Window 8 display problem after installing guest additions

[par]

I installed Windows 8 Consumer Preview (64-bit) build 8250 and it was working fine until i installed guest additions (4.1.10). I rebooted after installing just as the installer suggested, but afterwards there seems to be some display problems.

When booting up I can see the Win8 logo and the loader animation initially, but by the time windows should display the home screen it's just a black page. Sometimes it flickers a bit but then back to black page again.

My host OS is Windows7 (64-bit).

[par]

btw don't blame me for the duplicates it's your bug tracker that is buggy ;) i was shown an error page the first 2 times.

[Andre.Ziegler]

Here is a link to a later Gast-Addon which fixes some Display issue with Win8:

​http://www.virtualbox.org/download/testcase/VBoxGuestAdditions_4.1.11-76937.iso

It fixed WMP and WinSAT issues for me.

[par]

Installed guest additions 4.1.11-76937 as mentioned by Andre and it seems to have solved the display problem that I experienced before.

Windowed mode seems ok but fullscreen mode gets a black screen. If using fullscreen i can get it to draw correctly only for "active" areas, for example if i have the desktop open i will see a black screen, if i right click to open the context menu i will then see the context menu being drawn correctly but everything around it is still black. If i left-click on the desktop to get the "selection rectangle" everything within the rectangle will be drawn correctly.

Maybe this should be considered as a separate issue though.

[HosseinA]

I have installed Win8 Consumer Preview (64-bit) (build 8250) on Win7 SP1 (64-bit) host. My VirtualBox version is 4.1.12r77245

I am also having the flicker issue. This happens when I move the mouse pointer. None of the following VBoxGuestAdditions worked for me:

VBoxGuestAdditions_4.1.12-77218

VBoxGuestAdditions_4.1.11-76937

VBoxGuestAdditions_4.1.10

I was able to install the following VBoxGuestAdditions (disabling the Direct 3D option):

VBoxGuestAdditions_4.1.8-75467

The issue seems to be with the Direct 3D option during the installation. The 4.1.8 version gives you the option to disable this option during the installation. Higher versions do not give you this option.

[joeaut007]

Same problem exists on Windows8 final. After Installation of Guest Additions - you could not navigate or open the desktop ....

[misha]

Please try the latest VBox 4.2 with 4.2 Guest Additions.
If the problem is still there, please attach a VM log file from VBox 4.2 + 4.2 additions here.
Also, as a work-around for the case the problem still persists, you can disable 3D acceleration in VM settings (on a "Display" page in VM settings GUI).

[theflash21]

Log file for black/flashing screen in Windows 8 full-screen - version 4.2.

[Gregs86]

I tested it with 4.2.2. and Windows 8 final. The issue is still there only when working in full screen mode. Other modes work fine.

Are there any solutions or workarounds yet for this?

Thanks in advance.

[flyingninjas]

Also getting random screen flashes with win8 guest ubuntu 12.04 host. These screen flashes do not happen with windows host.

[TC78]

I got also a black screen after a period of time. Virtual Box (4.3.10) switches to 1-bit mode. I supposed, it's Windows (8.1) turning off the display according to the energy saving options. Therefore I turned of 'turning off the display' and since then I didn't experienced any black screen anymore. That's not a solution but a work around. But if it helps for the time being ...

[aeichner]

Please reopen if still relevant with a recent VirtualBox release.