Remarks on VirtualBox-1_5_51_OSE_27858_OS2

Discussions related to using the OSE version of VirtualBox.
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hermi
Posts: 4
Joined: 10. Feb 2008, 14:07

Remarks on VirtualBox-1_5_51_OSE_27858_OS2

Post by hermi »

Many thanks to dmik (and friends) for releasing this official unofficial build :-)

I tested this build and have some remarks:

My System:
eCS 2.0 RC4, Intel Core 2 6420 (2.13GHz), Panorama Video Driver, latest SMP Kernel
I installed Windows XP unsing VirtualBox.exe and VBoxBFE.exe.


Users that have Panorama installed instead of SNAP need the latest SDL.DLL version (i use sdl-1.2.10-bin-20080121.zip)


A Windows XP installed with VBoxBFE.exe gererates a bluescreen at the beginning of the boot process when startet with VirtualBox.exe. And vice versa.


VirtualBox.exe:
---------------
Only sometimes VirtualBox starts correctly but then it is possible to start a virtual machine. When shutting down Windows XP the window remains open an I have to kill the process because the WPS (?) freezes.

More often the list of the virtual machines is incomplete and/or the settings (especially Hard Disk and CD/DVD Rom show "not attached" or "%1 %2") are corrupt.
If I close the VirtualBox and restart it within the next 2 or 3 seconds everything looks good.
It seems that it helps that VBoxSVC.exe and VBoxXPCOMIPCD.exe (which are started by VirtualBox) remain running for at least 2 or 3 seconds after closing VirtualBox.
But starting a virtual machin after that is not possible.


VBoxBFE.exe:
-----------
1. Shared folders do not work because in VBoxBFE\VMMDevInterface.cpp the modifications related to the short DLL filenames are missing.

2. The "normal" cursor keys do not work. The cursor keys in the key pad work.

3. You need a tripple click instead of a double click.
dmik
Posts: 10
Joined: 14. May 2007, 10:57

Post by dmik »

The problems with VirtualBox.exe you have mentioned look like server (VBoxSVC.exe) crashes and may be caused by the BSD-style select() routine behaving badly on SMP (Intel Core 2 6420 has two cores, right?). Please try to download ftp://ftp.dmik.org/pub/common/vbox/test/VBoxXCOM_2.zip and unzip it to the VBox installation directory letting it overwrite the old files. Please report here if it solves the problem or not.

Regarding using XP installs made in VBoxBFE.exe and in VirtualBox.exe. The reason is slightly different virtual hardware used by default. When using VBoxBFE.exe installs from VirtualBox.exe, you may try to switch the IDE Controler Type to PIIX3 on the Advanced tab of the General page of the VM settings dialog.
hermi
Posts: 4
Joined: 10. Feb 2008, 14:07

Post by hermi »

Yes, it is a Dual Core CPU and your fix solved the problems. VirtualBox starts up fine and starting/stopping the virtual machines now works without any problems :-)

And the PIIX3 switch made the VBoxBFE.exe installed Windows XP bootable with VirtualBox.exe.

Again thanks for your efforts!
tgodawa
Posts: 9
Joined: 13. Jul 2007, 21:41

Post by tgodawa »

Hi,
hermi wrote:Yes, it is a Dual Core CPU and your fix solved the problems.
same for me on my T60 with SMP :-)

The VirtualBox-GUI has some advantages for desktop-virtualization like save/restore or window-rezise :-) On Linux I prefer the VBoxManage because WinXP only runs in the background as server for an application.

Thanks a lot,

Thorolf
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