Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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nohairdave
Posts: 3
Joined: 31. May 2022, 15:55

Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Post by nohairdave »

I run 3 windows VMs. When connected to a guest (windows 10 with latest guest additions) over the Remote Desktop (provided by virtual box’s display options) and the guest os is in headless mode, I am observing intermittent issues:

1/ Unable to connect to host
2/ RDP session cannot display / update the display

When I view the guest on the host, the connection / refresh resumes working ok

Similar to topic f=2&t=94508 on this forum

I have tried: reinstallation of vbox, resinstalltion of extension packs and guest additions, moving to another host. All result in the same behaviour.

I have also tried options layer out in the article above - changing the graphics controller. This works for a while, then the issues resumes (I suspect its just the interaction with the host that triggers resumption of connectivity/display.

If I do view the guest on the host, it only resolves the viewed guest (i.e. the other two VMs are not accessible/update over RDP). If I close (and continue to run in background), any interacted with VM is ok… for a while.

I have not been able to determine if an event or timeout is associated with this issue.

Has anyone out there seen similar issues? Any potential solutions?
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Post by scottgus1 »

Let's take a look at the setup, please.

For each VM, Right-click the VM in the main Virtualbox window's VM list, choose Show in Explorer/Finder/File Manager. Copy the VM's .vbox file (not the .vbox-prev file)to the desktop. (Configure your host OS to show all extensions if the folder that opens does not show a .vbox file.) Zip all the .vbox files, then post the zip file, using the forum's Upload Attachment tab.

Also please post the commmand or ip address/port you're remoting into. And please post the "ifconfig" from the host Mac OS.
nohairdave
Posts: 3
Joined: 31. May 2022, 15:55

Re: Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Post by nohairdave »

@scottgus1, file attached - with PII removed (****)
ifconfig and a host info file in the .zip covering your other questions and some basic info re. the host
thanks for any clues
Attachments
Archive.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: Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Post by scottgus1 »

Thanks for the info. Here are the VMs' settings:
VM1: "<RemoteDisplay allowMultiConnection="true"/>" <- enabled, default port 3389
VM2: "<RemoteDisplay allowMultiConnection="true">
<Property name="TCP/Ports" value="3390"/>"
VM3: "<RemoteDisplay allowMultiConnection="true">
<Property name="TCP/Ports" value="3391"/>"

host IP address: en1: 192.168.1.96; utun3: 100.112.249.60

Command used: <hostname>:port# or 192.168.1.96:port# or 100.112.249.60:port#

You're reporting intermittent failures to connect or update the RDP display.

Intermittent means the commands work sometimes, and sometimes something gets in the way.

The only things I could suggest, to see if it's related to the IP addresses or something on the host, is to try the host loopback address:

127.0.0.1:port#

also, if the Windows OS's are Pro or higher, try the built-in MS RDP. You'd need a Bridged or Host-Only connection, as this kind of RDP is directly into the VM OS & default RDP port: VMOS.ip.add.ress:3389

Please report back if the intermittentness continues. You might have to try a Wireshark trace, and maybe a Wireshark guru here on the forum might be able to interpret it.
nohairdave
Posts: 3
Joined: 31. May 2022, 15:55

Re: Guest freezes until host is interacted with

Post by nohairdave »

I can try loopback, but as soon as I interact with vbox on the host, the remote RDP resumes operation - so I suspect it’s unlikely that that will show the issue.

I can use wire shark, if I see something obvious, will report back. Will try server end first, see if a request is hitting it from a remote client.
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