Slow sound on Linux guests using VB 3.0.6 on Snow Leopard

[mfox]

I started noticing this problem with new installations of Ubuntu 9.10 alpha/beta. Sound speed is 80-90% of normal in Ubuntu startup sound,mp3 and mp4's and YouTube. This is on two core 2 duo Macs (mac mini and iMac) running Snow Leopard 10.6.1. I didn't remember having this problem before, so I went back to two other virtual Linux machines (openSUSE 11.0 and Vector 6.0), and both were even slower playing mp's. I'm now thinking this is a bug introduced with VirtualBox 3.0.6. Anyone else have this problem?

[Perryg]

No cross posting. Please read the Forum Posting Guide
Other post deleted.

[loukingjr]

I don't know if it will help but, I have found for some reason resetting the audio settings in VirtualBox itself while the VM is off helps. It seems to happen any time there is a kernel update or a pulse audio update. Happenes not only with Ubuntu but also with others like Sabayon and Mandriva. Works 90% of the time for me. Sometimes I have to restart the VM a couple times.

[mfox]

loukingjr, when you mean reset the audio settings, exactly what do you do? Do you change them at each reboot and if so, between what and what?

[loukingjr]

actually as it turns out, seems there is a memory leak in 3.0.8 which 3.0.10 is suppose to help. As far as what I was changing, it seems it was just the fact I was rebooting or restarting the VM a few times which was a temporary fix, not any settings I changed. Try restarting the VM a couple times once it first opens. Is just a temporary solution though.

[mfox]

Thanks, loukingjr; that was helpful. I tried shutting down, changing the audio setting to null and rebooting in my openSUSE vm. It didn't like the setting and got hung up, but when I then stopped the vm, changed the audio setting back and then rebooted, voila, the sound became normal! I then saved the image and started it up again and the sound stayed normal. The only problem from a diagnosis perspective is that I had removed a pulseaudio-xine file in the interim, but that in itself didn't fix the problem. I wonder if the problem will be fixed in version 3.10? It doesn't seem to be available for download yet.

[loukingjr]

I think 3.0.10 is suppose to be released next week. we shall see. I am assuming the memory leak might be related to the sound issue but we won't know for sure till 3.0.10 is released.

[mfox]

Meanwhile I can at least confirm that the "fix" has nothing to do with the pulseaudio file. I had openSUSE 11.2 RC installed on my MacBook Pro and this time all I did was shut down the vm, change the sound setting in VirtualBox and change it back immediate, and then restart the vm. Sound then became normal playing mp3/4's.

[mfox]

I think 3.0.10 is suppose to be released next week. we shall see. I am assuming the memory leak might be related to the sound issue but we won't know for sure till 3.0.10 is released.

Well I have 3.0.10 installed; I got it from VersionTracker before it was pulled. After I upgraded several Linux vm's and restarted, the slow sound came back, but a restart after that made the problem go away. Hopefully this was one of the quality control issues that made them pull 3.0.10.

[loukingjr]

Ok, for all having slow sound issues. I have 6 different Linux distributions and what I was doing was, quitting one, then starting another which at times made some of them have sound issues. It turns out, if you have more than one Linux and just quit VirtualBox before you start a different Linux the sound will be fine. At least has been for me for the last couple days.

[kresh]

When I first started using Mac OS it was when OS X 10.4 Tiger was released. I used to get frustrated playing games because some of the games would cause the sound to stop working system wide. It was a bug that was later fixed, but there was a work around that worked every time. I was also experiencing the audio slow down issue that the OP described and what do you know, the old Tiger fix works for this bug too.

In the Applications -> Utilities folder there is a program named "Audio Midi Setup". Run this program and select "Built-In Output" in the left pane and select "48000.0 Hz" in the right pane and your Linux sound will play at normal speed.

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[rgalvan]

When I first started using Mac OS it was when OS X 10.4 Tiger was released. I used to get frustrated playing games because some of the games would cause the sound to stop working system wide. It was a bug that was later fixed, but there was a work around that worked every time. I was also experiencing the audio slow down issue that the OP described and what do you know, the old Tiger fix works for this bug too.

In the Applications -> Utilities folder there is a program named "Audio Midi Setup". Run this program and select "Built-In Output" in the left pane and select "48000.0 Hz" in the right pane and your Linux sound will play at normal speed.

I have followed your suggestion and I have tried some other configuration but sadly the sound is still bad ...
I have a MacBook with Leopard 10.5.8

[phreakshew]

I am having the same issue on my Intel Macbook. Everything went fine when using the last version of VB and Ubuntu 9.04; I have since updated VB to 3.010 and Ubuntu to 9.10. Now most sounds play in slow motion.

[loukingjr]

I had the same problems. Running VB 3.0.10 and Ubuntu 9.10. I found ways around it before but I may have found a cure. Don't ask me why I tried it, but I installed PulseAudio for the heck of it and I haven't had slow sound since. Good Luck

[rpmurray]

I had the same problems. Running VB 3.0.10 and Ubuntu 9.10. I found ways around it before but I may have found a cure. Don't ask me why I tried it, but I installed PulseAudio for the heck of it and I haven't had slow sound since. Good Luck

Why did you try it?