Alibre (3D) crashes in VBox7, but worked in VBox6

[phip]

Intro/background

Hi everyone,

I've been using VirtualBox on an Ubuntu host with a Windows guest for quite some time to use my 3D CAD software Alibre Design. Up to Alibre Design 25, they had a normal and a "legacy" display mode, but starting from version 26, the legacy mode is not available anymore. With VirtualBox 6.1, I was able to run the software just fine with the legacy mode, but not with the normal mode, both with 3D acceleration enabled. In VirtualBox 7, the legacy mode does not work either. Both modes work in VirtualBox 6 and 7 if I disable 3D acceleration, but then the graphics performance is way too low to be useful.

• Host: Ubuntu 23.04 (but same behaviour also on older versions)
• Guest: Windows 7, 10, 11
• VirtualBox: 6.1.44 and 7.0.10
• Hardware: Lenovo Thinkpad T480, no change in behaviour whether using the internal Intel graphics or the dedicated NVidia card.

Observations

What works and what doesn't:

              | Normal mode | Legacy mode
--------------+-------------+------------
VBox 6 3D on  | Crash       | Works        --,
VBox 6 3D off | Slow        | Slow           | Regression
VBox 7 3D on  | Crash       | Error        <-`
VBox 7 3D off | Slow        | Slow

• Crash: An "Alibre Design stopped working" message on Windows 10, or the program just vanishes on Windows 11.
• Error: Alibre Design shows a message box reading "(0xc0000005) Exception from HRESULT: 0xC0000005" and displays an empty editor window.
• Slow: The software works as expected, but 3D performance is very bad.
• Works: The software works as expected and with reasonable 3D performance.

How to reproduce

• Install VirtualBox 6 on Ubuntu
• Use a VM running Windows 7/10/11 x64 with 3D acceleration disabled
• Install Alibre Design 25: ​https://alibre-usa.s3.us-west-1.amazonaws.com/V25.0.1/AlibreDesignV25_setup_x64_25.0.1.25037.exe
• Run Alibre Design and either register for a trial or run as viewer
• Download and open an example file like ​https://s3-us-west-1.amazonaws.com/alibre-usa/SampleModels/0_Alibre_Flange.AD_PRT
• Observe that the part is displayed in the editor window
• Rotate by holding left and right mouse buttons clicked or zoom with wheel
• Close Alibre Design
• Shut down the VM

• Ensure that the Guest Additions 6.1 are installed and enable 3D acceleration in the VM settings
• Start the VM
• Launch Alibre Design (Trial or viewer)
• Try to open the sample file again
• Observe that Alibre Design crashes

• Launch Alibre Design (Trial or viewer)
• On the "Utilities" tab, select "System Options" and then under "Display" tick "Use Legacy Display (Restart Required)"
• Close and restart Alibre Design
• Open the sample file again
• Observe that the part is displayed and can now be moved more smoothly due to 3D acceleration
• Close Alibre Design
• Shut down the VM

• Install VirtualBox 7.0
• Start the same VM as before
• Upgrade the Guest Additions to 7.0
• Launch Alibre Design (Trial or viewer)
• The legacy display mode should still be enabled, check in Alibre's system settings, section "Display" if required
• Try to open the sample file again
• Observe that Alibre Design does not crash but shows a display error (0xC0000005) and the editor window is empty -> this is a regression, as the same thing worked in VirtualBox 6.1

Note

I consider myself lucky that the software works at all in a virtualized environment, but I'd still like to report the regression from VBox6 to VBox7. If instead or additionally the normal display mode could be made working, this would be a huge Plus.

[phip]

Log with VirtualBox 6, normal display mode

[phip]

Log with VirtualBox 6, legacy display mode

[phip]

Log with VirtualBox 7, legacy display mode