Windows Server 2012 guest in 4.2.4

[Jonas H]

Hi,

I'm running a Windows Server 2012 guest in a Windows 8 64-bit host with Virtual Box 4.2.4, and can't get the resizing to work properly.

I have two monitors and use the second monitor for running vm's. When I run my Windows Server 2012-vm in full screen mode it doesn't use the full height of the screen, and if I use windowed screen mode, there are only some fixed resolutions available. The guest additions are updated to 4.2.4 and the display driver used is the Virtual Box driver for Windows 8.

I also have a Windows Server 2008 R2 vm which works just fine in the same host.

Any tips?

Brgds

Jonas

[Armando]

I am having quite similar video problems with a Win8 guest in a WinXPx64 host with VBox 4.2.0.
Unlike other VMs, the Win8 guest's window can't be resized by dragging (flickers, blank screens, jerky movements or even total freezes of the VM) and only some, randomly working, fixed resolutions are available in the screen settings.

I already posted a message about this and a site moderator answered saying that "Windows 8 support is in VirtualBox 4.2.4 Both base and Guest Additions".
Experience taught me to be very careful with upgrades so, as I do not actually "need" that Win8 guest at the moment, I decided to stay with 4.2.0 (which gives me no other problems) until upgrading won't be really useful. I just tried installing 4.2.4 Guest Additions in the Win8 guest; I got no improvement at all and I thought that the problem was in the base application.

Now your message makes me think that maybe things are different: if you have such display driver problems, so similar to mine, with the newest VBox release, then maybe full Win8 video support has yet to be achieved and new releases have to be waited for.

[Jonas H]

Hi,

Nice to know that it just isn't my setup not working. Sometimes I can get my VM to resize when I change the window size, but if I try to get it to use the whole screen (I have two monitors and use the second one for VMs) it refuses to fully extend to the whole screen and stays at for example 1871 x 983 on a 1920 x 1080 monitor.

Brgds

Jonas

[Perryg]

Hi,

Nice to know that it just isn't my setup not working. Sometimes I can get my VM to resize when I change the window size, but if I try to get it to use the whole screen (I have two monitors and use the second one for VMs) it refuses to fully extend to the whole screen and stays at for example 1871 x 983 on a 1920 x 1080 monitor.

Brgds

Jonas

I assume you have tried the (Host+F) full screen toggle to go into real full screen and that you have installed the guest additions (in the guest). Just clicking the full screen icon on the title bar is not true full screen

[Jonas H]

Hi,

Yes, I have installed the latest guest additions in the guest and tried both host key + F and manually resizing the vm window to use all of the monitor space, but to no avail.

Brgds

Jonas

[Perryg]

So when you use the (Host+F) toggle you have black on the edges, or just the resolution shows slightly less than what you thing you should have?

[Jonas H]

Yes, I get the black edges on top and bottom of the screen.

Brgds

Jonas

[Jonas H]

Hi again,

Just added at screen shot of the VM running on my second monitor, it's using 1871 x 983 of a 1920 x 1024 monitor.

Brgds

Jonas

[Perryg]

That looks like the GAs are not installed or not properly installed.
Post the guests log file (as an attachment)
See Online Users Manual for the location of the file.

[Jonas H]

Please find the vm log file attached.

Brgds

Jonas

[Perryg]

I want you to try a few things and report back.

Use (in a windowed view) the mouse click and drag to make the screen smaller, at least by a third.
Does it correctly change to the new size?
Next use the Host+F toggle on this Windows.
Does it go full screen and does it adjust to the proper size?

Also click on the guest title bar (File) and the session information. Look for Guest Additions and what does it report?

[Jonas H]

Hi,

See below for my answers.

? Use (in a windowed view) the mouse click and drag to make the screen smaller, at least by a third. Does it correctly change to the new size?

! Yes, but between the "old" size and the "new" size it resizes itself to something that looks like one of the standard sizes (1024x768, 1280x800....). If I try to resize manually to full screen the window gets scrollbars but doesn't fill the full monitor, see attached new screen shot.

? Next use the Host+F toggle on this Windows. Does it go full screen and does it adjust to the proper size?

! No, it switches between windowed and the non-full screen as shown by my screen shot in an earlier reply.

? Also click on the guest title bar (File) and the session information. Look for Guest Additions and what does it report?

! Guest Additions 4.2.4.r81684

Brgds

Jonas

[Perryg]

Only other thing I can think of is to check that auto-rezise is enabled. Use the (Host-G) toggle and see if that allows it to work properly, or you can click the view tab on the title bar and see if it is enabled.

[Jonas H]

Hi,

This problem still exists in 4.2.6.

Brgds

Jonas

[CSSEPgmr]

I thought that I also had this problem until I realised that the guest additions were not installing. To get the guest additions to install, I not only had to open the mounted guest additions ISO and run VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe manually (as opposed to installing from the Devices menu or Host+D) but I had to run the install twice before the guest additions installed, as indicated by the appearance of the guest additions icon in the system tray.

This is common behaviour for all guest OSs I have installed under VB 4.2.12.

Host system is Windows 7 SP1 64bit.
VB 4.2.12