Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Mac OS X hosts.
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DWorley
Posts: 5
Joined: 25. Nov 2022, 17:48

Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by DWorley »

This is a bug report. I'm not sure the correct place to send it; please advise.

Environment:
Virtual Box version 7.0.2 r154219 (Qt5.15.2)
running on MacOS 12.6.1

To reproduce the issue:

Download KNOPPIX_V9.1DVD-2021-01-25-EN.iso from knopper net /knoppix-mirrors/index-en.html.

In Virtual Box:
Create a new VM.
Select the downloaded file KNOPPIX_V9.1DVD-2021-01-25-EN.iso as the ISO image.
Choose "Linux" as "Type", "Debian 11 Bullseye (64-bit)" as "Version", which is the base on which Knoppix 9.1 was developed. (See knopper net /knoppix/knoppix910-en.html.)
Take the defaults: Base Memory is 2048 MB. Processors is 1.
Select no hard disk.

Start the VM.
It will show the VirtualBox splash screen, then the Knoppix splash screen. Wait up to 1 minute for Knoppix to time out the prompt and boot.

At this point, the mouse will function as expected in the VM. But don't touch anything. Minimize the window and wait.

In the particular test case I'm executing now, the wait was 7 hours. But my impression is that it is sufficient to wait for the screen saver in the VM OS to activate, or not a great deal longer than that, which is well less than an hour.

Returning attention to the VM window after waiting, the symptom that is seen is that the mouse doesn't work properly. Specifically, clicking on any of the icons in the lower-left corner does not open the menus or applications that should be opened. OTOH, the icons are highlighted as expected when the mouse is over them, and if the mouse stays over them for a few seconds, the expected mouseover text is displayed. If several windows were opened beforehand, clicking the mouse on a window does not give it the focus, but Alt-Tab will rotate the focus among them. And typing on the keyboard works as expected given which window has the focus.
DWorley
Posts: 5
Joined: 25. Nov 2022, 17:48

Re: Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by DWorley »

This is the VM log for the test execution described above.
Attachments
Test-3.zip
(76.53 KiB) Downloaded 5 times
fth0
Volunteer
Posts: 5668
Joined: 14. Feb 2019, 03:06
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Linux, Windows 10, ...
Location: Germany

Re: Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by fth0 »

FWIW, there are known mouse-related issues in VirtualBox 7.0.2. Before reporting a bug, you should at least try the current VirtualBox 7.0.4. ;)
DWorley
Posts: 5
Joined: 25. Nov 2022, 17:48

Re: Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by DWorley »

fth0 wrote:Before reporting a bug, you should at least try the current VirtualBox 7.0.4. ;)
OK, I'll do that. But I only downloaded VBox 7.0.2 about a week ago, I wasn't expecting it to be obsoleted quite so quickly!
scottgus1
Site Moderator
Posts: 20965
Joined: 30. Dec 2009, 20:14
Primary OS: MS Windows 10
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows, Linux

Re: Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by scottgus1 »

DWorley wrote:I wasn't expecting it to be obsoleted quite so quickly!
7.0 just came out of beta and will have much bug fixing. Expect quick version changes for some time.
DWorley
Posts: 5
Joined: 25. Nov 2022, 17:48

Re: Mouse problem, MacOS host, Knoppix/Debian guest

Post by DWorley »

OK, version 7.0.4 seems to fix the problem.
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