Win7 VM Stuck at Boot after Installing Additions

[jackflongley]

Greetings all. First time poster genuinely stuck with a VBoxAdditions problem (I think).

• Fresh install of 7.0.14 on Win10 Host.
• New guest created with Windows 7 (required for old software).
• After system install, ran the VBox additions (build 161095, I think).
• System reaches the boot animation for Win7 but stops mid-boot.
• Reset, then boot into Safe Mode.
• Uninstall, then install test build Additions (161308).
• Same result.

I've attached the VBox.log and hardening logs, but I can't see anything obvious. I know from other posts that replacing the Guest Additions fixes numerous issues, but I haven't found a working one yet.

Many thanks!

[jackflongley]

For reference, I have a Win10 guest and two Ubuntu 22 guests which run without any perceivable issues, even with the older additions installed.

[scottgus1]

The hardening log exit code is 0, so no hardening problems.

7.0.12 introduced a bug for Windows 7 Guest Additions that was supposed to be fixed in 7.0.14. A forum guru might be able to make a suggestion on what to troubleshoot.

Workaround-wise, you may be able to use 7.0.10 Guest Additions.
https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/
https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds

[fth0]

I don't see anything obvious either, but a few things that lead to some seemingly random ideas:

First of all, please use the same version 7.0.14 for VirtualBox (VB), the VirtualBox Extension Pack (EP) and the VirtualBox Guest Additions (GA), when reproducing the issue and providing VBox.log files. The background reason is that VB and EP are supposed to be the same version; it might not matter in your setup, but VRDP is part of the EP, so any slight change between versions might be relevant.

Second, IIRC, on Windows 7 guests you can choose between two graphics drivers during the GA installation. Please try the WDDM driver instead of the XPDM driver.

You're running the VM headless and are connecting via VRDP. Do you also have local access to the host and can you try running the VM in normal (GUI) mode?

You're providing a SLIC table for licensing to the VM. Did this work with this VM before?

FWIW, the last thing that was logged before the reboot (via ACPI reset) was an error from a GA component to handle VirtualBox Shared Folders ("vbsfIOCTL: Error opening device, last error = 2"). Does this ring some bell?

[jackflongley]

Thanks for the suggestions. I've removed/reinstalled the host install, extensions, and guest additions back to 7.0.14. Same result.

I removed and recreated the guest (see the new logs), avoiding VRDP and without any SLIC involved. Same result.

During install of the guest additions, I didn't see the screen for choosing the display driver type. I remember it in previous versions, but haven't seen it in a long time. Maybe there's a command-line switch to enable it?

It's not in the attached logs, but I did try the VM with the 7.0.10 guest additions and got the same result.

[fth0]

Thanks for trying. I checked the new log files, but couldn't see any real indication of your issue. I'd suggest to treat the VM like a physical PC and investigate inside the guest OS (perhaps boot into Safe Mode and take a look at the Windows Event Viewer).

During install of the guest additions, I didn't see the screen for choosing the display driver type. I remember it in previous versions, but haven't seen it in a long time. Maybe there's a command-line switch to enable it?

ISTR some selection labeled with "experimental", but my memory is also fading in that regard. But there seems to be a command line switch indeed: search the VirtualBox User Manual for "XPDM" in Unattended Installation of the Windows Guest Additions.

[jackflongley]

Nothing of significance that I can find in the Event Viewer logs. :/

I added the

Code: Select all

/with_wddm

switch to the installer, but no difference whatsoever.

I appreciate all the suggestions and help, but I don't have more time to tinker. So I fired up an XP guest to run the software I need and that's seems to be running just fine.

[Beernose]

I can confirm the OP's report.

• Had an existing Windows 7 VM, originally based upon a very old VB version (5.x). So uninstalled that version of VBExtensions.

• I had 7.0.12 and experienced the prior bug (cannot install the extensions because of signing error). So I started over. Basic W7 install, no VBExtensions installed

• Upgraded to 7.0.14. Installed new 7.0.14 extension pack

• Start Windows 7 machine. Get the initial bootup animation. I HEAR the startup audio indicating I should be arriving at the desktop, but the video is stuck at the bootup animation (which is no longer animating, just "stuck")

• If I use keyboard shortcuts, I can blindly login, I can even make it shutdown gracefully (can only tell because I hear the audio cues for shutdown), and then it safely shuts down

• If I boot to safe mode, it boots up successfully. All is normal. No errors in Device Manager shown.

Something wrong in the new Guest Additions that isn't allowing a successful graphic mode switch from the bootup screen to the actual desktop resolution.

Other VMs (including Win7) on the same machine which have older extension packs installed will boot successfully with a proper desktop shown.

I attached logs in a later post in this thread....

[fth0]

Can you provide a (zipped) VBox.log file from such a VM run? And please state if your description is (not) matching the log file.

[Beernose]

I uninstalled 7.0.14 and rolled back to 7.0.10.... obtained same results. So seems the problem may have begun prior to 7.0.14? (unless something from 7.0.14 is "stuck" in my machine even after uninstall and reboot)

This time tried fresh brand new install of Windows 7. Installed, rebooted twice. Installed guest additions 7.0.10. Reboot. Stuck on boot-animation screen.

Just like last time, I can "sign in" with password blindly and use keyboard shortcuts to shut the machine down. But the video stays stuck on the frozen Windows 7 bootup animation.

I was able to press F8 at boot and select 640x480 resolution and it does successfully boot using the VMWare video driver, but in that mode, if I choose to try another resolution, the resolution options on the "Generic Non-PnP Monitor on VirtualBox Graphics Adapter" are non-existent. I see a message in the event log relating to detecting to detection of the PnP monitor at boot time. If I rollback the video adapter to the original Windows Standard SVGA, video is fine on the reboot. (but then I lose the auto display resizing and other modes)

My host machine is Windows 10 Pro (22H2, 19045.3930) with a AMD Radeon RX550 video card (Dell Optiplex 5070)

[Beernose]

Second, IIRC, on Windows 7 guests you can choose between two graphics drivers during the GA installation. Please try the WDDM driver instead of the XPDM driver.

How do we select the alternate graphics driver during installation? I have never seen that as an option. Only thing I tried is unchecking the Direc3D drivers.

[PeterJames]

FWIW, I similarly struggled with upgrading guest additions from 6.1.34 to 7.0.14 but have managed to complete the installation in the following way.

Upgraded VBOX to 7.0, upgraded extension pack, launched Windows 11 VM (from MAC host) to upgrade guest additions from either Devices --> Upgrade Guest Additions or launching from within VM once Guest Additions CD was added. Both would end in a crash of the VM at the end of the install and the VM appeared to be unrecoverable. Fortunately process was repeatable as I cloned the original in each case to do the upgrade.

To complete the upgrade successfully I disabled Guest Additions from startup in the VM, restarted, upgraded to 7.0.14 from within the VM which led to a similar crash. Selected Machine Reset once in crash state. Once machine was aborted I changed the settings for the VM to disable the 3D acceleration from the Display settings - using VBoxSVGA Graphics Controller.

Started VM and it came up clean, enabled Guest Additions to launch in Startup menu and relaunched VM. All finally came up clean. Hope it helps....

[jackflongley]

I can confirm the behavior that @Beernose mentions:

• The Windows boot logo appears stuck, but the system allows me to login blindly.
• I can shutdown the system blindly to avoid resetting the guest manually.
• While this may apply to upgraded guests, I am reproducing this on a clean, new Windows 7 install.

In this case, I recreated my guest on a Ubuntu 22 host, but without any difference that I can see from the Windows 10 host.

[jackflongley]

Ok, a little more information:

• I booted into Safe Mode and changed the graphics driver back to the Standard VGA driver (via Device Manager).
• After rebooting, Windows 7 comes up to the login screen as expected.

I think this gets back to @fth0's original suggesting to use the WDDM driver. I can see in the logs that the XPDM driver is loaded. After reverting to the Standard VGA driver, I now see the following:

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Display::i_handleDisplayResize: uScreenId=0 pvVRAM=00007f68cc000000 w=1280 h=1024 bpp=32 cbLine=0x1400 flags=0x0 origin=0,0

With the XPDM driver in the previous log, it seems like the system can't resize properly:

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GUI: UIInvisibleWindow::sltFallback: Resize event haven't came. Screen: 0, work area: 0x0 x 5992x1563
GUI: UIDesktopWidgetWatchdog::sltHandleHostScreenAvailableGeometryCalculated: Screen 0 work area is actually resized to: 0x0 x 5992x1563

Looking at the Guest Additions, I can't see anyway to force the install or usage of the WDDM driver.

[fth0]

I'm wondering why VirtualBox thinks that your host's monitor has a resolution of 5992x1563, and if this relates to your issue.