Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Windows hosts.
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OwenW
Posts: 7
Joined: 9. Sep 2009, 16:25
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 x64, XP Pro

Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Post by OwenW »

I am running 3.0.4 on Windows7 x64. I have a guest OS of Win7 x64, and I selected seamless mode. The guest window instantly vanished, and cannot be made visible. It shows on the taskbar as a blank window, and will not maximize. I am unable to change the seamless setting, so the VM is now unusable. Any ideas how to shut the seamless mode off?
Perryg
Site Moderator
Posts: 34369
Joined: 6. Sep 2008, 22:55
Primary OS: Linux other
VBox Version: OSE self-compiled
Guest OSses: *NIX

Re: Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Post by Perryg »

(host-L) after you click on the guest, either the task bar or the icon.
OwenW
Posts: 7
Joined: 9. Sep 2009, 16:25
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 x64, XP Pro

Re: Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Post by OwenW »

Perry,
Since the guest refuses to maximize, and is not shown on the desktop, there is no window to click (Ctrl+L) in. The session is active, the VM is running, but is totally inaccessible. I can close it down by sending it the shutdown signal, but that is all.
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

Re: Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Post by Sasquatch »

Check the machine settings file (<vmname>.xml) in your user profile folder (%userprofile% in explorer address bar, then .VirtualBox) and look for this line. Change the value as needed.

Code: Select all

<ExtraDataItem name="GUI/Seamless" value="off"/>
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.
OwenW
Posts: 7
Joined: 9. Sep 2009, 16:25
Primary OS: MS Windows 7
VBox Version: OSE other
Guest OSses: Win7 x64, XP Pro

Re: Guest OS Stuck in Taskbar

Post by OwenW »

Sassy,
That did the trick! The seamless mode had been working in the past, but seems to be messed up now. I did run a repair of the VirtualBox install, but that seemed to have no effect.
Thanks for the help. Much appreciated.
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