LM 20.2 xfce on VirtualBox 6.1.24 black-screen on login/resolution issue...

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mingle
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LM 20.2 xfce on VirtualBox 6.1.24 black-screen on login/resolution issue...

Post by mingle »

Hi Guys,

This has been a bugbear for me ever since Linux Mint 19.3...

(Windows 10 Pro 64-bit host, VirtualBox 6.1.24 running in Full-screen Mode - latest Guest Additions installed. Linux Mint 19.3 & 20.0 guests.)

My host machine is running a native screen mode of 1920 x 1080, but the guests are all set to a display resolution of 1440x900, as they are also used on another system with a lower host resolution.

Most times (usually after reboot of the guest machine), the screen resolution of the guest automatically changes to match that of the host machine (1920 x 1080). I then have to manually go into the display settings in the guest OS to change the resolution back to 1440 x 900. If I do not do that, then shut-down the guest and restart, the guest Linux login screen appears and I can log-in, as normal, however the desktop display never appears, there is just a black screen, although I can see the mouse-pointer and the guest system is still 'alive'.

When I look at the output of "xrandr", it shows the following (see attachment). What does the plus-symbol "+" next to the 1920 x 1080 resolution signify?

I've also posted details of this issue over on VirtualBox.org, as I'm unsure where the real root of the problem lies...

Cheers,

Mike.
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VirtualBox_lm20test_24_07_2021_17_27_03.png
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Re: LM 20.2 xfce on VirtualBox 6.1.24 black-screen on login/resolution issue...

Post by SMG »

mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:33 amWhat does the plus-symbol "+" next to the 1920 x 1080 resolution signify?
The + signifies what the system picks up as the native resolution of the screen. The * identifies the current resolution being used.
mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:33 ambut the guests are all set to a display resolution of 1440x900
They are set and saved in the Display app at that resolution?
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mingle
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Re: LM 20.2 xfce on VirtualBox 6.1.24 black-screen on login/resolution issue...

Post by mingle »

Thanks for the response...!
SMG wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:14 am
mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:33 amWhat does the plus-symbol "+" next to the 1920 x 1080 resolution signify?
The + signifies what the system picks up as the native resolution of the screen. The * identifies the current resolution being used.
Ah, that's good - at least it's recognising the native resolution. This tends to suggest the issue is with the VirtualBox display-driver - specifically in the Guest Additions pack?
mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:33 ambut the guests are all set to a display resolution of 1440x900
They are set and saved in the Display app at that resolution?[/quote]

Yes, the resolution of the 'lesser' machine on which these VMs are used is 1600x900 and the closest available resolution was 1440x900. This is set in the "Display' settings.

Cheers,

Mike.
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Re: LM 20.2 xfce on VirtualBox 6.1.24 black-screen on login/resolution issue...

Post by SMG »

mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 3:33 amMy host machine is running a native screen mode of 1920 x 1080, but the guests are all set to a display resolution of 1440x900, as they are also used on another system with a lower host resolution.
I do not fully understand what this means. You are spinning up VMs on one host but then using them on another host? Or are you making a blanket assumption of the issue and applying it to multiple instances even though the hardware is different? I'm not quite sure why you are mentioning both LM19 and LM20. There are differences between the versions so we would not necessarily troubleshoot them down to a common root cause (even though the problem seems to manifest itself the same way).
mingle wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 7:55 pmYes, the resolution of the 'lesser' machine on which these VMs are used is 1600x900 and the closest available resolution was 1440x900. This is set in the "Display' settings.
Are you switching back and forth between machines? That might be a factor in this.

Issues with the Display app are part of linuxmint / cinnamon-control-center and while helping someone on a different thread I came across this older issue Display Module: Displays not detected? #241 where a developer commented, "The new monitors.xml file (cinnamon-monitors.xml actually now) will only be created when you 'apply' changes. If you deleted your existing one, it's just autodetecting everything." It sounds like in your case it might be autodetecting when you reboot? And maybe that is happening because you are switching machines? That is the only which comes to mind for me at the present time.
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