virtualbox.org

Hey guys,
I have a Windows Vista host and I am trying to install Linux From Scratch 64 bit from the LFS livecd. I am seeing erratic errors though which I am totally stumped on. I am not sure where to gather more information so I am looking for debugging ideas.

I have googled around and mostly find people that seem to have been successful with vbox and LFS. I also have looked around the forums and I think the issue I have may be similiar though distinct to that seen in the thread "Virtual Computer random crashes garbelled screen".

Initially things seem to work fun but whenever i start anything that requires heavy cpu work(like compiling or untarring a package) the system starts acting erratically. After whatever I was running dies the whole system seems funny. The system clock(on the vm) becomes eratic and jumps around(I watched it flicker back and forth between 21 something hours and 19 something hours). Any terminal window that I open seem to pause and if I move to another desktop when i move back they never refresh. The processes in those terminals are still findable if I open a new terminal and ps -A | grep {some program} but they are no longer taking any resources(according to top).

On the host I can also see that the VM is no longer taking any resources. The other applications(mainly firefox) seems to be responsive but can freeze up as well.

Sometimes it fails before I get to a cpu-intensive step. Oh yes I am using 3.0.8 and I was having the same issue with 3.0.6

General
Name:LinuxFromScratch
OS Type:Linux 2.6 (64 bit)
System Base Memory:2048 MB
Processor(s):2
Boot Order:
Floppy, CD/DVD-ROM, Hard Disk
VT-x/AMD-V:Enabled
Nested Paging:Enabled
Display Video Memory:128 MB
3D Acceleration:Enabled
Remote Display Server:Disabled
Hard Disks
IDE Primary Master:
LinuxFromScratch.vdi (Normal, 80.00 GB)

CD/DVD-ROM
Image:lfslivecd-x86_64-6.3-r2160.iso

Floppy
Not mounted
Audio
Host Driver:
Windows DirectSound
Controller:
ICH AC97
Network
Adapter 1:Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop (NAT)
Serial Ports Disabled

USB Device Filters:

0 (0 active)

Shared Folders
None

So I realized that I left out some information.

The reason that this is posted in the Windows host sections rather than the Linux Guest sections is because the guest is a livecd that I know works under normal circumstances so I think the host is more likely the issue.

Also the reasons that I think it is related to the other thread is that I also see my issues resolve when I change to a single cpu from 2 cpu's but where is the fun in that? I am really trying to get a dual cpu setup going and to me switching to a single cpu seems a bit like giving up.

I opened a new thread because the earlier thread is already marked solved.

I am not necessarily looking for a solution(although if you have one that would be awesome) but just where to look for more information. If anyone has some pointers that I could start to look at and examine what is happening that would be wonderful.

Thanks ahead of time for the help and information.

How much memory does the host have?
Also have you tried to set the VRam to no more than 64 meg? Lower if you can.
Also try it without the 3D effects and see if this helps

You may want to install a memory indicator on the host to watch and see what it shows. I use a gadget that shows CPU usage and memory and find it very useful in tracking down problems with Vista. Also sysinternals process explorer is very useful.

The host has 8 GB of ram.

I have been watching the memory usage and I don't ever see it go over 45 % used.

I am currently running some tests with it 64MB of video memory.(Since the failure seems to be sporadic I am just unzipping and compiling several packages over and over to stress test.

I noticed that elsewhere it has been mentioned that 64MB vs 128MB of video ram seems to help things. Does anyone know why that is? The host has a fairly new Nvidia card with 1 GB of ram so I don't think it is running out.

I will get back with the results, and thanks for the help.

The Vram that VirtualBox uses is system ram and not GPU memory. Some where the seems to be a bug or something that causes problems with using more than 64 meg of video memory is certain conditions, although I am not sure what or where it is.