Ubuntu 10.04 stops responding

[SignalEleven]

Hello,
I have a very strange issue. I have an Ubuntu 10.04 32 bit guest running on a Windows 7 (64 bit) host. The system was installed and ran fine for several months. I recently updated to virtualbox 4.3.12, updated the guest additions.

The system boots fine, allows me to log in, and starts processes normally. After running normally for some time (between 5 and 10 minutes typically), the system will no longer open any new windows on the desktop. I can also not change focus from the window I am in. The window I am using when this happens continues to work. If the focus is currently in a terminal window, I can continue to operate normally, with the exception that I cannot create any new windows. I can, for example, run top, ls, even ssh to another host. Other windows that are open continue to update (for example top), but I cannot change to any other windows. If I attempt to start a process that uses its own window, the processes show up (using ps), but the window never appears. If I close the window I am using, either by exiting the shell or clicking the close button, it will change the window to a grey box that never disappears, and I still cannot open any new windows. I cannot close any other windows, as clicking the close buttons (or anything else) outside my current window does nothing.

The only fix is to restart the virtual machine. (If I have a terminal, I can issue a shutdown command.. otherwise I have to power off. I can't click the shutdown/logout button on the screen, as that does nothing)

I tried to go back to 4.3.10, and reinstalled the guest additions, but the problem persists.

A few additional details, if they matter. The host machine has multiple monitors (3), and I have configured the VM to use all 3 monitors. I have no 3d or 2d video acceleration turned on. I can provide any additional details as needed.

Thanks for any help.

[Perryg]

We'll need to see the log file ( as an attachment ) of such a session at the very least.

[SignalEleven]

We'll need to see the log file ( as an attachment ) of such a session at the very least.

Ok. Here is the log file of the last start up. In this case, I was able to shut down the machine normally, using the shutdown command in a terminal.

[Perryg]

Looks like you problem is starting with the following:

Code: Select all

0:06:40.351911 Guest Log: VBoxGuestCommonIOCtl: HGCM_CALL: Invalid handle. u32Client=16

This usually happens when doing heavy data transfer when the host is being burdened.

You may also need to update to 4.3.12 and see if that fixes your issue.

[SignalEleven]

As I stated in the initial post, this issue really seemed to start when I updated to 4.3.12. I only went back to 4.3.10 to see if it fixed the issue. Regardless, I updated again to 4.3.12 and the problem persists.

At to the statement about a data transfer and host status, this did make me wonder about the network. The host is not burdened; It is running very little except for virtualbox. A few background processes are running, but nothing is active. I did do some more testing, though, and it seems as though this happens when the network is used. I was able to run the VM normally for about 10 minutes, while doing nothing on the network. I opened terminals, started and stopped processes, all without incident. Within 30 seconds of using ssh to connect to another machine though, the system hung as described before. I wasn't transferring files, merely logging in and doing a few things like 'ls' seemed to be enough. Most likely, any network activity is enough, which could happen when apps start and check for updates, when the update manager runs, etc, which is possibly why it looked somewhat random.

At this point, I think I'm going to experiment with changing from NAT to bridged networking, and see if that changes anything. At least it looks like it could be a culprit, which is more than I had before. In case it matters, I am attaching the log file from the last attempt (running 4.3.12), but I don't suspect there is much new there.

Thanks

[Perryg]

Another thing I have noticed. You have all the indications of trying to run the guest as SMP-32-bit. You have enabled io/apic, 8GB ram, and 2 processors.
VirtualBox changed how this is setup recently. My question is are you running an i686 kernel?

[SignalEleven]

My question is are you running an i686 kernel?

Yes. Running uname -a on the guest says:
Linux cerberus-ubuntu10 2.6.32-61-generic-pae #124-Ubuntu SMP Wed Jun 4 23:18:17 UTC 2014 i686 GNU/Linux

So yes, it is an i686 kernel, configured for SMP.

[Perryg]

Myself I think the network issue is a red haring but one never knows. I would consider posting a ticket at bugtracker so the DEVs can see what it might be. Be sure to post log files and explain how everything.

[SignalEleven]

Sounds reasonable. I was sort of hoping (despite my searching here and bugtracker) that someone would point me to the other posts I had missed regarding the same issue.. seems that is not the case.

I will collect as much info as I can, and create a bug.

Thanks for the help.

[Perryg]

My search only turned up a very few topics and we have already covered what they indicated.

Be sure to post the ticket number so further searches will help.

[SignalEleven]

I have created a ticket, #13119.

[Dougm]

I am having a virtually identical problem.

I tried to create an Ubuntu 10.04.4 (32bit) client VM from Ubuntu 10.04.4 (64bit) host. After doing an initial 10.04.4 VM install from CD and doing all the updates and installing Guest Additions, the 32-bit 10.04.4 client works... until the graphics lock up - usually just after clicking something on the virtual desktop. When this happens the GUI appears hung but the machine is still running (I can ssh in, or use Right-CTRL+F1 to switch to text console, etc). So far I must reboot to get X/GUI working again... until it hangs again.

I've also tried to re-create the same client but now hosting with Ubuntu 14.04 (64bit) "trusty". Same problem, so a totally different release of the host with a new fresh install of the client did not solve the problem.

I will continue to try new tests. I am going to try disabling 2 CPUs and/or disabling I/O APIC, and/or disabling PAE/NX. Later I will try to create a new 10.04.4 32bit client from a Windows 7 host.

Once I find out if there anything I can do to prevent the hang (by changing VB settings), I'll add my logs to the bug report and add any addition info.

[Perryg]

@Dougm,

You should post your log file here ( as an attachment ) before you post to the ticket, so we can see if there is someting that deserves the DEVs attention.

[Dougm]

@Perryg - I was going to post the log file but first I wanted to do more testing - which I have done.

I now believe this issue has nothing to do with VB at all. After re-installing ubuntu 10.04.4 (32bit) again from scratch, I performed the linux system updates in small pieces - a few at a time.

It appear the problem is with Ubuntu kernel 2.6.32-61 (a recent kernel update). I rolled back to kernel 2.6.32-60 and the problem goes away. When 10.04.4 is first installed (before update) it is running kernel 2.6.32-38 which does not have this problem.

Then I found a bug report for Ubuntu, "Linux kernel 2.6.32-61 hangs gnome desktop on ubuntu 10.04 lucid lynx" #1327014
and also, "No sound after kernel upgrade" #1327220 which I also noticed that I lost sound after kernel update.

Already is seems that Canonical has now pushed out a newer kernel update 2.6.32-62, and I am installing it now to see if it fixes the problem with 2.6.32-61.

UPDATE: I can now confirm that 2.6.32-62 kernel update fixes the problem with -61. It may take a while for this update to propagate to all the Ubuntu mirrors.