Kicksecure ™ in VirtualBox - Troubleshooting - Does not Start? Slow? Other Issues?

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Slow? → Try General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine / NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005) → See this.

VERR_VMX_MSR_VMXON_DISABLED / VERR_NEM_NOT_AVAILABLE → Enable VT-x in BIOS settings.

E_INVALIDARG (0x80070057) → See this.

Black screen? → See this.

Aborted Status? → See this.

Guru Mediation? → See this.

There are many issues which might prevent a normal operation of the VirtualBox host virtualization software. This wiki page documents common issues and potential solutions.

Topics on this page are sorted roughly in order of issue prevalence. More common issues are on top.

General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps

In many situations, the following steps will fix VirtualBox issues.

1. General Troubleshooting for issues such as VM freezing.
2. In case of connectivity issues, see Connectivity Troubleshooting.
3. Use the stable version of Kicksecure ™ for VirtualBox 16.0.9.8.
4. Use the recommended VirtualBox host software version, which is currently: latest
5. To ensure the recommended version of VirtualBox guest additions is installed in Kicksecure ™ run: sudo apt update && sudo apt full-upgrade
6. Do not use VirtualBox guest additions from CD.
7. Linux users only: Host kernel version: use the recommended host Linux kernel version. It should be the same version that Debian bullseye is using (linux-image-amd64). Otherwise many kernel issues are likely to occur.
8. Linux users only: Host operating system: use a recommended Linux distribution -- Debian bullseye or Kicksecure ™ 16 -- as the host operating system.
9. Linux users only: Linux user groups: Add your current user to group vboxusers. sudo adduser $(whoami) vboxusers
10. Windows users only: Host operating system: Consider running Kicksecure ™ from a Linux computer rather than Windows computer.
11. Virtualizers Conflicts: Do you have virtualizers other than VirtualBox installed at the same time such as VMware, Hyper-V or KVM? If you never heard of these product names or do not know what that means then this is not an issue, But if you have multiple virtualizers/hypervisors installed its preferable to use only one (in this section only virtualbox) see the footnote for further information.
12. Low RAM Issues: Perhaps a Low RAM issue? Free up Additional Memory Resources and try Kicksecure ™ CLI RAM Saving Mode as per Advice for Systems with Low RAM.
13. Hardware Issues: Exclude basic hardware issues.
14. RAM Hardware Issues: Run memtestx86+.
15. Try a non-Kicksecure ™ VM.
16. VirtualBox Generic Bug Reproduction
17. Windows 10 users only: Hash Sum mismatch: Disable Core Isolation.

Linux Host Kernel versus Tor Browser and other Crashes

This issue happens after a Linux host kernel upgrade. Common symptoms of this issue are:

• APT showing hashsum mismatch.
• other kernel issues
• Tor Browser crashes.

ERROR: Tor Browser ended with non-zero (error) exit code!

Tor Browser was started with:

/home/user/.tb/tor-browser/Browser/start-tor-browser --verbose --allow-remote .

Tor Browser exited with code: 139

This is fixed since VirtualBox version 6.1.36 and above. For installation instructuctions, see recommended VirtualBox version.

Forum discussion: https://forums.whonix.org/t/tor-browser-crashing-in-whonix-virtualbox-since-upgrade-to-host-linux-kernel-version-5-10-0-15/13767

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine

If you see the following error message:

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine Kicksecure ™-XFCE

Click details. If Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005) is shown, then this chapter applies.

Should be fixed in VirtualBox version 6.1.22 and above.

This occurs with all Kicksecure ™ VirtualBox versions up to version 15.0.1.7.2 when using VirtualBox version 6.1.20. VirtualBox version 6.1.20 solution:

• VirtualBox → Settings → Storage → Type: AHCI → OK
• Other settings remain unchanged.

This setting is the default in Kicksecure ™ version 15.0.1.7.3 and above (Point Release).

Note this setting might cause High Disk Usage Causing Filesystem Corruption on some (slower) hardware configurations due to a VirtualBox host software bug, High I/O causing filesystem corruption. This is speculation and unavoidable because there is no other solution at present. The High Disk Usage Causing Filesystem Corruption chapter has approaches which might fix this issue if it manifests.

To avoid issues like Failed to open a session for the virtual machine in the future, use the the recommended version of the VirtualBox host software and Stay Tuned.

Forum discussion: Kicksecure ™ VirtualBox - failed to start - NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005) - The VM session was aborted.

VirtualBox upstream bug report: VM Machine wont to start after upgrade to 6.1.20

VT-x

VERR_SSM_FIELD_NOT_CONSECUTIVE

If the "Failed to load unit 'PATM' (VERR_SSM_FIELD_NOT_CONSECUTIVE)." error appears, VT-x must be enabled in BIOS settings, see instructions.

VT-x is disabled in BIOS

If the following error message appears.

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine Kicksecure-XFCE.

VT-x is disabled in the BIOS.
(VERR_VMX_MSR_VMXON_DISABLED).

Or.

AMD-V is disabled in the BIOS (or by the host OS).
(VERR_SVM_DISABLED).

Figure: VERR_VMX_MSR_VMXON_DISABLED / VERR_NEM_NOT_AVAILABLE

Then enable VT-x in BIOS settings.

Enable VT-x in BIOS

Go to your BIOS settings. For basic instructions, see: How to Change Computer BIOS Settings.

Then enable VT-x. This is sometimes also called AMD-V, virtualization, SVM mode or MIT perhaps under Advanced Core settings.

Updating/Upgrading while VM are Running

Error In supR3HardenedWinReSpawn

Do not update whilst the VM are running, otherwise VirtualBox must be reinstalled.

VMMR0InitVM: Revision mismatch

debian kernel: VMMR0InitVM: Revision mismatch, r3=132055 r0=130347

This happens when upgrading VirtualBox on the host while existing VM are still running. The solution is to shut down and restart all VM.

Disk Space

E_INVALIDARG (0x80070057)

This might relate to a low disk space issue -- unspecific to Kicksecure ™ -- research the issue further with search engines.

Non-functional Shared Clipboard and Drag and Drop

If the shared clipboard and drag’n’drop to/from host is non-functional, this can relate to the version of guest additions installed in Kicksecure ™ and/or the version of VirtualBox running on the host.

1. Apply General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.
2. VirtualBox → Settings → General → Advanced tab → 'Check' shared clipboard and drag and drop

It might still not work, see: VirtualBox Guest Additions Bugs Reporting.

Screen Issues

Screen Resolution Bug

VirtualBox Screen Resolution Bug

Normal presentation

If the display presents like the image on the right-hand side, then you are affected by a screen resolution bug which only occurs in VirtualBox.

To correct the resolution, first apply the General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.

If the issue still persists, try one of the following workarounds to correct the resolution.

VirtualBox Virtual Screen Menu Workaround

1. Power off the VM.
2. Restart the VM.
3. Maximize the VM window after start of the VM as soon as possible.
4. VirtualBox VM Window → View → Virtual Screen 1 → Choose any, resize to another resolution
5. VirtualBox VM Window → View → Auto-resize Guest Display

---

Desktop Resolution Settings Workaround

If the method above did not work, another option is the following. Inside the virtual machine:

XFCE Start Menu → Settings → Display → Resolution: → Choose a higher resolution resolution → Apply

---

VirtualBox VMSVGA Graphics Controller Setting Workaround

If it still does not work, a final option is the following.

Inside the virtual machine :

On the host:

1. Power off the VM.
2. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → Display → Graphics Controller → VMSVGA → OK (This is already the case in newer Kicksecure ™ versions.)
3. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → Display → Graphics Controller → increase slider for Video Memory to 128 → OK (This is already the case in newer Kicksecure ™ versions.)
4. Restart the VM.
5. Maximize the VM window after start of the VM as soon as possible.
6. If necessary, try again one of above workarounds.

---

VirtualBox Guest Additions Bugs Reporting

Occasionally screen resolution problems might still persist, see: VirtualBox Guest Additions Bugs Reporting.

Black Screen

If a black screen appears, try the following possible solutions.

1. Install the recommended version of the VirtualBox host software.
2. Apply the General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.
3. Reboot.
4. If the issue persists, try the following workarounds.

If this solution or any of the workarounds worked for you, please report this in Kicksecure ™ forums.

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Workaround 1: Try Other VirtualBox Virtual Graphics Controller Settings

1. Power off the VM.
2. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → Display → Graphics Controller → VMSVGA → OK (Or try other settings there.)
3. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → Display → Graphics Controller → increase slider for Video Memory to 128 → OK (This is already the default in recent releases of Kicksecure ™.)
4. Restart the VM.

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Workaround 2: Boot Once Without Virtual Graphics Adapter

This workaround has been reported as functional on a Windows 10 host with both Intel and nVidia GPU capabilities. It is okay to try this workaround on any host operating system.

1. Power off the VM.
2. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → Display → Graphics Controller → None → OK
3. Start the VM. Wait 2-3 minutes. (Since the display is disabled, you will see nothing happening)
4. Click the VirtualBox pane's [X] button. VirtualBox will offer a dialog with 3 options. If Send Shutdown signal is greyed out, cancel the dialog and try this step again every 10-20 seconds.
5. Send Shutdown signal. If it does not shut down immediately, wait a short time and try again.
6. Once the VM shuts down, restore the Graphics Controller to VMSVGA.
7. Restart the VM.

If this workaround succeeds, the screen will again be black for 2-3 minutes, but then chkdsk will run and the VM should start normally.

---

Workaround 3: nomodeset Kernel Parameter

Try to boot with the nomodeset kernel parameter. If that works, please post a forum report and then make the change permanent.

---

Workaround 4: Virtual Console

If it is possible to switch to a virtual console, this can help with debugging.

Slow Video Playback

Possible solutions:

1. Untested: Try downloading a video using youtube-dl (.onion) and then play the video in VLC.
2. Tested: Consider Tuning, specifically enable hardware-accelerated graphics. Note that this configuration worsens security.
3. Untested: Consider disabling CPU mitigations. This configuration also worsens security.

It is unknown whether enabling VirtualBox hardware-accelerated graphics (3D Acceleration) or disabling CPU mitigations is worse for security. Contributors are asked to research this issue (Free Support Principle) and report what is found in a dedicated forum thread.

Miscellaneous

Host Crash

See the Aborted Status instructions below.

Aborted Status

If the virtual machine ever shows an aborted status, perform these steps:

1. Try to Assign Less Virtual CPUs; this may help to avoid the issue.
2. Check for Low RAM issues.
3. Apply General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.
4. Consider reporting a bug against upstream VirtualBox -- VirtualBox bugtracker / VirtualBox forums. VirtualBox developers require logs to identify the problem.

Kicksecure ™ provides VM image that operate inside of the VM. Whatever occurs inside a VM should never lead to a crash (status aborted) of the host virtualization software, VirtualBox.

Recommended steps:

1. To capture the VirtualBox log: VirtualBox → right click a VM → Show Log... → Log → Save → OK
2. Zip the log.
3. Report to VirtualBox support.
4. Share the VirtualBox support request link in Kicksecure ™ forums.

Guru Mediation

Kicksecure ™ provides VM image that operate inside of the VM. Whatever occurs inside a VM should never lead to a Guru Mediation of the host virtualization software, VirtualBox.

Posting a screenshot of the Guru Mediation screen is probably not required since these all look very similar.

VirtualBox Guru Meditation

A critical error has occurred while running the virtual machine and the machine execution has been stopped.

For help, please see the Community section on https://www.virtualbox.org or your support contract. Please provide the contents of the log file VBox.log and the image file VBox.png, which you can find in the /home/sk/VirtualBox VMs/Ubuntu 20.04 Server/Logs directory, as well as a description of what you were doing when this error happened. Note that you can also access the above files by selecting Show Log from the Machine menu of the main VirtualBox window.

Press OK if you want to power off the machine or press Ignore if you want to leave it as is for debugging. Please note that debugging requires special knowledge and tools, so it is recommended to press OK now.

This example text does not contain any technical details which could help to fix the issue, since VirtualBox Guru Meditation can occur for many reasons.

Recommended steps to resolve VirtualBox Guru Meditation issues:

1. Apply General VirtualBox Troubleshooting Steps.

These often help resolving such issues.

2. Capture the VirtualBox log

Without log contents, developers will probably be unable to help.

VirtualBox → right click a VM → Show Log... → Log → Save → OK

3. Consider inspecting the log yourself.

Use search engines to try and locate any similar or identical error messages. Usually the issue will already have been reported, and a solution might be documented in the same place. It is recommended to search the offical VirtualBox website because most VirtualBox developers and experts will utilize this resource. The following search term will limit search results to the VirtualBox website (this is a feature which most search engines support): site:virtualbox.org error message here.

4. Consider reporting a bug against upstream VirtualBox.

• Zip the log.
• Post the log at VirtualBox bugtracker or VirtualBox forums.
• VirtualBox developers require logs to investigate the problem.

5. Share the VirtualBox support request link in Kicksecure ™ forums.

6. Done.

Hopefully help can be provided.

NS_ERROR_FAILURE

NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)

Quote VirtualBox forum moderator

NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005) is a general failure message when loading a VM. Subsequent lines in the error dialog will give the exact cause of the error. You do NOT have the same error just because you see the generic leader. If you don't provide a log or the supplemental error description then we can't help you.

While this is not the same error as Guru Mediation, all the same information and advice from that chapter applies. Therefore please follow chapter Guru Mediation.

Kernel driver not installed

error happening in case Linux kernel headers package (linux-headers-amd64) is missing

output of sudo vboxconfig in case Linux kernel headers package (linux-headers-amd64) is missing

Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)

If this occurs on Linux based host operating systems, then it is likely the Linux headers package matching the currently running Linux image package is not installed. To attempt to fix the issue:

1. Go to the Recommended VirtualBox Version wiki page.

2. Press the expand button for your operating system.

If you Linux, press the Expand button on that wiki page.

Once expanded, the recommended instructions will explain how to install VirtualBox for select Linux distributions as well as generic recommendations for other Linux distributions.

4. Apply the installation instructions from that wiki page.

5. Issue resolved?

This issue is unspecific to Kicksecure ™. Any VM from any vendor and/or self-created VM will fail to start, not just Kicksecure ™ VM. This is because it is a host operating system and VirtualBox issue. If the instructions above did not fix the issue, then try accessing further support resources including the Try a non-Kicksecure ™ VM chapter.

6. Support requests.

For support requests, please provide the following debug output. Is package linux-headers-amd64 installed? To check, run:

dpkg -l | grep linux-headers-amd64

Is package linux-image-amd64 installed? To check, run:

dpkg -l | grep linux-image-amd64

Assign Less Virtual CPUs

Try assigning less virtual CPUs.

In Kicksecure ™ 15.0.1.3.4 and above 3 virtual CPUs is now the default setting; 4 were previously used. As a result, this workaround should no longer be required for most users.

1. Power off the VM.
2. VirtualBox → click a VM → Settings → System → Processor → Reduce to 3 → OK

INCONSISTENCY BETWEEN GRAIN TABLE AND BACKUP GRAIN TABLE

If this error appears, sometimes it helps to:

1. Try and convert the vmdk to vdi.
2. Remove the old vmdk from the VM.
3. Attach the new vdi.

High Disk Usage Causing Filesystem Corruption

This is a VirtualBox host software bug, High I/O causing filesystem corruption.

The following settings cannot fix already existing filesystem corruption inside the virtual harddrive. However, these settings might prevent future filesystem corruption. Therefore the best time to experiment with these settings is before starting a virtual machine for the first time or at least before issues appear.

Enabling Host I/O Cache might help as it was reported by a user on the VirtualBox issue tracker.

VirtualBox → Settings → Storage → Name: SATA → Type: AHCI → enable Use Host I/O Cache → OK

Experimenting with other virtual machine hardware settings might also help.

VirtualBox → Settings → Storage → Name: → experiment with other settings → OK

Maybe Type: virtio-scsi could help.

Other settings that might help:

• https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch12.html#ts_config-periodic-flush
• https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch12.html#ts_ide-sata-flush
• Quote https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/10031#comment:2

Try to tune host os page flusher behavior to avoid accumulating of significant amount of dirty pages in host file system buffers. For example, set vm.dirty_background_ratio to 5 or below (this is still large size - about 1Gb) or set vm.dirty_background_bytes to something smaller like 20971520 to make page flusher more active. Note that this may make host file system cache less effective, but it prevents write operation stuck during buffer flush.

References:

• VirtualBox host software bug, High I/O causing filesystem corruption
• Old issue tracker discussion: VirtualBox AHCI
• VirtualBox manual: Hard Disk Controllers

Import Kicksecure ™ Image

Using the VirtualBox GUI to import Kicksecure ™ image should work well in most cases. If not, follow the steps below.

1. Check if there is enough free disk space.

2. Refer to the Kicksecure ™ installation screenshots (VirtualBox/XFCE and click expand button) and/or Video Tutorials.

3. Delete any half-imported or otherwise broken virtual machine image.

4. Use the VBoxManage command line tool and copy the output.

VBoxManage unregistervm "Kicksecure-XFCE" --delete

5. Navigate to the folder where Kicksecure ™ was downloaded and import Kicksecure ™ by using the VBoxManage command line tool.

VBoxManage import Kicksecure-XFCE-16.0.9.8.ova

6. Clean the output.

Remove operating system user name or any problematic file paths.

7. Contact lead Kicksecure ™ developer Patrick Schleizer and send the output.

No Sound in Kicksecure ™

If sound is unavailable in Kicksecure ™ when using VLC or browsing Internet sites, try:

Settings → Audio → Host audio driver → Select Also audio

Core Isolation

Host operating system specific:

• Linux users: No special steps required. This chapter should be skipped.
• Windows 10 users: This should be fixed in recent VirtualBox versions. Disabling core isolation should be no longer required. In case of issues, the user could try to disable core isolation anyhow.

Core Isolation is also called Windows Hypervisor-enforced Code Integrity (HVCI).

Start Menu → Settings → Update & security → Windows Security → Device security → Core isolation details, turn off Memory integrity → reboot the host operating system

Related: forum discussion on Windows core isolation

Try a non-Kicksecure VM

1. "Forget" about Kicksecure ™ for a moment and imagine you had never heard of the platform. Test the VirtualBox host software first.
2. Try a VM other than Kicksecure ™, for example Debian bullseye.
3. If that does not fix the issue, that means the root issue is not caused by Kicksecure ™. In other words, the issue is unspecific to Kicksecure ™. In that case it is recommended to try and resolve the issue as per Free Support Principle.

VirtualBox Generic Bug Reproduction

This entry is based on Bug Report Recommendations, specifically Generic Bug Reproduction. The content is similar to the Try a non-Kicksecure ™ VM chapter above.

The following is a manual reproduction of the Kicksecure ™ VirtualBox Integration.

1. Use the recommended (.onion) Linux distribution -- Debian bullseye -- as the host operating system. (Debian Tips) During installation, preferably choose the same desktop environment that Kicksecure ™ is using, which is Xfce at time of writing.

2. Install the recommended version of the VirtualBox host software and follow the instructions from that wiki page.

3. Install Debian bullseye inside a VirtualBox VM.

4. Install the VirtualBox Guest Additions from the Debian fasttrack repository inside the VirtualBox VM.

A) Inside the VirtualBox VM.

Open a terminal.

B) Add the Debian fasttrack repository.

Update the package lists.

sudo apt update

C) Install the Debian fasttrack signing key.

sudo apt install fasttrack-archive-keyring

D) Add the Debian fasttrack repository.

echo 'deb https://fasttrack.debian.net/debian/ bullseye-fasttrack main contrib non-free' | sudo tee /etc/apt/sources.list.d/fasttrack.list

E) Update the package lists again.

sudo apt update

F) Install the VirtualBox Guest Additions.

sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-x11

G) Reboot required.

sudo reboot

H) VirtualBox Guest Additions should now be installed.

The procedure of installing the VirtualBox Guest Additions is complete.

5. Attempt to reproduce the original issue.

• A) If the original issue is reproducible: That means the root issue is not caused by Kicksecure ™. In other words, the issue is unspecific to Kicksecure ™. In that case it is recommended to try and resolve the issue as per Free Support Principle. If a solution was found, please consider editing the Kicksecure ™ Documentation as a small contribution and/or providing a complete answer in the Kicksecure ™ User Forums.
• B) If the original issue is not reproducible: Please report this in Kicksecure ™ forums.

The following deprecated instructions chapter VirtualBox Generic Bug Reproduction using virtualbox-guest-additions-iso is probably not required but kept here in case it will be needed again in the future.

Submit a Bug Report

When reporting an issue in the Kicksecure ™ forums, please add the exact steps which led to the problem. Also include as much relevant information as possible; see below.

• Which Kicksecure ™ version was downloaded and from where?
• Do other non-Kicksecure ™-VMs have this issue?
• Did you:
  • Only download, import Kicksecure ™ VM and start Kicksecure ™?; or
  • Did you start and use Kicksecure ™ then installed more software and perform other activities before the issues emerged?
• Have you previously used older versions of Kicksecure ™ that worked?
• What is the host operating system and version?
• What is the VirtualBox version?
• How much RAM does the host have?
• In case of black screen issues:
  • Can you switch to a virtual console? This can help with debugging.

Bugs can also be reported against upstream VirtualBox: VirtualBox bugtracker / VirtualBox forums. Bug reports must be well written and thorough otherwise it will not lead to a solution, see: bug reporting instructions.

See Also

• Troubleshooting
• Advice for Systems with Low RAM
• Support
• Reporting Bugs
• VirtualBox Guest Additions and Shared Folders
• VirtualBox Guest Additions
• VirtualBox
• VirtualBox Testers Only Version
• Recommended VirtualBox Version
• Install Newer Versions of VirtualBox
• VirtualBox "Appliance is not signed" Error Message
• Higher Screen Resolution without VirtualBox Guest Additions
• Virtualization Platform Security
• Dev/VirtualBox
  • VirtualBox Integration

Footnotes

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Unfinished: This wiki is a work in progress. Please do not report broken links until this notice is removed, use Search Engines First and contribute improving this wiki.

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