Windows guest crashes

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elewis33
Posts: 17
Joined: 10. Dec 2012, 19:08

Windows guest crashes

Post by elewis33 »

I've got two different failure modes going on with a Windows 10 guest on Macbook Pro Mojave 10.14.6 host. Unfortunately I need to run this guest so I can run some MS specific software. In any case here are the two scenarios that I'm observing.
  1. Exiting the VM by using the "Save Machine State" option causes the VM to crash and show as "Aborted".
  2. Restoring the saved VM (it will save sometimes, without crashing). It starts restoring and then hangs and never fully starts the VM. I'm forced to "Force Quit" the VM. Again, this ends up with the VM in an "Aborted" state.
Also, FYI, I have several other VMs that behave normally.

I've read many threads here and it looks like Mojave is causing a little bit of havoc with VirtualBox. In anticipation of this posting I've captured several guest logs and bug reports and got them zipped and ready to send as needed. I suspect it might be easiest to try to tackle one of these failure modes at a time. Since the VM will save occasionally perhaps we should try tackling the restore/hang problem.

Also, I've taken some of the steps recommended on other threads where these kinds of crashes are mentioned, like reducing the amount of memory for the guest, because it might not actually be available from the host, and turning off the paravirtualization setting.

Attached are the VM log from a restore/hang session and a bug report from the same. Could one of the VBox gurus take a look at these and let me know what you think might be going on?
Attachments
VBox.log 3.zip
VM log
(18.02 KiB) Downloaded 13 times
2019-08-23-16-09-27-bugreport.tgz
Bug report
(190.62 KiB) Downloaded 13 times
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Windows guest crashes

Post by socratis »

elewis33 wrote:Could one of the VBox gurus take a look at these and let me know what you think might be going on?
I think that I don't even have to look, you must be bitten by #18802 cannot do "savestate" machine, see the "Known Issues" in the Discuss the 6.0.10 release. Suggested workaround: do not use SavedStates, or disable 3D acceleration.

BTW, you can always try the Test Builds and let the developers know in the ticket.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
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socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Windows guest crashes

Post by socratis »

I did take a look after all in your logs (couldn't resist), and here's what I found...
00:00:01.288581 NumCPUs   <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:01.517767 CPUM: Physical host cores: 6
You have a 6-core host, you can definitely afford a 2nd CPU for your guest. It's going to run a lot smoother.
00:00:01.288583 RamSize   <integer> = 0x0000000080000000 (2 147 483 648, 2 048 MB)
Same with your RAM, I would take it to 3072 MB (3 GB). A lot more breathing room...
00:00:01.288662 [/Devices/ahci/0/LUN#0/Config/] (level 5)
00:00:01.288663   BlockCache <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
Go to the VM Settings » Storage » select your SATA controller » Use Host I/O Cache: enable that.
00:00:01.288831 VRamSize  <integer> = 0x000000000c800000 (209 715 200, 200 MB)
Computers really "like" computer numbers, as in 256 MB of VRAM. ;)
00:00:01.288842 [/GIM/] (level 1)
00:00:01.288842   Provider <string>  = "None" (cb=5)
Not sure why you set the VM Settings » System » Acceleration » Paravirtualization Interface to "None", but I would choose the "Default" again.
00:00:01.288830   VMSVGA3dEnabled  <integer> = 0x0000000000000001 (1)
00:00:06.217255 VMMDev: Guest Log: VBoxGuest: Windows version 10.0, build 17134
And this is why you're getting the crash when using SavedState; you have Win10 1803 with 3D enabled. My guest is still at 1607 and I don't see the crash, it only happens with Win10 > 1709.
00:00:06.219864 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Version 5.2.26 r128414 '5.2.26'
You should update the Guest Additions (GAs) in your guest, you're still using an older version.
00:02:22.769952 VMMDev: SetVideoModeHint: Got a video mode hint (1726x995x32)@(0x0),(1;0) at 0
Again, computers like round-hexadecimal numbers. Try not to resize the VM by resizing the VM window from the host, try to set the resolution from within the guest.
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
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ocrow
Posts: 1
Joined: 13. Sep 2019, 20:05

Re: Windows guest crashes

Post by ocrow »

Posting some background info to help other users caught by this bug.

The problem definitely affects VirtualBox version 6.0.10 (possibly also 6.0.8?). It is fixed in release 6.0.12.

A workaround until that release is to turn off 3D graphics for the affected VM(s).
Select the VM, then Settings > Display > uncheck 'Enable 3D Acceleration'.

That should allow you to save VM states, at the expense of disallowing use of 3D graphics hardware.

Another workaround that worked for me was to switch from the VBoxVGA virtual graphics controller to the VBoxSVGA controller (while leaving 3D acceleration turned on). According to the warning that comes with VirtualBox 6.0.12, that switch will be required in the upcoming 6.1 release anyway (since VboxVGA will no longer be supported). So making the change now doesn't seem like a bad idea. To do that select the VM, then Settings > Display > Graphics Controller > VBoxSVGA.


For background, the bug is that when doing a "Save State" the VM will crash before the operation is complete, leaving you without a saved state and the VM in the "Aborted" state. Shortly after a "VirtualBox VM quit unexpectedly" box pops up. If you click the "Report ..." button you will see lines like these:

Crashed Thread: 30 VDMA

Exception Type: EXC_BAD_ACCESS (SIGSEGV)
Exception Codes: KERN_INVALID_ADDRESS at 0x0000000000001814
Exception Note: EXC_CORPSE_NOTIFY

Termination Signal: Segmentation fault: 11
Termination Reason: Namespace SIGNAL, Code 0xb
Terminating Process: exc handler [5290]

Application Specific Information:
Calling windowShouldClose: on the delegate for the QNSWindow 0x7fd14054ac40
socratis
Site Moderator
Posts: 27330
Joined: 22. Oct 2010, 11:03
Primary OS: Mac OS X other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Win(*>98), Linux*, OSX>10.5
Location: Greece

Re: Windows guest crashes

Post by socratis »

ocrow wrote:Posting some background info to help other users caught by this bug.
ocrow wrote:It is fixed in release 6.0.12.
Why would anyone get caught by a fixed issue? Self-inflicted punishment? ;)
Do NOT send me Personal Messages (PMs) for troubleshooting, they are simply deleted.
Do NOT reply with the "QUOTE" button, please use the "POST REPLY", at the bottom of the form.
If you obfuscate any information requested, I will obfuscate my response. These are virtual UUIDs, not real ones.
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