard of "kill -9"? ;)

Since the signal comes from macOS, I'd suggest to check in the "Konsole" App for the reason.
UKNOWN VM
Posts: 2
Joined: 3. Jan 2023, 23:16

Re: Signal 9

Post by UKNOWN VM »

[quote="multiOS"]

AFAIK a Signal 9 Error is a 'Linux' Error' with a large number of variants, mostly advising that the Host system has sent a signal to an installed application that it cannot handle. - I'm sure others can provide a better explanation!

Ok I was trying to run Android 9 so it was built from google but based on linux deep down so that's getting us somewhere

Edit: Also I bet lots of others have the same problem but it also happens with windows but it boots us
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

For what it's worth, if anyone wants to look at these and try to glean more information from them, I've attached the macOS crash report and the contents of the launchd.log file from my latest attempt to launch a VirtualBox VM normally (not headless, which is working fine).
Attachments
launchd.log
(39.93 KiB) Downloaded 29 times
crash-report.log
(4.53 KiB) Downloaded 39 times
granada29
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Re: Signal 9

Post by granada29 »

The crash report for VirtualBoxVM shows a problem with code signing. This is unusual and should not be happening.

I think the OP should remove VirtualBox from the system (using the uninstall script on the installation disk image), reboot the system then reinstall VirtualBox.
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

I'm not the original poster, granada29, but I am the one who's posted the logs and crash reports. I have in fact uninstalled via the script, rebooted, and reinstalled, twice now, to no avail. I did note the reference to code signing but wasn't sure if that was legitimate or not; regardless, short of reinstalling, I don't know what else I can do about it.
fth0
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Re: Signal 9

Post by fth0 »

I'd suggest to create a ticket in the Bugtracker. Please mention the host OS version and add the crash report.
Andy Silva
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Re: Signal 9

Post by Andy Silva »

Update: I did create a bug, and I've also confirmed that the issue still exists after upgrading to VirtualBox 7.0.6, but I've also confirmed that it does appear to be a codesigning issue which I've gotten around by running the following in macOS' Terminal:

Code: Select all

sudo codesign --force --deep --sign - /Applications/VirtualBox.app/Contents/Resources/VirtualBoxVM.app
After running this command, all my VMs open with no issues. For now, at least.
mudong
Posts: 1
Joined: 21. Feb 2023, 00:01

Re: Signal 9

Post by mudong »

Thanks Andy, works for me.
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