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Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 4. Nov 2013, 07:10
by billsc26
When resetting/rebooting a VM in full screen mode, most noticeably XP guests, when the VM BIOS splash screen comes up - I get the old background with the BIOS splash centered on it. Could VBox please clear the framebuffer memory so a VM restart happens on a nice, clean black background (just like a fresh start does)?
Thanks!
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 4. Nov 2013, 11:37
by michaln
This doesn't sound like a feature suggestion but rather a bug report. However, I've never seen such behavior so I wonder what conditions trigger it. This is one of the rare cases where a screenshot or even a short video would not be a complete waste of bandwidth

Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 5. Nov 2013, 03:41
by billsc26
On an XP guest it's as simple as just rebooting the guest (from within the guest). I have seen it triggered in a number of cases, but that's the easiest to reproduce. I didn't report it as a bug because it seems to be a visual anomaly and doesn't seem to have any impact to the guest.
I think I need an admin to approve me to add attachments, but I grabbed a screen capture to show the issue and will post when I can add an attachment.
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 5. Nov 2013, 08:33
by socratis
billsc26 wrote:I think I need an admin to approve me to add attachments, but I grabbed a screen capture to show the issue and will post when I can add an attachment.
I can help you with that by posting my machine's screenshot (and a short movie). It's Windows 7 with WDDM so that may be quite a different issue from yours...
Oops! I can't attach anything myself either... I'll return to the topic as soon as this option is available again...
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 5. Nov 2013, 12:18
by klaus
Can you say what doesn't work with attachments? I checked your permissions, and both of you are allowed to attach things. We're quite strict with what we accept (to prevent spreading malware), so I wonder if you accidentally trigger these limits.
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 5. Nov 2013, 13:24
by socratis
klaus wrote:Can you say what doesn't work with attachments? I checked your permissions, and both of you are allowed to attach things. We're quite strict with what we accept (to prevent spreading malware), so I wonder if you accidentally trigger these limits.
Because I don't see anymore the attachments tab below the "Save Draft, Preview, Submit" buttons, right of the "Options" tab. I could send you a screenshot... but I can't

. I tried it with Firefox, Opera, and Safari on 10.6.8, Firefox and IE in a Win7 VM.
Funny thing when I try a different topic or start a new one, I see the tab. Is there anything special about this topic?
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 02:47
by billsc26
I also don't have the "Attachments" tab when I try and post in this board - so I never even get to the point of trying to attach a file. My screenshot is a PNG file, for the record

I didn't have an Attachments tab when I started this thread either. If I should post the screenshot, maybe as a bug report, just let me know.
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 02:59
by Perryg
Can you verify that you do not have the upload attachment tab below the reply window?
See SS:

- Attach.png (24.73 KiB) Viewed 3535 times
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 03:58
by billsc26
Perryg wrote:Can you verify that you do not have the upload attachment tab below the reply window?
See SS:
Attach.png
Confirmed. I only have the "Options" tab and no "Attachment" tab.
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 04:14
by Perryg
I am going to move this topic to the using VirtualBox forum. Would you check to see if you can then add attachments?
I see you have already added attaachments before so it must be something with the suggestions forum and this will tell us.
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 04:22
by billsc26
Perryg wrote:I am going to move this topic to the using VirtualBox forum. Would you check to see if you can then add attachments?
I see you have already added attaachments before so it must be something with the suggestions forum and this will tell us.
Now I can add the attachment. Thanks for the help!
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 10:59
by socratis
Perryg wrote:Would you check to see if you can then add attachments?I see you have already added attaachments before so it must be something with the suggestions forum and this will tell us.
It most probably is. So here's my attachment as well. Note that the preview in the VBox Manager GUI
and in the dock (from R to L: Trash, HomeDir, Computer, QuickTime,
VM-Windows7, VirtualBox, ...) show all right. It's hard to see but it is at the "Starting Windows" phase...
@billsc26 : You are the lucky one, you can still see things

- Windows Screen Corruption.jpg (119.94 KiB) Viewed 3516 times
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 12:36
by Dsen
It seems the original issue described by Billsc26 and the issue from last comment of Socratis are different.
I was able to reproduce 1st one but never seen 2nd.
Socratis, could you please describe it more? How often does that happens and when?
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 6. Nov 2013, 14:21
by socratis
Dsen wrote:Socratis, could you please describe it more? How often does that happens and when?
Of course... I have a video if you care to look (too big to post, >128KB), I have opened a bug report (
#12193, I'm pretty sure it's the same thing) ... AND ... it's reproducible. It happens ONLY when rebooting, not when shutting down the VM and restarting.
If you believe it's a different issue, let me know if you want me to open a new thread and/or bugtrack...
Re: Clear framebuffer memory on VM reset/reboot
Posted: 7. Nov 2013, 01:42
by billsc26
My issue only seems to happen when rebooting the VM or resetting it. Very rarely, I have seen it happen right when the VM is shutting down - I think. It happens quickly, but I think I have seen random data similar to what Socrates noted. That seems to happen with Linux guests more than Windows guests. At least for me.