Dell D630 network and graphics problems

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 15. Oct 2008, 16:33

Hello

I am a bit of a newbie to this, sorry.

I have a Dell D630 running Windows XP.

It has the Intel Mobile 965 Express chipset for graphics and it is running over a home WiFi network using an Intel PROSet/Wireless 3945ABG card and software.

This setup has worked well previously with VMWare applications running Ubuntu.

I installed virtualbox and installed Ubuntu 8.04.1 which installed very easily.

The first problem is graphics.

I can only get 800x600 at 16 bit. I have allocated 32MB for graphics memory and followed the instructions here:

http://www.linuxformat.co.uk/index.php? ... pic&t=6438

I had to modify things a little because the file names in my version are slightly different. However the terminal window said that everything had installed correctly.

However I can still only get 800 x 600.

I have had a look at xorg.conf which I have posted below. There are no entries for screen resolution or bit depth.

What am I doing wrong?

The second problem is networking.

I cannot seem to to get ubuntu to work with the network. I have tried the various combinations of network adapter in virtualbox set up but I think I am blundering about in the dark.

Is there a simple solution I am missing.

Many thanks

Ronan

# xorg.conf (X.Org X Window System server configuration file)
#
# This file was generated by dexconf, the Debian X Configuration tool, using
# values from the debconf database.
#
# Edit this file with caution, and see the xorg.conf manual page.
# (Type "man xorg.conf" at the shell prompt.)
#
# This file is automatically updated on xserver-xorg package upgrades *only*
# if it has not been modified since the last upgrade of the xserver-xorg
# package.
#
# If you have edited this file but would like it to be automatically updated
# again, run the following command:
# sudo dpkg-reconfigure -phigh xserver-xorg

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Generic Keyboard"
Driver "kbd"
Option "XkbRules" "xorg"
Option "XkbModel" "pc105"
Option "XkbLayout" "gb"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Configured Mouse"
Driver "vboxmouse"
Option "CorePointer"
EndSection

Section "InputDevice"
Identifier "Synaptics Touchpad"
Driver "synaptics"
Option "Device" "/dev/psaux"
Option "Protocol" "auto-dev"
Option "HorizEdgeScroll" "0"
EndSection

Section "Device"
Identifier "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "Monitor"
Identifier "Configured Monitor"
EndSection

Section "Screen"
Identifier "Default Screen"
Monitor "Configured Monitor"
Device "Configured Video Device"
EndSection

Section "ServerLayout"
Identifier "Default Layout"
Screen "Default Screen"
InputDevice "Synaptics Touchpad"
EndSection

Post by **Sasquatch** » 15. Oct 2008, 23:56

Change this:

Code: Select all

Section "Device" 
Identifier "Configured Video Device" 
EndSection

to

Code: Select all

Section "Device" 
Identifier "Configured Video Device" 
Driver "vboxvideo"
EndSection

to get your Video working.

To get your Ubuntu to access the internet, all you have to do is set NAT networking as attached mode. See the VirtualBox FAQ too and check if you run any of the incompatible software. If it's not listed, please mention it here and tell us why it doesn't work.

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 16. Oct 2008, 00:26

Thank you.

I am sure I am being thick, and I have read the FAQ, but how do I set up NAT for internet.

In my network settings on the Sun xVM VirtualBox application I have Network Adapter 1 set as PCnet-PCI II(NAT) with the cable connection option checked.

I had a look at your FAQ link and I can't see the list of incompatible software.

Thanks again.

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 16. Oct 2008, 00:45

Sorry, and the screen resolution doesn't work either.

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 18. Oct 2008, 12:19

Hi

I have now plugged the D630 into my ADSL router and still no network.

Would someone be able to help with an idiots guide to get networking working?

Interestingly, since plugging it in to the docking station and therefore a 19" monitor I can not get 1024 x 768 resolution. Still no option to add further resolutions however.

Cheers

Post by **Sasquatch** » 18. Oct 2008, 16:39

Are the Guest Additions installed correctly?

You do have the ADSL connected before you start your VM? VB only passes the primary DNS server to the VM, and if you have no internet connectivity before the Guest boots, it will not have a working DNS server. You can try this by opening your Guests browser and go to http://66.249.91.103
This is one of the many IP addresses of www.google.com

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 18. Oct 2008, 18:04

Are the Guest Additions installed correctly?

Yes, I think so. I have done it again.
Is it possible to confirm that they are correctly installed?

You do have the ADSL connected before you start your VM?

Yes. I have tried on two WiFi networks, both were working via ADSL before I started Virtualbox. The host can connect to the internet while Virtualbox and the VM are running. I have also tried with a ethernet connection to the router and again the host can connect but not the guest.

You can try this by opening your Guests browser and go to http://66.249.91.103

That is interesting. That worked. Both on the guest and the host.

There is unequivocally an internet connection active on the host when the VM boots. What am I doing wrong?

Thank you very much.

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 18. Oct 2008, 18:39

Weirdly double clicking on the XP window title bar for the VM and then maximising gave me a while range of resolutions and it defaulted to the maximum possible on my monitor.

I can't explain why, but it works now.

Post by **Sasquatch** » 18. Oct 2008, 19:12

Well, it seems that your Hosts primary DNS server is not working. Only the first DNS server is passed to the VM. If your Host only has one DNS server, this is rather strange. You could try to set a different DNS server on the guest. There are several DNS servers on the net you can use freely. Use google to find them. For the Guest IP settings, this would involve changing to static. Use 10.0.2.15 as Guest IP, netmask of 255.0.0.0 and a gateway of 10.0.2.2. DNS would be 10.0.2.3, but setting a secondary to an internet DNS should work too.

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 18. Oct 2008, 19:44

Hi

Thanks

My host uses a DNS provided by my ADSL router which it gets from my ISP.

The DNS seems to work in Windows so is it that it is not being passed to the VM?

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 18. Oct 2008, 19:48

OK using a DNS I found on Google works perfectly.

Thanks

ronanoleary · Post by **ronanoleary** » 19. Oct 2008, 09:21

Arrrgh!

It won't remember my settings now. The DNS servers are not saved and the desktop resolutions just go back to how I started if I restart the VM

Post by **Sasquatch** » 20. Oct 2008, 21:26

If you set a static IP in the Guest, the settings should be saved. Even if you set DHCP for the Guest and set the proper DNS servers for the Host, it should be fine.

For the resolution, it is sometimes nessecary to change the window size a few times to trigger the custom resolution (like going to fullscreen and back).