keyboard dies sporadically

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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kingpin393
Posts: 8
Joined: 16. Oct 2008, 20:11

keyboard dies sporadically

Post by kingpin393 »

Host: Windows XP
Guest: Ubuntu Desktop 8.04

Hi,
My keyboard just stops working in the guest. The mouse works fine. It seems to be random.

Anyone know how to fix this?

Thanks,
Kevin
moudy
Posts: 5
Joined: 14. Aug 2008, 08:22

Post by moudy »

The same happens on my computer (Acer Travelmate 5720). Host = Vista premium sp1 guest Kubuntu 8.04, Kubuntu 8.10, openSuSE 11.0. Both keyboards (notebook keyboard and additional UBS-Keyboard) are lost then...
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Post by Sasquatch »

If the keyboard in the GUEST is not working, check if VB actually grabbed the keyboard. You can check this by looking at the status bar at the bottom and see if the Host icon (the down arrow) is green. If it's black, the keyboard is not grabbed. You can fix this by switching to a different program, or click on the Start Menu, then inside the Guest.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
chrisvw
Posts: 11
Joined: 3. Nov 2008, 15:38

Post by chrisvw »

Quick fix:

After starting the guest, go to VirtualBox's menus and disable and enable the mouse integration. Like this:

Machine > Disable Mouse Integration
Machine > Enable Mouse Integration

The keyboard will work again in the guest after that.

It had me stumped for a while. Even rebooting my guests did not help. But the above-mentioned procedure seems to work.

This weird behavior started since I upgraded to VirtualBox 2.0.4
orro
Posts: 4
Joined: 1. Nov 2008, 10:31

Post by orro »

Just leave it for a cup of coffee.
Than the keyboard will be back.
Dest
Volunteer
Posts: 138
Joined: 11. Jan 2008, 17:03
Primary OS: MS Windows Vista
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows 2000, Windows XP, Ubuntu, FreeBSD

Post by Dest »

this has always happened, usually more so if you swap in and out of the guest <-> host frequently.

Listed methods work as does just clicking on the virtualmachine's menu and using your arrow keys to move down a couple options. After that, the keyboard should work correctly
stephanecharette
Volunteer
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Primary OS: Ubuntu other
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Ubuntu-64bit, Windows
Location: Kelowna, British Columbia, Canada
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Re: keyboard dies sporadically

Post by stephanecharette »

I've been getting this a lot recently with 2.2.0 and now 2.2.2. I have Windows Vista guest in full-screen mode on my laptop. Normally runs that way for days. Then every once in a while the keyboard stops working. Cannot get out of full-screen mode, host key + anything doesn't work. But the guest still work, and the mouse still works. Just cannot type. All I can do is shut down Vista to return to the host, then start the guest again.

Anything can be done to debug this? I'm running into this maybe once every 3 days or so.

Stéphane
coolbiker
Posts: 70
Joined: 24. Apr 2009, 05:38
Primary OS: MS Windows Vista
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Server 08, Window 7 RC, Vista 32, xp,Ubuntu,Windows Server 2003

Re: keyboard dies sporadically

Post by coolbiker »

Mine started doing this with 2.2.2. Now I think I found another thing involving clicking the virtual box during loading causing crashes.
coolbiker
Posts: 70
Joined: 24. Apr 2009, 05:38
Primary OS: MS Windows Vista
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Server 08, Window 7 RC, Vista 32, xp,Ubuntu,Windows Server 2003

Re: keyboard dies sporadically

Post by coolbiker »

Posted a bug regarding this. http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/3913
KuleRucket
Posts: 10
Joined: 15. Jan 2009, 15:57

Re: keyboard dies sporadically

Post by KuleRucket »

I get the same on a SLES 10 host with a Windows XP guest (VirtualBox 2.2.2). It happens to me overnight and I think it's due to the screen saver becoming active but I need to try a few more things to narrow it down. There is another bug report that more closely resembes my problem:

http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/3894
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