virtualbox.org

Hi,

I am trying to boot the Ubuntu Deskop 9.04 i386 ISO so that I can install it, and I am getting the following error:

00:00:17.422 PGM: Failed to procure handy pages; rc=VERR_NO_MEMORY rcAlloc=VINF_SUCCESS rcSeed=VINF_SUCCESS cHandyPages=0x8
00:00:17.422 cAllPages=0x1c4cf cPrivatePages=0xa41a cSharedPages=0x0 cZeroPages=0x120b5
00:00:17.422 PGM: Failed to procure handy pages; rc=VERR_NO_MEMORY rcAlloc=VINF_SUCCESS rcSeed=VINF_SUCCESS cHandyPages=0x7
00:00:17.422 cAllPages=0x1c4cf cPrivatePages=0xa41b cSharedPages=0x0 cZeroPages=0x120b4
00:00:17.422 VM: Raising runtime error 'HostMemoryLow' (fFlags=0x2)
00:00:17.422 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'SUSPENDED'.
00:00:17.472 Console: VM runtime error: fatal=false, errorID=HostMemoryLow message="Unable to allocate and lock memory. The virtual machine will be paused. Please close applications to free up memory or close the VM"

This is despite the fact that I have 2 GB RAM with lots free and I have only allocate the default 384 MB to the guest:

00:00:00.288 Host RAM: 2020MB RAM, available: 1063MB

I have seen old posts about this error but they all suggested that there was a bug in VirtualBox 2.2.0 and it was fixed in 2.2.2. I am running version 3.0.4 on Windows XP SP3. I have even tried reducing the guest memory to 256 MB and it doesn't help.

Please help.

Thanks,
Luke

I also am experiencing this problem with both VirtualBox 3.0.4 and 3.0.6. I am unsure if it is a bug, as I cannot yet determine what the "Handy Pages" are and why VirtualBox is unable to obtain them.

I am running Windows XP Service Pack 2, Ubuntu 9.04 server 32 bit, 2GB RAM installed DDR2 Dual Channel, Pentium 4 3.0 GHz, Hyper Threading (2).

I notice in my log:
00:00:01.195 Host RAM: 2047MB RAM, available: 1207MB

This represents what Process Explorer is telling me. Basically 1.2 GB RAM Available before VirtualBox guest startup. I can only launch a 300 MB RAM Guest OS. I have tested using the "Test Memory" feature of the Ubuntu installation CD iso file, which fails before we complete one full pass if the guest OS Memory Allocation is too high.

The error is:
00:00:14.365 PGM: Failed to procure handy pages; rc=VERR_NO_MEMORY rcAlloc=VINF_SUCCESS rcSeed=VINF_SUCCESS cHandyPages=0x8
00:00:14.365 cAllPages=0x2104c cPrivatePages=0x13e93 cSharedPages=0x0 cZeroPages=0xd1b9
00:00:14.366 PGM: Failed to procure handy pages; rc=VERR_NO_MEMORY rcAlloc=VINF_SUCCESS rcSeed=VINF_SUCCESS cHandyPages=0x7
00:00:14.366 cAllPages=0x2104c cPrivatePages=0x13e94 cSharedPages=0x0 cZeroPages=0xd1b8
00:00:14.366 VM: Raising runtime error 'HostMemoryLow' (fFlags=0x2)
00:00:14.366 Changing the VM state from 'RUNNING' to 'SUSPENDED'.


I have conducted several experiments, and to Luke I can only suggest it to continue to lower your allocated RAM to the guest Ubuntu and run the "Test Memory" of Ubuntu installation CD until you find a safe point for your machine.

Can anyone shed some light on whether this is a bug, or intended behaviour ? It seems like a rather low amount of memory available to the guest OS considering the amount of memory that is supposedly available to Windows XP.

Thanks in advance,
Stu.

How strange. I run all my VMs with 512 MB (only W7 has 768) and no problems. My Hosts have 2 and 3 GB of RAM. I can give the VMs on my PC (the one with 3 GB) up to 2 GB of RAM because my system doesn't use more than 1 GB. Though that setting is not recommended due to low memory left for the Host, but it runs.

There must be something wrong on your systems. Run the full memory check on the Host, maybe there's a problem with your system RAM.

Resolved - Conflict with InCD

Thank you to Luke and to Sasquatch for your help. I have resolved my issue with HostMemoryLow error. It was caused by the InCD program. This is part of the Nero package that shipped with my PC and DVD recorder.

The specific process affecting VirtualBox was:
InCDsrv.exe Version 4.02.0012.0001 ( Reported in the "About" window as version 4.2.12.1 )

Using the "Services" controller, if I stopped the service called "InCD Helper" and ran an Ubuntu memory test, I could create a guest OS with 1 GB RAM with my 2GB RAM Windows XP machine. I stopped testing after that.

Starting the"InCD Helper" service again, caused the HostMemoryLow error to be generated. I repeated this test several times, with different guest OS RAM sizes with the same results. Any time I tries a Guest OS with RAM size above 300 MB, if InCD was running, I would receive a HostMemoryLow error from VirtualBox.

Upgrading InCD by itself seemed to involve a small fee, so I elected to uninstall it from my system, as I do not use it.

Diagnosis:
To anyone experiencing this problem, I would recommend the following basic diagnostic procedure:

• First, as recommended by Sasquatch, run a test of your PC's RAM. I booted from an Ubuntu 9.04 installation CD and ran the RAM test on my genuine RAM. It showed no errors;
• Start Windows XP normally;
• Create a new VirtualBox Guest OS for Ubuntu and ensure it can boot from a CD image, or your real CD drive with an Ubuntu installation image (I used a mounted "iso" file);
• Instead of installing Ubuntu, run the "Test Memory" option. This should produce the HostMemoryLow error from VirtualBox. You will need to power off your Guest OS after you receive this error. Make sure you can reproduce the error consistently;
• Start quitting applications on your Windows XP host. Start with the system tray icons. Then test your Ubuntu Guest OS;
• Continue this process until you determine what is interfering with the Guest OS;
• If you have not found the culprit yet, you will need to use Task Manager (I personally use Process Explorer) and kill any processes that do not provide "exit" options. Test the Ubuntu Guest OS after you stop each process;
• If you still have not found the culprit, move on to Services. Using the Services controller, you will need to manually stop services. Start with anything non-Microsoft or non-essential. Test the Guest OS after you stop each process;

The above may take a while. I spent a few hours repeating the test after stopping each process running on my Windows XP machine, but it is worth it. VirtualBox now runs on my Windows XP Host brilliantly.

Stu.

tigs001 - Thanks! Stopping the InCD service fixed my problem too.

Damn you InCD