VB hangs while installing Ubuntu 14.04

[MaitreBart]

During installation of Ubuntu 14.04 64-bit (ubuntu-14.04-desktop-amd64+mac.iso) with 4G reserved RAM, VB hangs at the "post-install triggers software-center" phase.
Tried also the non-mac ubuntu image but same result.
Another pal had the same problem few months ago (at askubuntu dot com question 499932).

Code: Select all

7/19/14 9:07:20.973 AM VirtualBox[37183]: modalSession has been exited prematurely - check for a reentrant call to endModalSession: 
7/19/14 12:22:50.911 PM VirtualBox[37183]: -_continuousScroll is deprecated for NSScrollWheel. Please use -hasPreciseScrollingDeltas. 
7/19/14 12:22:50.911 PM VirtualBox[37183]: -deviceDeltaX is deprecated for NSScrollWheel. Please use -scrollingDeltaX. 
7/19/14 12:22:50.911 PM VirtualBox[37183]: -deviceDeltaY is deprecated for NSScrollWheel. Please use -scrollingDeltaY. 

(sorry I could not attach the log file because I uninstalled VB since then; but the above is what the other pal got out of its console which is the closest thing to the log file)

Any one experienced the same and found a solution?

---
MacBook Pro, 16G, OS X 10.10.3
VB 4.3.26

[loukingjr]

Minimum information needed for assistance.

[loukingjr]

No need to be sorry.

FWIW, I have been using multiple versions of VB on multiple versions of OSX hosts for more than 5 years and I've never had a 'buntu installer hang. Without complete logs it's impossible to say what may have happened.

I currently have OSX 10.10.3 on four Macs and one with 10.10.4 DP. All but two have VB 4.3.26 installed and I'm testing VB 5.0 beta2 on the others.

[MaitreBart]

I'll give a try again in order to get a full log. Will post soon.

[MaitreBart]

lisa1.log

VM log file

(86.85 KiB) Downloaded 4 times

I found out what is the cause of the problem: in order to save some space on my laptop's the main drive, I created the VDI (and originally the whole VM setup) in a USB flash drive.

During installation I experienced hangs always at the same place (right after post-install trigger): bamfdaemon. At least that was what was written in the installation window. But it appears it's just because the window did not have time to refresh because the real problem seems to be the location (USB drive).

When I tried an install from the main drive everything went well. And I quickly noticed the line displayed right after bamfdaemon which seemed to be related to USB something. Anyway that confirmed my suspicions.

However, after I had the VM installed and run once, I shut it down, closed VB, copied the VDI on my USB drive, deleted existing VM folders/files on the main drive. I then proceeded to create the same machine but this time specifying an existing VDI. I started the VM and it was running ok. Until I decided to install Synaptic. Then the VM hung by the end of the software install.

This time I got the log file and looking at it (see attachment), I have a pretty good idea about what happens. The USB drive is formatted with FAT32 (for compatibility with Windows; I intend to have a dual boot soon and want to access the VM from both host OSes) and the VDI exceeds 4G in size.
I wonder if there is a way to have multiple VDI files less then 4G each with VB?

Still this does not explain why Parallels seems to deal very well with that under the exact same conditions: got no hang at installation and while using it yet.

[mpack]

I wonder if there is a way to have multiple VDI files less then 4G each with VB?

No, not in any practical sense. VDI does not have a split variant, however VirtualBox also supports VMDK, which does. If you choose VMDK as the disk type in the VM creation wizard then the next dialog will allow you to choose which VMDK variant you want, and the split2GB variant is offered.

Incidentally, I assume you realize that performance on a USB2 device will be awful, and also that there are dangers inherent in running a VM on an unpluggable drive. Basically, the VM will have a limited lifespan.

p.s. It's probably best to avoid contrasting VirtualBox with a commercial competitor such as Parallels. That conversation is rarely productive.

[MaitreBart]

I ended up creating my VM with a VMDK. Everything works fine as of now.

About performances: I expected that. Actually I have a USB-3 and a fast flash model (for both reading and writing). It does not compare to a SSD though but I'll try it for a while. To help a bit I chose fixed-size VMDK.

[mpack]

To help a bit I chose fixed-size VMDK.

? Why would that help performance? Are you under the impression that larger files give faster seeks on a USB flash drive?

All that will do is invite disk space congestion, either in the host or guest depending on whether you made the drive too large or too small.