Author Topic: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing  (Read 61384 times)

David Graser

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #30 on: April 16, 2018, 04:52:27 am »
... I really don't know which kernel you are referring to when saying OS4 kernel...


here is some info https://www.os2world.com/forum/index.php/topic,324.0.html

I must say that I am impressed with this kernel.  The system is so much more responsive.  Although Firefox took the same amount of time to load as the IBM kernel, every subsequent startup was fast.  The CPU does not appear to trash about like with the IBM kernel. Open Office appears to load faster and my CPU is running cooler.  My video is faster also.  So far, I have had no problems with the very latest release.   Thanks OS4user for the heads up.

David
« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 09:52:59 am by David Graser »

Mark Szkolnicki

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #31 on: April 16, 2018, 04:44:47 pm »
Good Morning All!

This week I'm planning to start testing use of various programs in a VBOX VM, to see how things work out.

A lot of my consultancy involves technical writing, so I spend a lot of time on programs like Word and graphics design programs like CorelDraw, so will be using those a lot in the next few days.

I can say that they do open (a hopeful start) and that I can access files from the host computer and others, through my peer network. I did try enabling the "shared clipboard" in VBOX through SETTINGS | GENERAL then the Advanced Tab and found that attempting to cut and paste between the host and the VM locked things up. Only tried "Bidirectional" at the moment (also has a Host to VM or VM to Host option), but, I expect, this being a developmental version that some code linking the OS and the VM clipboards is still needed.

I also decided to install the new version of SeaMonkey that Dave made available (2.42.9-exp3), as I was running into some memory problems with 2.35. The new 2.42.9 is actually the first drop of that version that I could get to work and it seems to be a little faster and more responsive (2.35 would take about 20 seconds to load and sometimes I would get pauses at the beginning of a session or when loading a site, and also the occasional random temporary lock-up with 2.35). The problems with 2.35 were relatively minor in the scheme of things, but this seems to be an improvement, so plan to stick with 2.42.9

Memory usage for SeaMonkey has skyrocketed though - reading about 437 Mb being used, where 2.35 was using about 330 Mb, just looking at SysInfo - I haven't tested it with Theseus, now installed, or with the app Dariusz provided. Will have to try starting up the VM again at some point with both running to see what the memory is doing.

Best of the start of the week!

M

Vincit Que Se Vincit - "He Who Conquers Self Succeeds"

Mark Szkolnicki

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #32 on: April 16, 2018, 04:50:05 pm »
[
... I really don't know which kernel you are referring to when saying OS4 kernel...


here is some info https://www.os2world.com/forum/index.php/topic,324.0.html

I must say that I am impressed with this kernel.  The system is so much more responsive.  Although Firefox took the same amount of time to load as the IBM kernel, every subsequent startup was fast.  The CPU does not appear to trash about like with the IBM kernel. Open Office appears to load faster and my CPU is running cooler.  My video is faster also.  So far, I have had no problems with the very latest release.   Thanks OS4user for the heads up.

David

Heh David!

Was just curious.

What OS and what version have you installed the OS/4 kernel on?

I have boxes running eCS and ArcaOS in various configurations. Thought I might try the latest version on one of my experimental units.

Best!

Mark
Vincit Que Se Vincit - "He Who Conquers Self Succeeds"

David Graser

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #33 on: April 16, 2018, 06:27:26 pm »
Hi Mark

I am using Arcaos 5.02.

This kernel is recent after a long break of no work.

http://ru2.halfos.ru/core/downloads/kernel/os4/os2krnlSVN5087_unoff.zip

One has to be careful setting it up, but if you make a mistake it allows one to use the original boot loader which boots the original kernel to fix whatever mistake one makes setting it up.



« Last Edit: April 16, 2018, 06:30:40 pm by David Graser »

Mark Szkolnicki

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #34 on: April 16, 2018, 06:37:46 pm »
Hi David!

Hi Mark

I am using Arcaos 5.02.

This kernel is recent after a long break of no work.

http://ru2.halfos.ru/core/downloads/kernel/os4/os2krnlSVN5087_unoff.zip

One has to be careful setting it up, but if you make a mistake it allows one to use the original boot loader which boots the original kernel to fix whatever mistake one makes setting it up.


Do you use QSINIT? I have tested it in the past in passing and was wondering if it might help in the setup (ie. allow different kernels to boot?

M
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David Graser

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #35 on: April 16, 2018, 06:44:28 pm »
Hi David!

Hi Mark

I am using Arcaos 5.02.

This kernel is recent after a long break of no work.

http://ru2.halfos.ru/core/downloads/kernel/os4/os2krnlSVN5087_unoff.zip

One has to be careful setting it up, but if you make a mistake it allows one to use the original boot loader which boots the original kernel to fix whatever mistake one makes setting it up.


Do you use QSINIT? I have tested it in the past in passing and was wondering if it might help in the setup (ie. allow different kernels to boot?

M

I don't use QSINIT.  I believe the OS4 kernel comes with its own boot loader which is setup with an ini file.

Valery Sedletski

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #36 on: April 17, 2018, 03:10:36 am »
2David Graser: QSINIT is mostly compatible with os2ldr from OS/4, but it has more features

Valery Sedletski

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #37 on: April 17, 2018, 03:29:33 am »
2Mark Szkolnicki: Updating WinXP to win7 is possible, but note that win7 will require significantly more resources than winxp. The bare minimum for Win7 is 768 MB of RAM, but in case you disabled all "bells and whistles" like Aero and visual effects, and enable VT-x/AMD-V. Otherwize, it will run too slow. WinXP with 512 MB of RAM is an optimal variant even without HW virtualization. So, I'd not recommend to upgrade it to Win7.

> I can say that they do open (a hopeful start) and that I can access files from the host computer and others, through my peer network. I did try enabling the "shared clipboard" in VBOX through SETTINGS | GENERAL then the Advanced Tab and found that attempting to cut and paste between the host and the VM locked things up. Only tried "Bidirectional" at the moment (also has a Host to VM or VM to Host option), but, I expect, this being a developmental version that some code linking the OS and the VM clipboards is still needed.

Shared Folders should work with different guests (excluding OS/2 atm. I did not finished the shared folders IFS yet. But it currently allows navigating the file system and viewing the files. Though, it can crash the VM easily, so it is not stable yet, but partially working). So, host support for shared folders on OS/2 is working, but guest support is not yet.

Inversely, Shared clipboard host support is not yet finished, so it can easily hang your host system! So, beware. Support for shared folders on OS/2 guests should work, though.

2ivan: running two different VM's on top of OS/2 host is possible. At least, I ran two VM's, one with WinXP, another with Knoppix LiveCD (Linux). They are not prevent to run each other. Running a VBox inside VBox is not poossible, AFAIK, because VBox does not support nested virtualization. QEMU supports it. So, I was able to run VBox inside QEMU. It worked, but very slow. KolibriOS started for an hour, or so, in such VBox instance. (This is without HW virtualization/KVM. With KVM enabled, VBox runs relatively well inside QEMU).
« Last Edit: April 17, 2018, 03:43:21 am by Valery Sedletski »

David Graser

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #38 on: April 17, 2018, 07:20:24 am »
Hi Mark

I am using Arcaos 5.02.

This kernel is recent after a long break of no work.

http://ru2.halfos.ru/core/downloads/kernel/os4/os2krnlSVN5087_unoff.zip

One has to be careful setting it up, but if you make a mistake it allows one to use the original boot loader which boots the original kernel to fix whatever mistake one makes setting it up.

This is the latest that corrected a problem I was encountering at startup.

http://www.gus.biysk.ru/os4/os2krnlSVN5094_unoff.zip

As was mentioned earlier, once setup correctly, it works great. 

Mark Szkolnicki

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #39 on: April 17, 2018, 07:29:34 pm »
2Mark Szkolnicki: Updating WinXP to win7 is possible, but note that win7 will require significantly more resources than winxp. The bare minimum for Win7 is 768 MB of RAM, but in case you disabled all "bells and whistles" like Aero and visual effects, and enable VT-x/AMD-V. Otherwize, it will run too slow. WinXP with 512 MB of RAM is an optimal variant even without HW virtualization. So, I'd not recommend to upgrade it to Win7.

> I can say that they do open (a hopeful start) and that I can access files from the host computer and others, through my peer network. I did try enabling the "shared clipboard" in VBOX through SETTINGS | GENERAL then the Advanced Tab and found that attempting to cut and paste between the host and the VM locked things up. Only tried "Bidirectional" at the moment (also has a Host to VM or VM to Host option), but, I expect, this being a developmental version that some code linking the OS and the VM clipboards is still needed.

Shared Folders should work with different guests (excluding OS/2 atm. I did not finished the shared folders IFS yet. But it currently allows navigating the file system and viewing the files. Though, it can crash the VM easily, so it is not stable yet, but partially working). So, host support for shared folders on OS/2 is working, but guest support is not yet.

Inversely, Shared clipboard host support is not yet finished, so it can easily hang your host system! So, beware. Support for shared folders on OS/2 guests should work, though.


Good Morning Valery!

By updating a Windows XP installation to Windows 7 has that been done within a VM originally created for Windows XP, or trying to install it into a VBOX VM created specifically for Windows 7 originally (ie. one using NEW | Create New Virtual Machine and choosing "version Windows 7)?

Thats what I tried, just to see if it would work, as I have no full OS copy of Windows 7 at the moment (just an upgrade copy I had lying around).

I will still try to create a VM installation of Windows 7 on this machine, just for testing purposes, but I suspect, given the memory limitations you describe Valery, your probably right.

Having used the Windows XP VM now for a day with Word, and a Quickbooks accounting package installed, the VM is extremely useable, running with now slowdowns I could decern, and in fact seems faster than the VPC installation I use of Windows XP.

Shared folders does indeed work. I was also able to install a printer driver for an HP3500 Colour LaserJet and print out from the VM. I didn't see a reason why it would not, but I have the printer installed on the network, through a print server installed at IP 192.168.1.55, so the installation is a little trickier than installing a local printer. I may try to test this by installing a local printer in future, as I do have an HP2100 LaserJet gathering dust, as I've been having trouble installing it to the printer server, as its connection id through a LPT port, and it doesn't seem to be recognized through a LPT to USN connection on the print server.

Thanks for confirming about shared clipboard. I don't know if you are also planning to do something with drag and drop in future as well, but it would be useful, for some of the items I do, in my consiltancy.

But very good work, so far, especially for a development version, Valery. I will continue to test and report findings as I go along!

A fine day to you (and everyone else) and Best!

M

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Valery Sedletski

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #40 on: April 18, 2018, 04:40:47 am »
2Mark Szkolnicki: Yes, I'm still working on a host-side shared clipboard DLL and guest-side shared folders IFS for OS/2. No work is done on drag-n-drop, yet. Actually, I have no idea how should it work, and what could be missing. It seems, I was able to drag files from OS/2 desktop to VM desktop, for WinXP guest (or vice versa). But I'm not sure how should it work. So, if you have an idea, what's not working, please share.

Doug Clark

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #41 on: April 18, 2018, 11:47:37 pm »
Dariusz:  Thank you for the instructions on how to limit the memory SNAP consumes. The ATI video card I have has 256 MB. I read the discussion on the SNAP topics but didn't see how to actually effect the setting. I followed your advice and set to 32MB.

I have set the VirtualAddressLimit = 3072 and the jfs .... cache=64000

Vbox comes up fine - except for the required 15 second wait between when the VirtualBox Manager screen appears and I can start a VM; wait 15 seconds VM starts fine.

NAT networking appears to be working OK. Pings do not work, and I could not activate Windows XP which lead me to believe networking wasn't working. But IE opens MSN.NET the HP printer driver for

I installed the HP printer driver for HP452 and it prints a test page.

The Adobe universal windows postscript driver installer v 1.06 starts but never completes. I have tried multiple times to run the installer, and once got the splash screen to display but nothing further. It is an InstallShield installer.

Thanks guys for all your help.

Doug Clark

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #42 on: April 19, 2018, 07:36:03 pm »
The installer for FrameMaker also starts but then hangs. That is also InstallShield. I suspect that part of it is 16 bit. This is all with the OS2 kernel.

When the install hangs, and I reboot, Windows XP complains about WOWEXEC - saying it can't stop WOWEXEC, which is why I believe it is related to the 16 bit part of the installer.

But it appears that if I run a 16-bit program first (I am using NOTEPAD.EXE (from C:\OS2\MDOS\WINOS2), the installer is successful more often. Not all the time, but enough to install FrameMaker, Distiller, and ATM, all of which had problems. I also seen to have better success if I copy the files to a drive local to the VM before starting the install.

Now that all that is installed, vBox is very impressive. The mouse pointer is strange, sometimes laging slightly behind the mouse movement, but the speed and performance are impressive - without hardware virtualization.
« Last Edit: April 19, 2018, 11:51:38 pm by Doug Clark »

Doug Clark

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start up error
« Reply #43 on: April 19, 2018, 11:54:14 pm »
I have twice now gotten a error trying to startup a VM. The error is

PIIX3 cannot attach to the primary slave (verr_io_not_ready)

I solve this by removing the optical drive in the settings for the VM, and then start the VM. After the VM has been rebooted and shut down I can reattach the optical drive.

Doug Clark

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Re: VirtualBox v5.0.51 Testing
« Reply #44 on: April 20, 2018, 03:30:32 pm »
I cannnot

THREADS=511
PROCESSES=156

in CONFIG.SYS on my machine. When I do the Netquestion  search engine doesn't start. Which doesn't make sense but that is what happens. Netquestion is the help system for the later IBM C/C++ compilers and DB2 clients.

But it doesn't appear that I need to because vBox runs without those. (I do have VirtualAddressLimit=3072 and I have reduced the memory used by SNAP.)