AutoCad sluggish with latest VBox

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mcp
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Posts: 132
Joined: 12. May 2007, 23:55
Primary OS: PCLinuxOS
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows XP Pro

AutoCad sluggish with latest VBox

Post by mcp »

I'm asking if anyone else is experiencing this problem.

I run Autocad in a VM and I have found that the crosshairs (i.e. cursor) is very sluggish and or problematic with the newer VBox versions. I found that I had to downgrade all the way back to 1.6.6 for it to disappear. Apparently after that version something changed.

I've tried everything I can think of. I've also upgraded to a newer pc thinking that the newer multicore cpu's with AMD-V would help. Nothing seems to help. I've also noticed that Vmware consistantly works well with AutoCad even though it's video ram is preset at only 8megs. So that can't be the cause.

And before anyone suggests it I've had a bug report filed for about 8 months with no activity. Either this is not being experienced by others or it is of such little value that it doesn't warrant any time.

Each way this will limit how long I will be able to use VBox. Not because I don't want to use it, but because at some point I will upgrade to a newer Linux version to get the most from my hardware and the version of VBox that works for me will not be compatible with it. I find that VBox runs consistantly faster than VMware, with the exception of AutoCad. The app. opens just fine (very fast) but as soon as I try to do work the cursor (crosshairs or an abbreviated form of it) becomes sticky, jerky and downright unusable.

So any idea's on what I can do?

MCP

Update: Just to keep everyone up to date, I took the action to downgrade my install of VB to 1.6.6 (I did this on my install of Klikit (Ubuntu-Hardy Heron)). Uninstalling GA and reinstalling 1.6.6 GA. With this arrangement I did have a few problems but noticed right away that my AutoCad cursor worked as it should.

Then I rebooted in PCLOS which is ver. 2009.2. It has VB ver. 3.06 installed. So I thought how will the very same vdi function. Much to my surprise the vdi with 1.6.6 GA working in 3.06 is working so far just as well as VB 1.6.6. So are the Guest Additions to blame? I don't know, but I will work with it this way and see what happens.

MCP
vbox4me2
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Re: AutoCad sluggish with latest VBox

Post by vbox4me2 »

I did find some time ago that the GA can make a world of difference especially with AC including technosoft add-ons, stick to one core. Mixing with older GA's in alot of cases gives a more stable Guest. Or drop the GA and go remote desktop.
mcp
Volunteer
Posts: 132
Joined: 12. May 2007, 23:55
Primary OS: PCLinuxOS
VBox Version: VirtualBox+Oracle ExtPack
Guest OSses: Windows XP Pro

Re: AutoCad sluggish with latest VBox

Post by mcp »

mcp wrote: Update: Just to keep everyone up to date, I took the action to downgrade my install of VB to 1.6.6 (I did this on my install of Klikit (Ubuntu-Hardy Heron)). Uninstalling GA and reinstalling 1.6.6 GA. With this arrangement I did have a few problems but noticed right away that my AutoCad cursor worked as it should.

Then I rebooted in PCLOS which is ver. 2009.2. It has VB ver. 3.06 installed. So I thought how will the very same vdi function. Much to my surprise the vdi with 1.6.6 GA working in 3.06 is working so far just as well as VB 1.6.6. So are the Guest Additions to blame? I don't know, but I will work with it this way and see what happens.

MCP
New Update:

Even though I reported that PCLOS and VB 3.06 was working just fine with GA 1.6.6, I was still experiencing some difficulty. AutoCad was usable but still not working as smoothly as it should.

Since I had switched from Kubuntu 8.04 (Klikit) to PCLOS I decided to install KDE4. What prompted me to switch is, PCLOS implements it very well and KDE has stopped development of ver.3.5 in favor of 4. So after taking care of a few small problems, It was time to get back to work. It wasn't until I had done some modifications to several drawings that I noticed that I had tvtime running all the while and did not experience any of the old jerkyness or slow downs that previously kept me from using the latest GA.

Today I installed ver. 3.0.10 GA and all is working fantastically. I'm reporting this incase anyone else wants to use AutoCad but have kept away because of similiar problems.

So if you want to use AutoCad in VBox on a linux host, try upgrading to KDE4.3. Works for me. :D

MCP
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