Use a fix window size and dont resize to application size

[Wiggum]

Hi !

Im currently using VirtualBox with a Windows XP Guest to play some older games in a window that naturally dont support windowed mode.
All works well, but it looks like VirtualBox resizes the window size to the application resolution.

Example:
I run VirtualBox (Win XP) in windowed mode, resolution set to 1024x768 (in Win XP display settings).
I start a game that uses a fixed resolution of 800x600.
Now, the VirtualBox window resizes itselfe to 800x600 too instead of stretching the game to 1024x768.

Is there any way to prevent the automatic resize of the window ?
How can i get the any application stretched to 1024x768 instead of a automatic resize to the application resolution ?

Thanks for your help !

[Sasquatch]

Set the resolution, let VB match it's size then enable scale mode. See how that goes.

[Wiggum]

Thanks, i missed that feature of the new version of VirtualBox...should have read the changelog.

Anyway, can someone tell me why in "Scale Mode" everything look totally tiny or blurry ?
If i set the resolution to 1024x768 in the guest the window looks just fine. But if i now switch to "Scale Mode" everything looks totally tiny. Now i stretch the window and it starts to look blury.

Can someone explain what this "Scale Mode" actually does ?
The manual cant help here.

Thanks !

[Sasquatch]

Scale mode does what it suggests. It scales the Guest display to fit the VB window. I haven't used scale mode before, because I don't need it, so I am not entirely sure what you're seeing. If the size of the Guest window doesn't change, then check the resolution setting inside the guest. It should still say 1024x768. If it doesn't, change it to that.
The reason it starts to look blurry is because it's scaling the image. Just take a small picture and change it's zoom level, you will see what I'm talking about. Lower resolutions have to be upscaled and can be blocky, or blurry. Higher resolutions have to be downscaled and will loose some pixels, so it will look jerked.

[Wiggum]

Thanks again !

I just mean:
If i have VB in windowed mods and choose 1024x768 as display size of the guest it switches to a window size of 1024x768 and looks totally fine and sharp.
Now i switch to scaled mode and the window actually does not change, the resolution inside of the guest is also still the same...but now everything looks a bit blurry.
But the window size has not changed and the resolution is still the same...

Thats the point i dont understand, why it starts looking blurry although actually nothing changed, nothing should have been scaleled if i understand it all correct.
Just curious...

[Sasquatch]

That is curious. I just tested it with a Live CD of DSL, since that boots the fastest. First I got a smaller window and after stretching it bit by bit, it eventually looked almost identical to non-scaled. If you made the windows exactly the same size, then it will look blurry because you haven't compensated for the lack of menu and status bar.

[Wiggum]

I did some more testing:
I created a white rectangle on my host that was exactly 1024x768 and tried to overlay the VirtualBox window.

Without Scale Mode the actuall Guest window without VB menu and status bar is exacly 1024x768, thats why it looks so sharp !
With Scale Mode it was not possible to stretch the Guest window to fit the white rectangle, with or without window border...thats why it always looks not as sharp as without Scale Mode i think.

RED=VB menu and status bar / window border
BLACK=my perfect 1024x768 rectangle
BLUE=The actuall Guest window

[Sasquatch]

Doesn't that just prove what I posted above? That you need to fiddle with the screen size until you're satisfied? It's either that, or live with the Guest window resizing when you play the game.