4.2.18 GAs: Left mouse click lost with WDDM in Win 7 and Win 8

[Socratis]

After updating to 4.2.18, Windows 7 & 8 guests lose their left mouse functionality after some unknown time (around 30 minutes or so). I believe the issue to be with the WDDM component, because it does NOT happen with Windows XP and (more importantly) with Windows 7 when the GAs are installed without WDDM support.

Keyboard input, right-click, scroll-wheel, hovering, work OK. In all guests that I tried, the screensaver is set to 'Blank Screen', but it doesn't have to kick in for the issue to appear.

The tests were done with no programs running, just an Explorer window open just to try the hover-over functionality.

The only way to restore normal functionality is to go full-screen and back or (Windows 7 only) send a Ctrl-Alt-Del. Other <Host>+<Key> combinations do not seem to fix the issue (kinda makes sense).

See also reports at:

• ​https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57262&start=30#p266501
• ​https://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=57262&start=30#p266795

Attaching VBox logs for Win7 (with WDDM) and Win8. Note that just before shutting down the guests, a resize command was issued.

[Socratis]

I just realized that #12129 maybe referring to this issue as well...

[patrik.thunstrom]

I'm pretty sure I experience the same issue...

Host: Windows 8, Guest: Windows 7.
Virtualbox version: 4.2.18. Virtualbox GAs: 4.2.18 with D3D (not experimental AFAIK).

These have been upgraded along the way from (if memory serves me right) 4.2.4 -> 4.2.10 -> 4.2.14 -> 4.2.16 -> 4.2.18. I was a very short time on 4.2.16 (a lot longer on 4.2.14 before that), but I don't believe I had any of these issues before 4.2.18.

One thing which I believe is not matching your description entirely is that as far as I'm able to tell, there's nothing really wrong with the left click itself, but the position of the mouse pointer is not updated, which makes it seem like you're not clicking (at least where you're pointing).

In my case, I may click somewhere on the desktop (having a set of icons top left) but the left click seems to register somewhere else. Some times it is very clear, as some times when it decides that the position is on top of the start button, and for each subsequent click I get "consistent" behavior with what would happen if I actually had my mouse pointer at the position of the start button.

Another good indication that the clicking seems to be working, but the position not being updated; Do a right click and see where the context menu appears on screen.

I've not been able to figure out if the position of the mouse is related to the position where it last "left" the vbox screen, or if its related to where it "enters" the vbox screen again...

Same workaround seems to fix things for me as well, <host> + Delete, to invoke the Ctr+Alt+Del behavior.

[Socratis]

It seems to have been fixed with 4.3.2, maybe earlier, didn't try with 4.3 (too busy finding new bugs ;)

[misha]

Thanks for the feedback, closing..

[Socratis]

Current State of affairs

Clicking on the CD icon in the status bar, you're presented with

Choose disk image...
Create ad-hoc VISO...
------------------------------------------
{list of previously used CDs/DVDs}
------------------------------------------
Remove disk                               <-- greyed-out if no CD/DVD is inserted

There's nowhere a mention of the GAs, whether they're inserted or not! Even worse, when the GAs are mounted, they don't appear anywhere on the list of used CDs.

Proposed State of affairs

When the GAs ISO is not inserted/mounted:

Choose disk image...
Create ad-hoc VISO...
(Insert) Guest Additions CD image...      <-- *** NEW ENTRY ***
------------------------------------------
{list of previously used CDs/DVDs}
------------------------------------------
Remove disk                               <-- greyed-out if no CD/DVD is inserted

When the GAs ISO is inserted/mounted, option 1:

Choose disk image...
Create ad-hoc VISO...
(Insert) Guest Additions CD image...      <-- *** CHECKED ***
------------------------------------------
{list of previously used CDs/DVDs}
------------------------------------------
Remove disk                               <-- NOT greyed-out

or even better, option 2:

Choose disk image...
Create ad-hoc VISO...
Remove Guest Additions CD image           <-- *** s/Insert/Remove ***
------------------------------------------
{list of previously used CDs/DVDs}
------------------------------------------
Remove disk                               <-- NOT greyed-out

So, in summary:

• The whole menu's behavior stays as is, except with the addition of one menu entry.
• The menu can either be mimicking the Devices menu entry "Insert Guest Additions CD image..." which changes to "Remove Guest Additions CD image", or with the entry being simply "Guest Additions CD image..." which is either checked or not.