VM blank screen (still working) with Fusion 13.0.1 on MacOS M1

[ozsmacd]

I have a fairly new install of Fusion on M1, running a Single Ubuntu VM.  My issue is that the VM screen is blank on the desktop app, that said the VM is still working fine and doing everything I need.

Just hoping to find a way to not be showing a blank/black screen of nothing in the VM app.

Things I've tried - shutdown vm and restart, shut down VMWare app and restart, reboot Mac, review VMware virtual hardware setup to ensure a monitor was listed.

Thanks for any guidance.

[ozsmacd]

PS - Just to confirm I've also ensured that under Privacy & Security > Screen Recording, VMware Fusion has been set to allow.

[Technogeezer]

Can you give some details on what Ubuntu release you are using and where exactly are you seeing the blank screen? Is it during the installation or a VM that’s already installed?

[RafaelEsca]

I have the same problem. The option of the "on screen recording" for vmware fusion is on.

[RafaelEsca]

The error is in full screen. Ubuntu was working before updating ubutu to version 22.1. The black screen is any window mode

[Technogeezer]

There looks to be an issue with Ubuntu 22.10 VMs that recently updated to Ubuntu’s 5.19.0-31 kernel. Those that updated are seeing blank console windows, but the VM appears to be running.

[yodaJ]

I have the same problem

[yodaJ]

Have the same problem

[yodaJ]

Then, what should I do?  How can I fix the problem?

[Technogeezer · Accepted solution]

The work-around is to boot the VM  into the kernel that existed before the last update and do not update the VM further until Ubuntu fixes what they broke. 

Consult the Ubuntu documentation on how to boot into an older kernel. 

[ozsmacd]

Thanks for the info on working around this latest challenge in getting Ubuntu to run reliably with VMware Fusion.  In both recent issues, I appreciate that factors outside of VMware's control triggered the issues, but in both cases this resulted in issues in basic VM operations (yes that could be worked around by using older Kernels etc), however this isn't always possible in dev environments.

On the other hand, I use Parallels at work quite a bit and haven't had such issues.  I'm wondering why this might be the case, is Parellels more active with the Linux development community or just does rapid Q&A and more quickly works around these kinds of changes.

I've been a VMware user for so many years now, it's hard to teach an old dog new tricks, however I have enough other problems in my life than to add what might be more constant challenges in basic VM operation.

[Technogeezer]

I'll give you my opinion on why.

I would be willing to bet that Parallels is using virtio graphics drivers. UTM has no problems with that kernel either, and it's using virtio graphics driver. Something they've changed doesn't break virtio, but breaks not only vmwgfx but the standard Linux framebuffer graphics. I manually blacklisted VMware's drivers in the impacted kernel, and the problem still exists. Really??? They broke the default Linux frame buffer driver??? 

None of the other distros I work with have any issues with 5.19 kernels on Fusion 13. RHEL, OpenSUSE Leap and Tumbleweed, RHEL 9 and downstream derivatives, Debian (yes, even Bookworm), Fedora, Centos 9 Stream, Kali. Ubuntu is constant pain in my backside.

They don't seem to care either. I've submitted a bug report on this to Ubuntu. It's sitting in Launchpad. Crickets for over 3 weeks. My guess is that they're too busy getting 23.04 out the door so they aren't going back to fix 22.10 -  by July it will be out of support. Let's hope that they don't break 23.04 in the process. Or that they don't break 22.04.2 LTS.

[ozsmacd]

@Technogeezer we don't deserve you, but am very thankful for your willingness to share your insights and knowledge.

[Technogeezer]

By the way Ubuntu Server 22.04.2 LTS works fine on Fusion 13 - it even installs from the released arm64 installer ISO, so you no longer have to use the daily server builds. .

[Technogeezer]

@ozsmacd thanks for the kind words. Believe it or not, what I do here is fun. (I have a very peculiar notion of fun, I realize). 

[ozsmacd]

For others who might have similar issues to me in getting an older Kernel to load (I regressed to 5.19.0-29 to resolve blank screen).

I was having trouble getting into the Grub menu, so for me the following was the only thing that worked (I tried escape and shift key combinations, nothing really worked).

1 - Boot machine and press escape until the BIOS menu loaded

2 - Choose continue and keep pressing escape until you get the Grub CLI

3 - type "normal" press enter and press escape a few times (this step didn't always work, so I had to reboot machine and try again)

4 - Grub menu should then load, and you can choose the relevant kernel you want to boot with

5 - Once the machine boots, edit /etc/default/grub

6 - Add the lines 

GRUB_DEFAULT=saved
GRUB_SAVEDEFAULT=true

7 - Update grub by running "sudo update-grub"

[Technogeezer]

Trying to get into GRUB using the Ubuntu documented procedures is like trying to catch a fly with chopsticks. If you're Mr. Miyagi you might be able to do it, but the rest of us mere mortals don't stand much of a chance.

You might also want to see the topic in the Companion Guide. There's a whole section in it on this issue and workarounds. The workaround has instructions on modifying the GRUB configuration so that the GRUB boot loader menu always appears for about 10 seconds before booting automatically - giving you the chance to select something other than the default kernel.

[lewe]

@Technogeezer no they seemed to have broke it again 🙂

I've tried 22.0.4.2 ARM64 on my MacBook M2 and after choosing Try/Install Ubuntu it's just black screen. I just downloaded the daily image and it's still the same.

What I can't figure out is how to change the grub version before  Ubuntu is installed?

[Technogeezer]

Suggestion: Don't use the 22.04.2 Desktop dailies. It's been an exercise in futility to get them to boot and I've tried to do so for a while now and haven't found a way around what they've broken.. They're probably using the 22.04.2 HWE kernel in the installer that's broken in 22,10.

What I know works is to start with the 22.04.2 Server official released download, then "convert" to Ubuntu Desktop using the procedures in the Guide.