OS2 World Community Forum

OS/2, eCS & ArcaOS - Technical => Setup & Installation => Topic started by: Bennie Nelson on December 25, 2021, 06:02:49 pm

Title: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 25, 2021, 06:02:49 pm
In April, of this year, after many years of running ECS and ArcOS in VirtualBox on Windows, I switched to Redhat on new hardware. Since then random mouse freezes have started occurring in ArcaOS, and although the mouse is no longer in the ArcaOS VM, the rest of the VM is still running fine and can be controlled from the keyboard. This has been happening with two different versions of both VB and ArcaOS. The hardware includes AMD processor and video and two Dell monitors. I keep everything patched and up-to-date, including updating to ArcaOS 5.0.7 this past week.

The ArcaOS Mouse Setup dialog reports that the Mouse Driver is not properly installed, and includes the following Driver Version error message:
Failed to query version info: rc = 22

The only mouse driver specified in CONFIG.SYS is:
DEVICE=C:\OS2Additions\vboxmouse.sys

I folllowed the instructions in the Arca Noae wiki about installing the OS in a virtualbox, with the exception of the Display and Mouse drivers. I assumed that those were for the install process only and that the versions in the VBox Guest Additions would be used for the VM.

Any suggestions?

Regards,
Bennie Nelson

Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Andreas Schnellbacher on December 25, 2021, 06:37:52 pm
The only mouse driver specified in CONFIG.SYS is:
DEVICE=C:\OS2Additions\vboxmouse.sys
That's caused by the additions. The message that something is not correctly installed may stem from a prior AMouse installation. Amouse is completely replaced by the VirtualBox driver, independant of what the pages of the Mouse object show. So in your case, it should be correctly installed with the single CONFIG.SYS entry.

BTW: It's also possible to deactivate the vboxmouse.sys and activate the amouse.sys driver instead. I had that set in order to keep the comfort of AMouse (scroll messages instead of keys messages and scroll window under pointer, not the one with focus). Maybe replacing the vboxmouse.sys driver changes something in your case.

Otherwise another idea is to change the mouse hardware.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Martin Iturbide on December 25, 2021, 09:51:36 pm
Hi Bennie

Possible checking what Andreas said, that you don't have vboxmouse.sys and amouse.sys enable at the same time on the config.sys. One of the two need to be REM out.

It can be interesting to inspect you VM specs in detail. You can try testlog (here it is the link) (http://88watts.net/dlfile.php?F=testlog-) and do a "testlog generic" and share the report.

Regards
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 26, 2021, 04:49:27 pm
I ran grep -i and here are the results:
[c:\] grep -i mouse config.sys
rem DEVICE=C:\OS2\BOOT\MOUSE.SYS
DEVICE=C:\OS2Additions\vboxmouse.sys

The AMOUSE.SYS suggestion is excellent and I will try that next. I had already switched to a different mouse, but I forgot to mention that.

Regards,
Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 26, 2021, 05:12:21 pm
AMOUSE.SYS rendered the system unusable. The mouse pointer moves erratically within the VM and clicking on objects produces no results. As a point of information, this VM is a fresh install of ArcaOS 5.0.7, and I did not specify any mouse driver, other than selecting the VBOX Guest Additions.

I went to the testlog link, and it asked me what to do with a DOS/Windows executable. Is this an OS/2 program?

Thanks,
Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 26, 2021, 06:02:49 pm
I found the answer to the testlog question here: https://www.arcanoae.com/wiki/producing-diagnostic-log-files/

I'll post a log after the condition occurs again.

Thanks,
Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Andreas Schnellbacher on December 26, 2021, 06:11:59 pm
AMOUSE.SYS rendered the system unusable.
Strange. The same with changed mouse pointer hardware? With luck this is a VirtualBox problem.

Otherwise I would probably create an AN bug tracker ticket.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 26, 2021, 08:51:41 pm
Replacing the mouse did not eliminate the issue. I'd like to identify the specific layer(s), but that is tricky. There are physical hardware components (motherboard, chipset, etc.), the host OS (Redhat) and drivers, VirtualBox, ArcaOS, VB guest additions, and perhaps others. I use SAMBA extensively, for example, and I've noticed that the number of shares and files puts quite a load on the ArcaOS VM. So I've backed off some of the shares, and that has helped some.

Regards,
Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Lars on December 27, 2021, 09:49:52 am
If you install a new VB version, you will need to manually update the OS/2 additions. Somewhere in the VB GUI you will find an option to attach the additions. That will put the additions on the first CD-ROM Drive letter in your OS/2 guest. Unlock any DLLs in the "os2additions" Folder and then copy over and restart the guest.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Lars on December 27, 2021, 09:52:37 am
Finally, make sure that a USB mouse is emulated as a PS/2 mouse. I don't remember if something specific has to be set up in the VB GUI or if this is default behavior.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: mauro on December 27, 2021, 06:57:39 pm
yes it comes by default in Machine Settings,-> System-> MotherBoard-> Pointing device (among USB tablet and USB tablet multitouch)
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on December 27, 2021, 10:15:11 pm
If you install a new VB version, you will need to manually update the OS/2 additions. Somewhere in the VB GUI you will find an option to attach the additions. That will put the additions on the first CD-ROM Drive letter in your OS/2 guest. Unlock any DLLs in the "os2additions" Folder and then copy over and restart the guest.

I have not tried this, yet. I simply kept the VB guest additions that were installed by ArcaOS. I'm used to installing the guest additions manually, so I'll give it a try.
Thanks,
Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on January 08, 2022, 07:15:20 pm
I updated the VB Guest Additions to match the version of VB and I have only had one mouse freeze in about a week. To recover from that mouse freeze, I used the shutdown command in 4OS2 and then rebooted the VM. Subsequent to that, the clipboard operation in most of the VMs (most are Redhat, but there is one Ubuntu, in addition to ArcaOS), has been spotty, and is deteriorating. I can no longer copy between VMs and sometimes even within the same VM.

The "simple" workaround is to reboot everything including the Redhat host, but that is painful with six running VMs and numerous apps.

At this point, it is looking like this is most likely a VB issue.

Thanks to everyone for their suggestions. The script for creating the VB Guest Additions Warpin package i still in the works.

Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 12, 2022, 04:37:22 pm
After a time of stability, the mouse freezes returned. I decided to change the screen resolution from 2560 x 1440 in VirtualBox Full Screen mode to 1920 x 1200 in VirtualBox Scaled Mode, since the native resolution for the monitor is 2560 x 1440. It has been about two weeks without a mouse freeze condition occurring.

I am still investigating the shared Clipboard issue.

Bennie Nelson
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 13, 2022, 07:10:33 pm
I'm not under virtualbox (boot through airboot or direct after boot disk choice) and have from time to time mouse freeze too since I upgraded my systemto 5.0.7  (normal mouse driver)

Could it be some drivers compatibility ?
 
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 14, 2022, 03:21:45 pm
Remy,
What video resolution are you using?
Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 14, 2022, 06:53:23 pm
1920x1200
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 15, 2022, 01:49:42 am
Remy,
Under virtualbox using the VB Guest Additions, the video driver is a customized version of gengradd. Which video driver are you using? Can you switch to one of the other available drivers?
Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 15, 2022, 02:44:00 pm
Remy,
Under virtualbox using the VB Guest Additions, the video driver is a customized version of gengradd. Which video driver are you using? Can you switch to one of the other available drivers?
Bennie

Hi Benni,

As I wrote, I don't use VB
I directly boot into ArcaOS, no VB

It looks more like the problem is related to usb access...
but I didn't identify the real case making the freeze occur for a few seconds and difficult to reproduce due it is from time to time and sometime, nothing for a few days and then again...
I also suspected a keyboard or mouse temporary problem (like a key sending a pushed state which prevent them other keys or mouse to well works - unify keyboard and mouse in my case) and to exclude them, despite both worked well under windows, I bought a new keyboard and mouse and my first impression was, it was the culprit but after a few days, freeze occurred again making me exclude both devices from investigation...
Q: could a running daemon or widget be the culprit ?  :-\
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 15, 2022, 03:17:23 pm
Remy,
It certainly could be a conflict with some background process like a widget. When the mouse freezes, is the rest of the system working? Can you use the keyboard, for example? If so, can you run Top to see what activity shows up in the list?
Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 15, 2022, 11:45:54 pm
Remy,
It certainly could be a conflict with some background process like a widget. When the mouse freezes, is the rest of the system working? Can you use the keyboard, for example? If so, can you run Top to see what activity shows up in the list?
Bennie

My keyboard works with my mouse on the same usb unify dongle.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 16, 2022, 04:59:14 am
So when the mouse freeze occurs, have you tried running Top or the testlog program?
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 16, 2022, 06:46:31 pm
So when the mouse freeze occurs, have you tried running Top or the testlog program?

Of course not possible !
Keyboard uses same unify dongle as my mouse and both are unusable


(freeze seems more to be in relation with usb...) 
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 16, 2022, 11:43:05 pm
Have you tried unplugging the dongle and plugging it back in?
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 17, 2022, 12:00:15 am
Have you tried unplugging the dongle and plugging it back in?

Of couse, one of the first thing to try..
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 17, 2022, 06:16:48 pm
So why do you need the USB dongle?
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 17, 2022, 09:17:49 pm
Remy,
It certainly could be a conflict with some background process like a widget. When the mouse freezes, is the rest of the system working? Can you use the keyboard, for example? If so, can you run Top to see what activity shows up in the list?
Bennie

My keyboard works with my mouse on the same usb unify dongle.

Here you have the answer
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 18, 2022, 03:57:52 pm
Remy,
Do you mean the keyboard keeps working when the mouse freeze occurs, or the keyboard also freezes when the mouse freezes?
Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 18, 2022, 08:34:10 pm
Remy,
Do you mean the keyboard keeps working when the mouse freeze occurs, or the keyboard also freezes when the mouse freezes?
Bennie

As I wrote, I bought a new keyboard and mouse due nothing worked during freeze  (this is why I suspect possible driver conflict)
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Doug Bissett on February 19, 2022, 03:01:17 am
I keep reading this, and one question keeps popping into my mind:

Are you trying to use a real mouse, and keyboard, in VBox with USB passthrough support, or are you doing it properly, and using the host mouse, and keyboard?
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Pete on February 19, 2022, 02:56:51 pm
Hi All

No idea why Bennie has a mouse problem in VBox but suspect it is a VBox issue.

I think if I was Remy I would uninstall USB3 drivers and install either the latest AN or Lars USB2  drivers to check if the problem goes away.


Regards

Pete
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Andreas Schnellbacher on February 19, 2022, 04:24:15 pm
Bennie, does your mouse work in a normal ArcaOS installation, without virtualization, on the same hardware?

(I guess, the same as Pete, that it's a VirtualBox issue on Redhat.)
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 19, 2022, 08:56:25 pm
Hi All

No idea why Bennie has a mouse problem in VBox but suspect it is a VBox issue.

I think if I was Remy I would uninstall USB3 drivers and install either the latest AN or Lars USB2  drivers to check if the problem goes away.


Regards

Pete

ArcaOs has the latest AN USB driver.
My USB dongle is connected on an USB only connecter (Something to try,removing USB3 driver)  ::) 
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 19, 2022, 11:37:07 pm
Bennie, does your mouse work in a normal ArcaOS installation, without virtualization, on the same hardware?

(I guess, the same as Pete, that it's a VirtualBox issue on Redhat.)

I only run ArcaOS in virtual machines, so I cannot answer the question. I have had mouse pointer freezes using multiple:
mice, versions of ArcaOS, versions of VirtualBox, versions of Redhat, and Redhat video drivers.

The mouse pointer freezes have gone away when I dropped the video resolution to 1920x1200, as I noted in an earlier post. That does sound like there is an issue with the VB guest additions.

Regards,
Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Doug Bissett on February 19, 2022, 11:57:57 pm
I do not understand what USB has to do with the mouse in VBox. The mouse activity is simply passed through from the host mouse driver to the virtual mouse driver, in the guest. USB, in the guest, has nothing, at all, to do with that. If VBox has a problem getting mouse activity from the host driver, there could be a problem, but that would be VBox, or the virtual mouse driver, not the USB driver, in the guest. If it stops happening, when you reduce the virtual screen resolution, that does indicate some sort of VBox problem.

What, exactly, is the configuration?
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 20, 2022, 04:12:05 pm
I do not understand what USB has to do with the mouse in VBox. The mouse activity is simply passed through from the host mouse driver to the virtual mouse driver, in the guest. USB, in the guest, has nothing, at all, to do with that. If VBox has a problem getting mouse activity from the host driver, there could be a problem, but that would be VBox, or the virtual mouse driver, not the USB driver, in the guest. If it stops happening, when you reduce the virtual screen resolution, that does indicate some sort of VBox problem.

What, exactly, is the configuration?
I agree that my issue is somewhere in VirtualBox. I should have pointed out that I don't enable the VB USB Controller for my ArcaOS virtual machines.
VB settings:
2 CPUs
2 GB RAM
VboxVGA graphics controller with 128 MB of video memory
Two virtual disks on SSD (AHCI controller)
Audio disabled
Intel PRO/1000 MT Desktop network adapter
COM1 enabled
USB disabled


Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Doug Bissett on February 20, 2022, 07:26:50 pm
Quote
2 CPUs

Okay, this is probably what is causing your problem. Set it to one CPU, and see if that helps (you won't notice much, if any, performance degradation). Some people seem to be able to run for a while, using more than one CPU, but most of us experience hangs, delays, and other unwanted side effects. VBox seems to use a method similar to hyper threading, and hyper threading is not, at all, compatible with OS/2 (even on real hardware).

Quote
VboxVGA graphics controller with 128 MB of video memory

I think you will find, that OS/2 doesn't use more than 16 MB of video memory, but it probably doesn't cause a problem.
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Bennie Nelson on February 20, 2022, 09:02:16 pm
Quote
2 CPUs

Okay, this is probably what is causing your problem. Set it to one CPU, and see if that helps (you won't notice much, if any, performance degradation). Some people seem to be able to run for a while, using more than one CPU, but most of us experience hangs, delays, and other unwanted side effects. VBox seems to use a method similar to hyper threading, and hyper threading is not, at all, compatible with OS/2 (even on real hardware).

Quote
VboxVGA graphics controller with 128 MB of video memory

I think you will find, that OS/2 doesn't use more than 16 MB of video memory, but it probably doesn't cause a problem.

I have been running two CPUs for quite some time in multiple ArcaOS VMs and other than the mouse pointer freeze, I haven't noticed any issues. My VMs run for weeks without rebooting. I can try one CPU in one of the VMs and bump up the video resolution again to see what happens.

I wasn't sure about the video memory, so I set it to the maximum. Thanks for pointing that out.

Bennie
Title: Re: ArcaOS, VirtualBox, and mouse freezes
Post by: Remy on February 27, 2022, 04:19:46 pm
My issue seems have a connection between network interface and usb interfaces...
My investigation is now under my power supply which seems having more drop down power than expected (as well as ripple) increased during high internet activities, providing unpredictable results... (I'll try to upgrade my desktop power supply or change capacitors into the one I have! - several years old now)