VBox on Mac OSX Snow Leopard regularly crashes -> fixed in SVN/3.0.10

[Lou Cipher]

I believe that either ever since I updated to the latest Virtual Box 3.0.6 r52128 and/or Snow Leopard, that my VM session regularly gets aborted for almost ANY reason on a DAILY basis and sometimes two or three times a day.

This is the most unstable version of VBox I have used since January 2009 unfortunately and wish I did not do the upgrade.

I am running Office 2007 (always have) along with Google Chrome and have 1.4GB of RAM allocated to the VM.

SOmetimes if I am scrolling in Outlook, or using Excel, or clicking a link in the browser the VM will just ABORT and I have to start it all over again.

[frank]

Any crash report available?

[Lou Cipher]

Hi There,

I tried to email Frank back and it did not work so will add here.

Mac OS X never provides a crash report and simply the VM is aborted for some reason - so no crash report ever.

I did submit the VBox Log with this bug tracker - did you get that and is that what you need...?

[poetzsch]

Hi,

can you have a look into ~/Library/Logs/CrashReporter/ or /Library/Logs/CrashReporter/. Search for files with VirtualBoxVM or VBoxSVC in the name. Also /var/log/system.log may contain some info about VirtualBox related problems.

[Hachiman]

Hi, Are any  core dumps available?

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 28 11:08AM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 27)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 26)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 24)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 24 11:33AM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 22)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 18)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 17)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 15)

[Lou Cipher]

SpinDump Symbolicator (Sep 25)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 28 11:41AM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 17 4:24PM)

[Lou Cipher]

Hi Guys,

OK - I added all the crash reports that were relevant and they started Sep 15, 2009.

There were two other crash reports from Aug 2 and Aug 11 however I do not think they were relevant to this problem.

I could add them if you want though...

I installed Snow Leopard the day it came out on August 28 and these crashes started on Sep 15 it appears from these logs.

However, I believe that 3.0.6 r52128 came out Sept 14 and my crashes started on the 15th so it seems there is a conflict with this code base and perhaps Snow Leopard as I am sure that the coding process was more focused on Mac OS X before Snow Leopard...I should have known better...

The good thing is that I can reboot the system at this point - it's just a real pain when you are working and then suddenly your Universe disappears in a flash on you - LOL! :)

If you guys need anything else at all please let me know and I will get it for you!

Lou

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 29)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 29 again)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Sep 30)

[poetzsch]

This are all crashs on different locations which is strange. Some of them are related to out of memory situations. Can you please regular check if the VM process is using more & more RAM over the time. According to your config you have 1.5Gig assigned to the VM. In principle this should be ok, but try to reduce this a bit.

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 1)

[Lou Cipher]

Hi Guys,

I checked the memory and it says 2.27GB as used for Real Memory and 2.24GB for virtual memory.

I have 1.5GB allocated to it so wondering if it is leaking memory or using more than it should like you suggest...? I have 10GB of RAM on this machine.

Also, it says the CPU % is at 101.4 which is strange...how would it be more than 100%???

I'm confused...

Lou

[Lou Cipher]

Hey Guys,

During my last crash I got this message from Microsoft since I am running Windows XP in the VM:

Consider BIOS upgrade Microsoft is unable to determine the exact cause of this error. However, this problem was most likely caused by an error in your computer’s random access memory (RAM). RAM is the main internal storage area the computer uses to run programs and store data.

During the crash analysis, we noticed the basic input/output system (BIOS) version on this computer does not match the specifications for the central processing unit (CPU), also known as a processor, that is installed on your computer. This can occur when a newer processor is installed on an older system board or older BIOS. Using a BIOS that does not support the installed processor can result in Windows system crashes. Contact your computer manufacturer or motherboard manufacturer for an updated version of BIOS for your computer's processor.

So, thought you guys may want to consider that and the conflict with VBox and Snow Leopard...

Lou

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 4)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 2)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 4 11:59PM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 7 1:24AM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 7 1:25AM)

[Lou Cipher]

CrashReporter Logs (Oct 7 4:34PM)

[Lou Cipher]

Hey Guys,

I upgrade to the new VBox thinking some problems would be resolved and I got three crashes within 1 day so far.

I am now using 3.0.8 r53138

If you need anything at all please let me know and I am happy to help.

Lou

[Lou Cipher]

Hey Guys,

You know I do notice memory leaks with VBox.

The session started at 1.67GB real memory and I looked now and it is at 2.12GB...

OK - 30 minutes later and now it is at 2.49GB so seems to be leaking as you thought...right...?

Lou

[sandervl73]

Tickets marked as duplicate: #5214, #4970, #5168.

[constantin]

Hi,

first of all, many thanks to the VirtualBox team for taking this issue so seriously and elevating it to blocker status. As someone who likes to work withing VBox for whole work days, I really appreciate that :).

As the author of #1568 which was closed as a duplicate of this, here are some additional data points:

• I too see the same kind of crashes as described above, with OpenSolaris as guest.
• Upgraded from Mac OS X 10.6.0 to 10.6.1 and still see the same issues.
• Crash probability seems to be related to activity: The more intensive work I do with the guest, the earlier the crash comes. As an example, boot OpenSolaris, start OpenOffice, work on a presentation by importing many new pictures into a slide etc. and it is very likely to crash within half an hour.

Hope this helps.

Cheers,

Constantin

[sandervl73]

We're currently investigating the issue and will report back asap (might take a few days though).

[sandervl73]

We've located and fixed the problem. The next maintenance release will contain the fix. (due out soon)

[constantin]

Thanks, this is great news!

Looking forward to 3.0.10. Meanwhile, I'm on 2.4.4. with 3.0.8 guest additions and it seems to work. Crossing my fingers that it will hold out just a while longer 'til 3.0.10 :).

[Lou Cipher]

The VBox team ROCKS!

I'm very happy I took the time to report this bug as you guys were all over it very professionally and attacked the problem quickly!!

WOOO HOOO!!!

I have been preaching VirtualBox to everyone I know and will continue to do so!

Thanks again guys and looking forward to installing the update!

Lou

[constantin]

I just finished a whole working day on OpenSolaris on VirtualBox 2.2.4 with the 3.0.8 guest additions (which worked better with OpenSolaris than the 2.2.4 ones) on Mac OS X 10.6.1 and it all worked fine.

To Lou and the others: This looks like a good workaround until we get to 3.0.10.

Thanks again to the awesome VBox team and have a nice weekend,

Constantin

[sandervl73]

Let me know if you want to try a test build and I'll mail you the link.

[kgreenway]

I am experiencing this issue as well.

I'm using XP, VB 3.0.8, and OSX 10.6.1 in a production role as a UNIX sys admin. This really ONLY interferes with my use of Outlook and Visio, but the regular interruptions are annoying at best. If I don't keep an eye on memory and make a preemptive strike (as has happened a time or two) I can loose data.

Under the circumstances, I would be more than happy to run a test build and possibly get involved more directly with the VB community.

Thanks for all the quick work on this.

• Kyle

[constantin]

Yes, I'd love to try out a test build. Thanks!

[Lou Cipher]

Hi - sure, I'll try a test build!

I'll definitely back up my virtual drive first too :)

Lou

[kgreenway]

Thanks a million Sander.

I installed and so far so good. The memory leak seems to be plugged and I have noticed no further issues at this time.

[constantin]

Installed the 3.0.9 prerelease and it seems stable. Thanks a lot!

I saw some drawing glitches (black boxes when windows refreshed, black screen after switching StarOffice to fullscreen mode) but they seemed to go away after installing the 3.0.9 guest additions and rebooting.

So far, everything seems good. Thanks!

Cheers,

Constantin

[Lou Cipher]

This has been running VERY well since I installed it - thank you!!!

I also had the drawing problems and then installed the guest additions update and that seems to have helped.

So, it took about a month to fix the problem and that was very decent timing considering the error was a MEDIUM issue.

Great work guys - I love the Virtual Box team!!

Lou

[swarwick]

Hi - I'm also having the same problem. It's getting extremely frustrating. Would it be possible for me to get test build as well?

Thanks,

Steve

[Lou Cipher]

Hey Everyone,

The only thing I notice is that I am unable to copy text from the host (i.e. Snow Leopard) to the Guest (Windows XP).

It works the other way however.

I did check my settings and even reset them and bidirectional copy and paste is turned on so unsure why this is happening - anyone else having this problem...?

Lou

[rmuetze]

Replying to sandervl73:

Let me know if you want to try a test build and I'll mail you the link.

Sorry, to just send a "me too", but I'd love to test the next build as well. I'm using 3.0.8 on OS X and experience the same problem with a XP guest. Thanks a lot! Love VBox, that's another "me too" ;o)

[rkarise]

I have noticed the same behavior with Snow Leopard and virtualbox 3.0.6r52128. Memory will continue to be consumed until the vm aborts. I currently monitor the memory and proactively reset it when memory runs out but would love to try a test build of 3.0.9 or 3.0.10 if that is available. Thanks!

[jesspepper]

I have quite frequent crashes of the 3.0.8 VM with snow leopard. I would also like to try a new test build.

[frank]

Better: Check the 3.0.10 release :=)