Snapshots of Linux: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0X80004005)

[grahamperrin]

manjaro-kde-24.2.1-241216-linux612.iso from https://manjaro.org/products/download/x86

Enable EFI, install Manjaro, opt to Restart now, take a snapshot before clicking Done.

VirtualBox can not use the snapshot – it begins restoring the machine (as shown to the left, and at the foot of the sidebar), then the VM session aborts (as shown twice in the upper part of the sidebar):

restoring.png (169.98 KiB) Viewed 55501 times

I removed the guest (all files), repeated the routine. Again: the snapshot is unusable, it's necessary to discard.

Is this reproducible with non-FreeBSD hosts?

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grahamperrin:~ % pkg iinfo virtualbox
virtualbox-ose-70-7.0.24_2
virtualbox-ose-kmod-70-7.0.24.1500035
grahamperrin:~ % uname -avKU
FreeBSD mowa219-gjp4-zbook-freebsd 15.0-CURRENT FreeBSD 15.0-CURRENT main-n276254-22fe926a62b7 GENERIC-NODEBUG amd64 1500035 1500035
grahamperrin:~ % 

[grahamperrin]

The same problem with a third guest. This time, EFI disabled.

[multiOS]

To me, the screenshot clearly shows that when you say you took the Snapshot you were still operating in the Manjaro Live Environment, not in the newly installed VM. You can only enter the installed VM once the reboot completes.

By the way, in future, please upload any screenshots using the Message Attachment Tab in preference to transient external links. The forum thread makes no sense when the linked file disappears; and also, many users will avoid the use of external links, especially if posted by an unknown source.

[grahamperrin]

… You can only enter the installed VM …

The errors are not with snapshots taken after booting the installed system.

The errors are with snapshots that precede the reboot. Please note,

… take a snapshot before clicking Done.

A clearer view of a guest in this state – aiming to click OK in the Take Snapshot of Virtual Machine dialogue:

2025-04-06 20-53 aiming to take a snapshot.png (136.48 KiB) Viewed 55497 times

– reduced to greyscale, because the colour original is too large for the forums.

[multiOS]

As I said, AFAIK a snapshot recorded before a reboot of the newly installed OS will fail because you were still operating in the Live Linux Environment/initial installation environment, created by booting the ISO which builds an in-memory operating/installation environment); and not a completed VM installation, so there won't, at that point, be a consolidated bootable VM environment to capture. If the aim is to capture a snapshot of the initial 'clean' installation, I suggest taking a snapshot immediately after the VM has been rebooted and confirmed to be functional, but before making any further changes, and then test that approach.

Of course, I may be wrong, so if anyone knows better they are welcome to provide an alternative explanation.

[grahamperrin]

… AFAIK a snapshot recorded before a reboot of the newly installed OS will fail …

That has never been my experience with other guests.

[multiOS]

O.K. Then your remaining options would seem to be:

- Wait for some other Forum response;
- Ask on the Manjaro Forum, if you haven't altready;
- Report the issue on the VirtualBox Public Bugtracker - https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Bugtracker

[grahamperrin]

From the attached log, two areas that may be relevant.

Lines 1361–1379:

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00:00:14.261461 VMMDev: Guest Additions information report: Interface = 0x00010004 osType = 0x00053100 (Linux >= 2.6, 64-bit)
00:00:14.261962 VGA: VMSVGA2dGBO enabled in VM config but SVGA_CAP_GBOBJECTS is NOT present in Caps, so fVMSVGA2dGBO should be forced to 0
00:00:14.266352 AssertLogRel /wrkdirs/usr/ports/emulators/virtualbox-ose-70/work/VirtualBox-7.0.24/src/VBox/Devices/Graphics/DevVGA.cpp(6011) int vgaR3LoadExec(PPDMDEVINS, PSSMHANDLE, uint32_t, uint32_t): uMarker == VGA_SAVED_STATE_MAKE_MARKER(6)
00:00:14.266394 Bad VGA marker: expected a72656b72614d36, got 19200102
00:00:14.266406 SSM: LoadExec failed for 'vga' instance #0 (version 27, pass 0xffffffff): VERR_SSM_DATA_UNIT_FORMAT_CHANGED
00:00:14.269019 SSM: Unit at 0x3aac10ae, current position: offUnit=0x4ae7d offUnitUser=0xad8cb
00:00:14.269034 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state really changed, notifying listeners
00:00:14.269055 VMSetError: /wrkdirs/usr/ports/emulators/virtualbox-ose-70/work/VirtualBox-7.0.24/src/VBox/VMM/VMMR3/SSM.cpp(8935) int ssmR3LoadExecV2(PVM, PSSMHANDLE); rc=VERR_SSM_DATA_UNIT_FORMAT_CHANGED
00:00:14.269062 VMSetError: Failed to load unit 'vga'
00:00:14.269098 GUI: UIMachineViewNormal::adjustGuestScreenSize: Guest-screen #0 display is not initialized, adjustment is not possible.
00:00:14.269110 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:14.269119 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=1, Machine-state=14
00:00:14.269142 SSM: Unit 'vga' contents:
00:00:14.269180 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:14.269190 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=1, Machine-state=14
00:00:14.269227 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:14.269237 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=1, Machine-state=14
00:00:14.269292 GUI: UISession::sltAdditionsChange: GA state change event came, notifying listeners
00:00:14.269315 GUI: UIMachineLogicNormal::sltCheckForRequestedVisualStateType: Requested-state=1, Machine-state=14

Lines 17765–17771:

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00:00:14.406005 AssertLogRel /wrkdirs/usr/ports/emulators/virtualbox-ose-70/work/VirtualBox-7.0.24/src/VBox/VMM/VMMR3/SSM.cpp(6477) int ssmR3DataReadBufferedV2(PSSMHANDLE, void *, size_t): !pSSM->u.Read.fEndOfData
00:00:14.406015 cbBuf=1
00:00:14.406023 0x000ad8d0: 00 00 00 06 04 92 19 36-4d 61 72 6b 65 72 0a     .......6Marker.
00:00:14.406031 SSM: offCur=0xad8df fEndOfData=1 (rc=VERR_SSM_LOADED_TOO_MUCH)
00:00:14.406127 DnD: Feature is disabled, ignoring request from guest
00:00:14.406359 Changing the VM state from 'LOADING' to 'LOAD_FAILURE'
00:00:14.406441 Changing the VM state from 'LOAD_FAILURE' to 'POWERING_OFF'

A partial comparison with a guest that is not bugged:

Code: Select all

                                Debian      Manjaro
paravirtualisation interface    none        default
processors                      1           8
graphics controller             VBoxSVGA    VMSVGA

I removed the most recent bugged guest (all files), recreated it with settings as summarised below, installed Manjaro, opted to Restart now, took a snapshot before clicking Done.

• VBoxSVGA
• EFI
• eight processors
• host I/O cache enabled for IDE (manjaro-kde-24.2.1-241216-linux612.iso) and for SATA (128 GB disk)
• bidirectional drag-and-drop
• bidirectional shared clipboard.

Success. I'll perform more tests.

For now, I should assume that:

• VMSVGA is problematic
• VBoxSVGA is preferable – ignore the yellow alert (pictured below), and do not enable 3D acceleration.

Information for a usable snapshot.

2025-04-07 18-01 snapshot information.png (88.45 KiB) Viewed 54905 times

Settings after starting from the restored snapshot.

2025-04-07 18-04 settings.png (95.87 KiB) Viewed 54905 times

[grahamperrin]

… assume that:

• VMSVGA is problematic
• VBoxSVGA is preferable – ignore the yellow alert (pictured below), and do not enable 3D acceleration.

I changed settings for the good installations of Debian and Manjaro from VBoxSVGA, to VMSVGA, then took snapshots of running guests. Result:

• neither snapshot was usable.

The original question:

• is this reproducible with non-FreeBSD hosts?

In addition:

• is this reproducible with emulators/virtualbox-ose (currently 6.1.50_10) as the host?

Re: <https://www.freshports.org/emulators/vi ... ns#message>, it's known that VBoxSVGA is preferable where the port of Guest Additions is installed in a FreeBSD guest.

VMSVGA problematic for Linux guests is a surprise to me. I wonder whether it's a regression in emulators/virtualbox-ose-70 (currently 7.0.24_2).

[grahamperrin]

As far as I can tell: no comparable issue with VirtualBox 7.1.6 r167084 (Qt6.5.3) on Windows 10 24H2.

A saved guest that uses VMSVGA for Debian-based KDE Neon is usable.

phpBB prevents me from editing the title of my topic. It should be:

FreeBSD host, VMSVGA (default) for Linux guests: snapshots of running guests are not usable: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0X80004005)

A report in Bugzilla for FreeBSD may be appropriate. Use the second of the two bug icons at:

https://www.freshports.org/emulators/virtualbox-ose-70/

(I'm not the best person to make a report. I'm switching from FreeBSD to Linux.)