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How to create a core dump
A core dump is very helpful for helping us tracking down crashes of VirtualBox. To create a core dump, start VirtualBox from a command line (e.g. xterm):
$ ulimit -c unlimited $ VirtualBox
or better start the VM directly:
$ ulimit -c unlimited $ /usr/lib/virtualbox/VirtualBox -startvm VM_NAME
Ensure that no startup script (~/.bashrc, ~/.bash_profile, ~/.profile) contains an instruction like ulimit -c 0 as the limit cannot be increased once it was set to zero.
Starting with version 2.0.0, the VirtualBox processes are started suid root. Therefore do
$ sudo su $ echo -n 1 > /proc/sys/fs/suid_dumpable $ exit
before starting the VM/GUI (note that sudo echo will sometimes not work).
When VirtualBox crashes, a file core.<pid> is created in the current directory. Be aware that core dumps can be very huge. Please compress the file before submitting it to a bug report. Or better don't attach the file to a report. Note that this core dump can contain a memory dump of your guest which can include sensitive information. Send it to frank _dot_ mehnert at sun _dot_ com if the compressed file is smaller than 5MB. Contact me directly otherwise.
Forcing VirtualBox to terminate with core dump
Sometimes it is required to force a VirtualBox process to terminate, for example, a VM hangs for some unknown reason. This can be done as follows:
$ ulimit -c unlimited $ sudo echo -n 1 > /proc/sys/fs/suid_dumpable $ /usr/lib/virtualbox/VirtualBox -startvm VM_NAME & $ pidof VirtualBox 7145 $ kill -4 7145
Passing the signal number 4 (SIGILL) is essential! The same applies to the alternative frontends VBoxHeadless and VBoxSDL.
How to create dump file on Mac
After preparations steps like it described for Linux, you can find your core files in /cores folder.
