Frozen black screen installing Kali on Windows VPS

[JasonKop]

Hi,

Problem:
Trying to install Kali on my Windows 2008 R2 VPS but after clicking any of the Boot Menu options e.g Graphic Install, it keeps showing a frozen blinking underscore black screen or sometimes (1 out of 50 tries maybe) it will go through to the setup page and will get frozen in "detecting link on enp0s3" message. Most times it will not go to this point and will crash losing mouse control.

VirtualBox is also only allowing 32bit versions and processor/acceleration tabs are grayed out. (Virtualization and VT-X are enabled and Hyper-V is disabled)

Host VPS Information:
Windows 2008 R2 Service Pack 1 64-bit
Processor: Intel(R) Xeon(R)CPU E3-1245 V2 @3.40 GHz
RAM: 10GB

VirtualBox version 5.1.18
Linux ISO: Kali 32-bit from Official website

What I have tried already:
I have tried creating Ubuntu machine instead and again it displays black frozen screen.
I have successfully created working Windows XP machine.
Disabled Hyper-V
VPS Provider states Virtualization and VT-X are enabled on server side.
Increased Video Memory to 48mb
Increased Kali machine RAM to 3000mb

Thank you for reading and helping me, I really appreciate it.

[mpack]

00:00:18.098469 HM: HMR3Init: Falling back to raw-mode: VT-x is not available

Despite your statement otherwise, this means that Hyper-v (or something else which is using VT-x) is still enabled. Remember that you have to reboot your host from full power off after disabling Hyper-v: you can't turn off a VM host from inside the VM.

As to the black screen, try turning on the I/O APIC feature.

On a separate matter I would say you can afford to give this guest 2 cores rather than one. Most modern guests benefit from two cores - but I wouldn't give it more than that. I would also install the extension pack on the host, and the GAs inside the guest.

[JasonKop]

Thanks for the reply,

Still having the same problem. I have disabled Hyper-v via command prompt and when contacting the VPS provider, they stated it is not even installed on my VPS.

I Have "Shutdown" the VPS via the control panel and rebooted it with no luck. Still displaying the black frozen screen after turning on the I/O APIC feature.

I am not able to access the processors tab to give it more cores as the slider is grayed out.

Im not sure what to even say to the VPS provider to get it fixed, if it is a problem with the VPS.

[Perryg]

You first need to verify with the provider that they can pass through the VT-x feature. What you probably have is a nested situation and depending on the actual server they use it may not be possible to run a 64-bit guest.

[JasonKop]

Ok, I have asked them to "Verify that they can pass through the VT-x feature". Will wait for their reply which is normally quick.

The Windows XP virtual machine I created that was working was a 64-bit version if that helps in any way? It seems to be just a Linux guest issue that doesn't allow 64bit.

[mpack]

The Windows XP virtual machine I created that was working was a 64-bit version if that helps in any way?

I rather doubt that. Nobody used XP 64bit. Does it say XP 64bit on the installer CD?

[JasonKop]

I can confirm the Windows XP Professional was the 64bit version.

Just received a reply not all that great:

Hi,

As we checked there is no possibility to enable VT for VPS. We already have VT enabled on our main server.

All our VPS are working using it. Please have a check it.

If you needs to be VT enabled for your purpose we will suggest you to go for dedicated server.

Please let us know to proceed.

Is it normal to be able to run 64bit Windows whilst not be able see the the 64bit option when clicking Linux? If i was able to create a Windows VM doesnt that mean i should also be able to create a Linux VM?

Thanks again!

[Perryg]

I would verify that the Windows guest is actually 64-bit. Some will install I guess but not with SMP support. Look at the system info and verify that it is running as 64-bit. Linux usually does not have the multi-bit installer ( although some might these days ) and will refuse to install if the bit count is not correct. You can however run 32-bit Linux OSes if you do not want a dedicated server.

[JasonKop]

I installed it as a test to see if other OS will install and have deleted it. I have tried creating 32bit Linux but again it displays the black screen. It seems to be a Linux issue only.

Any other attempts i should make? or is this sadly a lost battle for me

[Perryg]

A simple black screen can mean video issue. First start with a 32-bit OS and go through the install. Record you steps accurately and report what you actually do/did. I would suggest using Mint-cinnamon or Mint-mate to start with. These tend to be new user friendly and easier to install. Ubuntu is another OS that is fairly user friendly if you prefer. But kali is not one of the more user friendly and for good reason. It is intended for professionals to use for pen-testing.

[JasonKop]

Ok I have just created a working Mint-cinnamon VM with no problems. Really fast install too. I have previously tried Ubuntu but displays the black screen. Yep thats the reason why we need Kali to do pentesting for clients.

So now we know Linux does install on this VPS as a VM, so the issue is with Kali/Ubuntu. Anything else i should have a go at? I can give access via Teamviewer if you have spare time?

Thanks!

[Perryg]

Naw I don't do team-viewer but there are a few things I can tell you to do. The black screen usually is because of the graphics and you need to get the guest additions installed. First step is to "not" enable 3D acceleration until after you install the guest additions so with 3D acceleration disabled can you install and boot the guest? ( this is an installable guest right, not a pre-made one )

If you can install but the guest only shows a black screen can you use the host+F1 keys to drop to a tty?

[JasonKop]

Ok 3D acceleration is not enabled. All Kali Guests iso are downloaded from the Kali website. I can't install the guest as it freezes, Something i have noticed is after loading the Installation Boot Menu and i click on Graphic Install, it will freeze right after the message: "Trying to enable frame buffer" with the blinking underscore frozen until i power off the machine.

I have tried the other "Install" method without the graphics and it will freeze up straight away.
When trying the "Live (686 pae)" it will load a list of commands but will end up freezing at the same place everytime (Screenshot attached sorry made it too big have to scroll to see full screenshot).

[Perryg]

Post the guests log file ( as an attachment ). Right click on the guest in the Main Manager then click show log. Save and post as an attachment. Compress if it is too large to post.

[JasonKop]

VirtualBox Logs are attached.