kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
Firefds
Posts: 1
Joined: 22. Jul 2019, 04:10

kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by Firefds »

I'm trying to start a cetntOS 7 virtual machine on my new computer, but I'm getting a "kernel panic not syncing fatal exception" error when it starts. The VM worked on both my old PC and my Laptop. An Ubuntu guest I have on the new PC works as well.

I'm using VirtualBox 6.0.10, Guest Additions is installed on guest.
Host: Windows 10 Pro, Version 1903, Build 18362.239, 64Bit. i7-9700k, 16GB Corsair Vengenace LPX, Z390 Auros wifi pro mobo.
Guest: CentOS 7 64Bit.

Both VBox.log and VBoxHardening.log are in the zip file attached.

Things I tried to do:
  • Enable / Disable VT-D in bios - didn't work
  • Made sure Hyper-V isn't installed - didn't work
  • Changing chipset to ICH9 - didn't work.
  • Creating a fresh guest - same error when trying to install
I'd appreciate any help,
Thank you!
Attachments
Logs.zip
(50.04 KiB) Downloaded 842 times
mdebush
Posts: 2
Joined: 12. May 2017, 18:31

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by mdebush »

I am running CentOS Linux release 7.6.1810 (Core) as guest.
It has been working for years with Guest Addition version 4.3.20.
I upgraded to latest guest additions which appeared to install no problems. It asked to
restart VM.. After that could never get the guest to start, it would hang during start.
Once I did see the kernel panic not syncing fatal. Fortunately, I made a copy of VHD
before attempting so I just reverted back.
Attachments
VBox.log.1.zip
(26.49 KiB) Downloaded 775 times
matonb
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Apr 2009, 17:14
Primary OS: MS Windows other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows 10, CentOS 7

VirtualBox 6 - Kernel Panic

Post by matonb »

I'm trying to install CentOS 7 x64, but it keeps crashing (instantly) with a kernel panic, any help would be appreciated!

VirtualBox: 6.0.10 r132072 (Qt5.6.2)
Extension Pack: 6.0.10r132072

Host:
Processor: Intel Core i9-9980HK
RAM: 32Gb
OS: Windows 10 Pro, version 1903

Hyper V disabled, BIOS Virtualisation enabled

Kernel Panic seen:
Note: Please Consult is a link to the CentOS FAQ, but I can't post that at the moment.

Code: Select all

[    0.000000] Detected CPU family 6 model 158 stepping 13
[    0.000000] Warning: Intel Processor - this hardware has not undergone upstream testing. Please consult ...
[    0.076895] general protection fault: 0000 [#1] SMP 
[    0.077736] Modules linked in:
[    0.078192] CPU: 0 PID: 0 Comm: swapper/0 Not tainted 3.10.0-957.el7.x86_64 #1
[    0.079065] Hardware name: innotek GmbH VirtualBox/VirtualBox, BIOS VirtualBox 12/01/2006
[    0.080207] task: ffffffffab218480 ti: ffffffffab200000 task.ti: ffffffffab200000
[    0.081182] RIP: 0010:[<ffffffffaa66fcf9>]  [<ffffffffaa66fcf9>] spec_ctrl_cpu_init+0x49/0xa0
[    0.082382] RSP: 0000:ffffffffab203ee0  EFLAGS: 00010246
[    0.083160] RAX: 0000000000000001 RBX: 00000000ffffffff RCX: 0000000000000048
[    0.084377] RDX: 0000000000000000 RSI: 0000000000000246 RDI: 0000000000000246
[    0.085327] RBP: ffffffffab203ef0 R08: 0000000072746365 R09: 6e61686e45203a6e
[    0.086380] R10: 0000000000000077 R11: 4d203a2032562065 R12: 00000000ffffffff
[    0.087434] R13: ffffffffab43f2e0 R14: ffff95befffd1ec0 R15: ffffffffab203fa8
[    0.088856] FS:  0000000000000000(0000) GS:ffff95befca00000(0000) knlGS:0000000000000000
[    0.090746] CS:  0010 DS: 0000 ES: 0000 CR0: 0000000080050033
[    0.091859] CR2: ffff95bee2852000 CR3: 0000000062210000 CR4: 00000000000606f0
[    0.093249] DR0: 0000000000000000 DR1: 0000000000000000 DR2: 0000000000000000
[    0.094508] DR3: 0000000000000000 DR6: 00000000fffe0ff0 DR7: 0000000000000400
[    0.095739] Call Trace:
[    0.096535]  [<ffffffffab395305>] check_bugs+0x1d7/0x2b6
[    0.097606]  [<ffffffffab38619d>] start_kernel+0x422/0x46c
[    0.098616]  [<ffffffffab385b7b>] ? repair_env_string+0x5c/0x5c
[    0.099674]  [<ffffffffab385120>] ? early_idt_handler_array+0x120/0x120
[    0.100937]  [<ffffffffab38572f>] x86_64_start_reservations+0x24/0x26
[    0.101921]  [<ffffffffab385885>] x86_64_start_kernel+0x154/0x177
[    0.103001]  [<ffffffffaa6000d5>] start_cpu+0x5/0x14
[    0.104041] Code: 05 19 b8 cd 00 48 c1 e8 35 a8 01 75 55 8b 05 ef 60 ce 00 83 f8 04 75 2a 65 8b 15 2f d3 99 55 65 8b 05 24 d3 99 55 b9 48 00 00 00 <0f> 30 48 8b 45 f8 65 48 33 04 25 28 00 00 00 75 3e c9 c3 0f 1f 
[    0.110834] RIP  [<ffffffffaa66fcf9>] spec_ctrl_cpu_init+0x49/0xa0
[    0.111781]  RSP <ffffffffab203ee0>
[    0.112486] ---[ end trace f68728a0d3053b52 ]---
[    0.113292] Kernel panic - not syncing: Fatal exception
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: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by socratis »

@matonb,
I've merged your thread with an existing thread dealing with the same issue, and moved the whole thing from the "Windows Hosts" section to the "Linux Guests" section, where it belongs.
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.
Theblack
Posts: 1
Joined: 28. Jul 2019, 21:41

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by Theblack »

Had a similar issue when migrating from an older laptop to a new one, existing CentoOS 7 would crash in a similar way. Tried a whole bunch of settings and nothing worked.

The action that fixed it for me is to install Vbox 6.0.6 (Which I had on the older laptop) instead of 6.0.10, and Voila, everything rocks :)

Good luck :)
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: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by socratis »

Theblack wrote:he action that fixed it for me is to install Vbox 6.0.6 (Which I had on the older laptop) instead of 6.0.10
That's actually going backwards, a workaround if you will. The real solution would be to find what's going on with the current versions.

I'm going to try and replicate it by tomorrow, or the day after. If I don't have a reply in a couple of days, ping me, bump the thread please...
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.
matonb
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Apr 2009, 17:14
Primary OS: MS Windows other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows 10, CentOS 7

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by matonb »

I'll try 6.0.8 on the i9 laptop this evening and see if that works.

I am however using 6.0.10 on another machine with an i7-7700HQ CPU and that's working fine.
matonb
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Apr 2009, 17:14
Primary OS: MS Windows other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows 10, CentOS 7

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by matonb »

Ok,

6.0.8 - Failed to boot same kernel panic as with 6.0.10
6.0.6 - Success, VM boots and work just fine.

It appears that the breaking change then, appeared sometime after 6.0.6
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: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by socratis »

@matonb
Are you using EFI and/or SecureBoot?
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.
matonb
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Apr 2009, 17:14
Primary OS: MS Windows other
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Windows 10, CentOS 7

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by matonb »

@socratis
No, neither of those.
They're basically default bar RAM (4096) and Processors (2)
neumannd
Posts: 3
Joined: 29. May 2017, 11:34

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by neumannd »

Same issue arises here on two of three new Lenovo Thinkpads. The Virtual Box Version is 6.0.12 on all machines. The BIOS-Options are equal (except of a few differing options between X1 Carbon and T490; but not relevant for Virtualization).
  • It does not work on two Lenovo ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Generation. The one has Windows 10 installed as host OS and the other Ubuntu 18.04. The Windows 10 laptop has the most recent BIOS version installed.
  • It works on a Lenovo ThinkPad T490 Series Laptop. It has Windows 10 installed.
The Windows X1 Carbon has the same CPU as the T490 (i7-8565U). The T490 has a dedicated Nvidia GPU.

The same virtual machine works on the T490 but not on the X1 Carbons (same settings). I will try to test the VM on two or three additional T490s and X1 Carbons of our IT department if they have some available.
Are you using EFI and/or SecureBoot?
For the host or for the guest? The hosts (all three laptops) have EFI and SecureBoot activated in their BIOS. In the VM settings of the guests, EFI is deactivated. We also turned on EFI in the guests' settings. On one X1 Carbon we got just a black screen instead of the error (did not test it on the other). On the T490 it worked fine in EFI mode.
coloboxp
Posts: 4
Joined: 11. Sep 2019, 12:53

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by coloboxp »

Same here (spec_ctrl_cpu_init), tested with VB 6.0.8, 6.0.10, 6.0.12 and dev build 6.0.13

[*]Here is the host's CPU information:
CPUID.txt
CPU Information from CPU-Z
(113.28 KiB) Downloaded 675 times
[*]Here is the console output from a random VM:
VM1Output.txt
First VM
(2.22 KiB) Downloaded 645 times
[*]Here is the console output from a second VM:
VM2Output.txt
Second VM
(2.43 KiB) Downloaded 636 times
[*] Microsoft Windows 10 (10.0) Professional 64-bit v1903 (Build 18362.329)

I've noticed this is happening (kernel panic) when it's booting:
[*] CentOS Linux (3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64) 7 (Core)
[*] CentOS Linux (3.10.0-957.10.1.el7.x86_64) 7 (Core)

And doesn't happen (meaning, works) with:
[*] CentOS Linux (3.10.0-862.11.6.el7.x86_64) 7 (Core)
[*] CentOS Linux (3.10.0-693.5.2.el7.x86_64) 7 (Core)

My guess is that it's something related to the kernel, the 3.10.0.957 branch.
Funny thing, is that all of those listed VMs work properly on my older machine: Microsoft Windows 10 (10.0) Professional 64-bit v1809 (Build 17763.678) with Intel Core i7 8550U

For the record, I've already tried Bios settings, bios upgrade, disabling hyper-v, bcedit, core isolation, etc.
neumannd
Posts: 3
Joined: 29. May 2017, 11:34

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by neumannd »

coloboxp wrote:[...] My guess is that it's something related to the kernel, the 3.10.0.957 branch. [...]
Thanks for the hint. The CentOS 7 x64 1804 installer iso (Kernel 3.10.0-862.el7.x86_64) works fine on all laptops, whereas the most recent CentOS 7 x64 1810 iso (Kernel 3.10.0-957.27.2.el7.x86_64) causes the described issue.
coloboxp
Posts: 4
Joined: 11. Sep 2019, 12:53

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by coloboxp »

It does work, however, with Virtual Box 6.0.6.

Something is gone or modified on later versions, that cause those kernels to fail, when using newer CPUs.
neumannd
Posts: 3
Joined: 29. May 2017, 11:34

Re: kernel panic not syncing fatal exception when trying to start CentOS 7

Post by neumannd »

coloboxp wrote:It does work, however, with Virtual Box 6.0.6.
OK, sorry. Missed this aspect.
coloboxp wrote:Something is gone or modified on later versions, that cause those kernels to fail, when using newer CPUs.
It is not necessarily CPU-related. Two laptops with Intel i7-8565U CPU show different behaviour. On a ThinkPad T490 with i7-8565U everything works fine (VBox 6.0.12, most recent CentOS 7 1810). On a ThinkPad X1 Carbon 7th Gen with i7-8565U it does not work with VBox 6.0.12 and most recent CentOS 7 1810. Has to be related to another aspect of the hardware.
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