PCLOS guest on Win XP unable to set resolution

[aguila]

Hi everybody,

I'm running PCLOS as a host on Win XP. After installing the Guest Additions I can switch to seamless mode, but I didn't manage to set the resolution to that of the screen. I looked up in the manual but couldn't solve my issue.

Anyone with ideas?

Thank you very much. 

[menotu]

If its the screen size you want make bigger/smaller you should be able to grab the edge of the window and adjust the size that way.

[johnmart]

If I remember correctly, you change the screen resolution through PCC just like a native install. I can't test, cuz don't currently have vbox installed. My need for a certain Win app is no more, so I haven't updated it. 

[aguila]

Well, our admins at work won't let me uninstall Windows  But at least I was allowed to run Linux in a virtual machine to use digikam.

The problem is that I can't get a resolution of 1280x1024 in the virtual machine even after installing the guest additions. PCC won't let me set anything above 1024x768.

There was some kind of error message when I installed the guest additions which ended kind of "if ...... you can safely install this file." Maybe I can post that in the next days.

Guess I'll study the manual once more...

Anyway, thanks for your replies.

Aguila

[hounddog]

It's not necessary to install the Virtualbox Guest Additions as it should already be installed in PCLOS.  It should be working out of the box.  How are you reinstalling the Guest Additions?

[Old-Polack]

It's not necessary to install the Virtualbox Guest Additions as it should already be installed in PCLOS.  It should be working out of the box.  How are you reinstalling the Guest Additions?

Not necessarily true. The newer guest additions for the newest version of VBox may include new features or correct problems with the ones included on the ISO image. I always install the guest additions that come on the VBox g-a .iso.

[pags]

When setting the resolution in PCC, you made need to change the monitor type.  Use Generic LCD, and pick one that supports the resolution you want...that is most likely set as a 1024x768 monitor, currently, and is limiting your available options...

[ElCuervo]

Your guest is limited not by the hardware or its drivers, but by VBox, and the best video drivers the guest can use are built into the Guest Additions. In some cases with graphics cards that have very high resolution, you simply cannot access some higher resolutions because VBox just doesn't go there.

[pags]

Your guest is limited not by the hardware or its drivers, but by VBox, and the best video drivers the guest can use are built into the Guest Additions. In some cases with graphics cards that have very high resolution, you simply cannot access some higher resolutions because VBox just doesn't go there.

I've had guest resolutions in VirtualBox way above the capabilities of my physical hardware!  The VBox driver is certainly capable (if the physical hardware is willing  ).

I stand by the monitor setting.  In the guest.  Try it.
 

In fact...that's how I was able to limit a VBox install to 800x480, in order to test KDE's netbook interface for an EEEPC 701

[ElCuervo]

Your guest is limited not by the hardware or its drivers, but by VBox, and the best video drivers the guest can use are built into the Guest Additions. In some cases with graphics cards that have very high resolution, you simply cannot access some higher resolutions because VBox just doesn't go there.

I've had guest resolutions in VirtualBox way above the capabilities of my physical hardware!  The VBox driver is certainly capable (if the physical hardware is willing  ).

I stand by the monitor setting.  In the guest.  Try it.
 

And I agree, the monitor needs to set to the right one, too.

However, setting the graphics card resolution still depends on the Guest Additions being configured properly, and that is not an ATI or Nvidia setting. When you go to PCC, you will be setting a VBox Graphics Adapter. When the Guest Additions aren't right, VBox defaults to VESA graphics settings.

It's also very difficult to get VBox to go beyond the video settings that the host has to begin with, but easy to get it to match. So, based on this...

The problem is that I can't get a resolution of 1280x1024 in the virtual machine even after installing the guest additions. PCC won't let me set anything above 1024x768.

There was some kind of error message when I installed the guest additions which ended kind of "if ...... you can safely install this file." Maybe I can post that in the next days.

... I'm still wondering if the Guest Additions were actually installed correctly, if the host resolution is set at 1280x1024. If changing the monitor setting doesn't work, that's the next thing I'd look at.

[pags]

Your guest is limited not by the hardware or its drivers, but by VBox, and the best video drivers the guest can use are built into the Guest Additions. In some cases with graphics cards that have very high resolution, you simply cannot access some higher resolutions because VBox just doesn't go there.

I've had guest resolutions in VirtualBox way above the capabilities of my physical hardware!  The VBox driver is certainly capable (if the physical hardware is willing  ).

I stand by the monitor setting.  In the guest.  Try it.
 

And I agree, the monitor needs to set to the right one, too.

However, setting the graphics card resolution still depends on the Guest Additions being configured properly, and that is not an ATI or Nvidia setting. When you go to PCC, you will be setting a VBox Graphics Adapter. When the Guest Additions aren't right, VBox defaults to VESA graphics settings.

It's also very difficult to get VBox to go beyond the video settings that the host has to begin with, but easy to get it to match. So, based on this...

The problem is that I can't get a resolution of 1280x1024 in the virtual machine even after installing the guest additions. PCC won't let me set anything above 1024x768.

There was some kind of error message when I installed the guest additions which ended kind of "if ...... you can safely install this file." Maybe I can post that in the next days.

... I'm still wondering if the Guest Additions were actually installed correctly, if the host resolution is set at 1280x1024. If changing the monitor setting doesn't work, that's the next thing I'd look at.

Yes, I would generally agree with this (although, with the correct driver, as I've said, I've been able to set resolutions in excess of my physical hardware...)

Since this is about PCLOS as the guest (as is my screenshot), I've found that the drivers and guest additions already included (and updateable via Synaptic) and more than adequate, with excellent performance...if the OP gets the monitor set properly, the rest will fall into place for him.

[MerReady]

I had a resolution problem with running PCLinuxOS KDE as host to PCLinuxOS XFCE guest. I run the ppa version of V-Box using Tex's get v-box. In order to get my resolution to change correctly I had to uninstall the guest addition in synaptic in the XFCE guest and then install the current host guest additions. Simply just installing the current host guest addition wouldn't work for me.  I guess there was some kind of conflict between the two different guest additions. Hope this helps.

[aguila]

Hi all,

thank you again for all the hints.

I guess I must have done everything right anyway, because today the VBox guest PCLOS just booted into the correct resolution. Even when I move the window between my monitors (laptop with 1280 x 800 and flat panel with 1280 x 1024 px) it changes the size. That was about the fifth reboot.

Funny, how some problems just vanish into thin air....