guest system hibernation: errors on system resume

[com.ent]

Hello,

I am facing a malfunction using Virtual Box 3.8.2 r64453 (PUEL).

The guest linux system slows down and hangs due to disk resource exhaustion after resuming from system hibernation (suspend to disk) of the guest itself.

The cause is that the system logs of the guest are packed with errors generated by virtualbox guest additions just after the guest resumes from hibernation.

The failure seems to be constanly replicable.

The host is a i686 system running Debian GNU/Linux 5.05 release "stable" (codenamed "Lenny") with kernel 2.6.32-bpo.3-686 (from http://backports.org repository).

The guest runs Debian GNU/Linux release "testing" (codenamed "Squeeze") with kernel (2.6.32-5-686); the VBoxLinuxGuestAdditions-x86 are regularly compiled and installed: the desktop envirnoment is gnome; these are some logs from guest system:

Code: Select all

$ uname -r
2.6.32-5-686
$ cat /etc/debian_version 
squeeze/sid
$ dmesg | grep "vbox\|swap"
[    6.189625] vboxguest: major 0, IRQ 9, I/O port d040, MMIO at 00000000f0400000 (size 0x400000)
[    6.189627] vboxguest: Successfully loaded version 3.2.8 (interface 0x00010004)
[   10.145057] Adding 1038328k swap on /dev/sda5.  Priority:-1 extents:1 across:1038328k 
[   27.674327] vboxsf: Successfully loaded version 3.2.8 (interface 0x00010004)
[   52.019430] [drm] Initialized vboxvideo 1.0.0 20090303 for 0000:00:02.0 on minor 0
$ cat /etc/fstab
# /etc/fstab: static file system information.
[..cut..]
# <file system> <mount point>   <type>  <options>       <dump>  <pass>
proc            /proc           proc    defaults        0       0
# / was on /dev/hda1 during installation
UUID=06051d2e-2c96-4f25-8344-9f93537e4a76 /               ext3    errors=remount-ro 0       1
# swap was on /dev/hda5 during installation
UUID=06813e52-f631-4688-8a73-0dd38367581e none            swap    sw              0       0
/dev/cdrom      /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,noauto     0       0
/dev/fd0        /media/floppy0  auto    rw,user,noauto  0       0

The system hibernation can be started by user interface (gnome) or by the hibernate command. The guest hibernation is completed without any warning or error on both guest and host (see virtualbox log attachment before resume).

When the guest system is resumed (with reboot) it seems to work properly except for virtualbox additions while the system logs (/var/log/syslog, /var/log/kern.log, /var/log/messages.log) of the guest are filled with the following errors up to exhaustion of disk space:

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[..cut..]
Aug 24 16:16:22 debian kernel: [  673.716438] VBoxGuestCommonIOCtl: HGCM_CALL: 64 Failed. rc=-37.
Aug 24 16:16:22 debian kernel: [  673.716491] VbglR0HGCMInternalCall: vbglR0HGCMInternalDoCall failed. rc=-37
Aug 24 16:16:22 debian kernel: [  673.716530] VBoxGuestCommonIOCtl: HGCM_CALL: 64 Failed. rc=-37.
Aug 24 16:16:22 debian kernel: [  673.720099] VbglR0HGCMInternalCall: vbglR0HGCMInternalDoCall failed. rc=-37
[..cut..]

The same error can be found in the virtualbox host log (see virtualbox log attachment after resume).

If the guest is shutted down, the failure disappears after the next guest reboot and reappears after the next guest system hibernation.

The malfunction appears also when the guest is Debian GNU/Linux release 5.05 release "stable".

I have searched the VirtualBox bug tracker and I have found the ticket #5078 (http://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/5078) that seems still open since virtual box version VirtualBox 3.0.6.

I have searched the forum for the error in log without success.

I'm sending this message to ask you if other people had experienced this malfunction, if a workaround exists and to receive advice about submitting this issue to the public bugtracker of virtualbox.

Thanks.

[Sasquatch]

A work around does exist and is very simple: Save State of the VM. VB isn't made to enter the Hibernate state.

[com.ent]

Hi,

A work around does exist and is very simple: Save State of the VM. VB isn't made to enter the Hibernate state.

Thanks for your quick and kind answer.

I would like to specify that:
1) I have never hibernated the host, but only the guest ;
2) I would like to use virtualbox to test hibernation functions of Debian GNU/Linux in the guest environment (so that, I cannot apply your suggestion); that's why I have done the tests cited in my previous message;
3) except for virtual box guest additions (and their errors in guest logs), the guest always seems to resume correctly in the test I've executed; that's why I thought that there was a malfunctions of guest additions rather than a missing feature of virtualbox.

Could it be a workaround not to install the guest additions ?

Could it be worth to ask developers to consider such a use case and to open a ticket (as wishlist ? as bug?) in the bugtracker of virtualbox ?

Thanks.

[Sasquatch]

You can always create a bug ticket. If all that is you want to do is test the hibernate feature of the OS, and only the GA are causing problem, then that means that you don't install it. After all, in a normal situation, you don't have Guest Additions.