user_KnownIssues.xml revision 6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923ed
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync<!DOCTYPE chapter PUBLIC "-//OASIS//DTD DocBook XML V4.4//EN"
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync "http://www.oasis-open.org/docbook/xml/4.4/docbookx.dtd">
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>This sections describes known problems with VirtualBox
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync $VBOX_VERSION_STRING. Unless marked otherwise, these issues are planned to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync be fixed in later releases.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The following <emphasis role="bold">Guest SMP (multiprocessor)
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Poor performance</emphasis> with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 32-bit guests on AMD CPUs. This affects mainly Windows and Solaris
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guests, but possibly also some Linux kernel revisions. Partially
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync solved in 3.0.6 for 32 bits Windows NT, 2000, XP and 2003 guests.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Requires 3.0.6 or higher Guest Additions to be installed.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Poor performance</emphasis> with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 32-bit guests on certain Intel CPU models that do not include
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync virtual APIC hardware optimization support. This affects mainly
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Windows and Solaris guests, but possibly also some Linux kernel
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync revisions. Partially solved in 3.0.12 for 32 bits Windows NT,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync 2000, XP and 2003 guests. Requires 3.0.12 or higher Guest
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Additions to be installed.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">64-bit guests on some 32-bit host systems
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync with VT-x</emphasis> can cause instabilities to your system. If you
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync experience this, do not attempt to execute 64-bit guests. Refer to the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox user forum for additional information.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Direct 3D support in Windows
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync guests.</emphasis> For this to work, the Guest Additions must be
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync installed in Windows "safe mode". Press F8 when the Windows guest is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync booting and select "Safe mode", then install the Guest Additions.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Otherwise Windows' file protection mechanism will interfere with the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync replacement DLLs installed by VirtualBox and keep restoring the original
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Windows system DLLs.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Guest control.</emphasis> On
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Windows guests, a process lauched via the guest control execute support is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync only able to display a graphical user interface if the user account it is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync started under, is currently logged in and has a desktop
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync session. Otherwise, the process will not be able to display its user
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync interface. </para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Also, for using accounts without or with an empty password specified,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the group policy needs to be changed on the guest. To do so, open the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync group policy editor on the command line by typing
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <computeroutput>gpedit.msc</computeroutput>, open the key
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <emphasis>Computer Configuration\Windows Settings\Security Settings\Local Policies\Security Options</emphasis>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and change the value of <emphasis>Accounts: Limit local account use of blank passwords to console logon only</emphasis>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Guest multi-monitor support.</emphasis> This
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync feature is currently only supported with Windows guests.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Deleting the only snapshot with a running VM
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync is not implemented.</emphasis> Trying to perform this operation will
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync result in an error message. This feature will be added in one of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync next maintenance releases. It is possible to delete the only snapshot
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync when the VM is not running, e.g. in "poweroff" or "saved" state.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Disabled host I/O caches.</emphasis>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Disabling the host I/O cache (see <xref linkend="iocaching" />) will
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync yield poor performance with VHD and sparse VMDK files as these do not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync currently support asynchronous I/O. This does not apply to VDI files and
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync raw disk/partition VMDK files, which do support async I/O. This
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync restriction will be lifted in a future maintenance update.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Compacting virtual disk images is limited to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VDI files.</emphasis> The <code>VBoxManage modifyhd --compact</code>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync command is currently only implemented for VDI files. At the moment the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync only way to optimize the size of a virtual disk images in other formats
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync (VMDK, VHD) is to clone the image and then use the cloned image in the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VM configuration.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">OVF import/export:</emphasis><itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>When importing an OVF that was previously exported by
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync VirtualBox 3.2 or higher which contains a complete VirtualBox machine
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync configuration in the <vbox:Machine> element, some of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync import customizations that can be specified (in either the GUI or
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync on the VBoxManage command line) are presently ignored. In
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync particular, customizations of the imported storage configuration
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync are ignored. This will be fixed in the next release.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>OVF localization (multiple languages in one OVF file) is not
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync yet supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Some OVF sections like StartupSection,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync DeploymentOptionSection and InstallSection are ignored.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>OVF environment documents, including their property sections
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync and appliance configuration with ISO images, are not yet
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>OVA archives (TAR containers) are not yet supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Remote files via HTTP or other mechanisms are not yet
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Seamless mode</emphasis> does not work
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync correctly with Linux guests that have 3D effects enabled (such as with
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync compiz-enabled window managers).</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Mac OS X hosts.</emphasis> The following
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync restrictions apply (all of which will be resolved in future
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync versions):<itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The numlock emulation has not yet been implemented.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The CPU frequency metric is not supported.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>3D OpenGL acceleration, in particular with Linux guests that
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync have 3D effects enabled (such as with compiz-enabled window
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync managers).</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Mac OS X Server guests.</emphasis>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Mac OS X Server guests can only run on a certain host
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync hardware. For details about license and host hardware limitations,
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync please see <xref linkend="intro-macosxguests" />.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>VirtualBox does not provide Guest Additions for Mac OS X
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Server at this time.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>The graphics resolution currently defaults to 1024x768 as
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Mac OS X Server falls back to the built-in EFI display support.
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync See <xref linkend="efividmode" /> for more information on how to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync change EFI video modes.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Even when idle, Mac OS X Server guests currently burn 100%
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync CPU. This is a power management issue that will be addressed in a
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync future release.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Mac OS X Server guests only work with one CPU assigned to
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync the VM. Support for SMP will be provided in a future
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync release.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>Depending on your system and version of Mac OS X Server, you
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync might experience guest hangs after some time. This can be fixed by
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync turning off energy saving (set timeout to "Never") in the system
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync preferences.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>By default, the VirtualBox EFI enables debug output of the
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync Mac OS X Server kernel to help you diagnose boot problems. Note
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync that there is a lot of output and not all errors are fatal (they
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync would also show on your physical Mac). You can turn off these
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync messages by issuing this command:<screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal2/EfiBootArgs" " "</screen>To
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync revert to the previous behavior, use:<screen>VBoxManage setextradata "VM name" "VBoxInternal2/EfiBootArgs" ""</screen></para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Solaris hosts.</emphasis> The following
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync restrictions apply for OpenSolaris and Solaris 10:<itemizedlist>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>There is no support for USB devices connected to Solaris 10 hosts.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>USB support on OpenSolaris hosts requires version snv_124 or
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync higher. Webcams and other isochronous devices are known to have
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync poor performance.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>No ACPI information (battery status, power source) is
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync reported to the guest.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para>No support for using wireless adapters with bridged
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync networking.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync <para><emphasis role="bold">Guest Additions for OS/2.</emphasis> Shared
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync folders are not yet supported with OS/2 guests. In addition, seamless
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync windows and automatic guest resizing will probably never be implemented
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync due to inherent limitations of the OS/2 graphics system.</para>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </listitem>
6728a36898fd2be125a28e84d2115d19aa4923edvboxsync </itemizedlist>