Only a few selectable resolutions (all 4:3) in Linux Guest

[vboehm]

Hello,
until now I have been using VirtualBox only for Windows clients on my Linux Workstations. In this constallation everthing worked (and works) fine and I cound select between a lot of resolutions in the clients System Preferences --> Display or could select 'Automatische Anpassung der Gastanzeige (Ctrl-G)' and enlarge/reduce the window or use fullscreen mode.
But now I need a Linux client (LinuxMint 11, derived from Ubuntu 11.04) and there I can only select between 640x480, 800x600, 1024x768, 1280x960, 1440x1050, and 1600x1200. But I wand to use the virtual machine either in the VBox client on the Server with a 1440x900 resolution or via RDP from two other machines with 1280x1024 resp. 1920x1080.
The 'Automatische Anpassung der Gastanzeige (Ctrl-G)' is grayed although the 4.0.8 guest additions are installed

Code: Select all

Laufzeit-Attribute

Auflösung               1024x768x32
VT-x/AMD-V              deaktiviert
Nested Paging           deaktiviert
Gast-Erweiterungen      4.0.8 r71778
Gast-Betriebssystem     Linux 2.6
Port für Fernsteuerung  3389

The installed VirtualBox version is the recent standard Installation (apt-get ...) 4.0.6r71344. How can I get the resolutions I need?

regards Volker

[Perryg]

You need version 4.0.8 of VirtualBox if you want to use the Unity desktop.
As well you need the guest additions installed (in the guest) for dynamic resolution. See Chapter 4 Guest Additions in your VirtualBox users guide.

[vboehm]

You need version 4.0.8 of VirtualBox if you want to use the Unity desktop.
As well you need the guest additions installed (in the guest) for dynamic resolution. See Chapter 4 Guest Additions in your VirtualBox users guide.

Hello,
I do not!!! want to use the Unity desktop (LinuxMint doesn't even offer Unity). I run 'Gnome without effects'.

And the installed version of VirtualBox (4.0.6r71344) is the latest version offered by ubuntu (11.04).

But I still want usable screen resolutions in my linux guests. The Windows guests work fine.

regards Volker

[Perryg]

Did you install the guest additions in the guest?

[vboehm]

Did you install the guest additions in the guest?

Hello,
as you can see from my original posting

The 'Automatische Anpassung der Gastanzeige (Ctrl-G)' is grayed although the 4.0.8 guest additions are installed

they were installed

But in the meantime I discovered the reason for grayed 'Automatische Anpassung der Gastanzeige (Ctrl-G)': I wanted to use 'Gnome (no effects)' as desktop but I accidently didn't change the login-selection. So the 'Gnome' desktop was still active. And either LinuxMint uses the same brain dead pre-pre-alpha version of compiz as Ubuntu does or the VirtualBox 4.0.6 version can't handle any version of compiz.

Anyway ... now i can select the native screen size from the VirtualBox client as well as from the RDP-client (in my case remmina).

Thank you for the hint.

regards Volker

[Sasquatch]

Also keep in mind that you should not believe the display applet where you can pick a resolution. It's not following the actual available resolutions. With dynamic resize, the Guest will just follow the size of the window. No need to select a resolution. If you want to have a specific one, then make the window as big as possible, then pick the possible resolution from the list. Only resolutions available are the one it currently has, and the next 4:3 sizes.