5-minute freeze with Workstation 5.5.2

[jneffenger]

I've been using VMware Workstation on Linux since version 1.0 and on Windows since version 2.0, but this is the first time I've had a serious problem. I've just installed VMware Workstation 5.5.2 on my new Ubuntu system, and now I'm seeing these freezes.

The freeze lasts for 5 minutes. It's not really a system freeze -- I can login from another computer using SSH -- but the host system is pretty dead locally since the guest has grabbed the keyboard and mouse and won't give it back. Without an SSH login, and if you don't want to wait 5 minutes, you have to hit the power button!

Using SSH from another system to see the logs, here's the last entry in the vmware.log file when it feezes:

Oct 25 13:01:00: mks| MKS lost grab[/i]

and then the next entry when it unfreezes:

Oct 25 13:05:10: mks| MKS lost grab[/i]

Even the clock in the guest machine is 5 minutes behind after the freeze. This problem makes the product completely unusable, since you're always sitting there waiting for the next freeze. It happens unpredictably after about a half hour of use and with different Windows guests running alone or at the same time.

Host system:[/b]

Dell Precision 490

Two dual-core hypterthreading Xeon 5050 processors (8 logical processors)

8 GB of RAM

EM64T with VT enabled

64-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 for AMD64

Linux kernel 2.6.15-27-amd64-generic #1 SMP PREEMPT Sat Sep 16 01:50:50 UTC 2006 x86_64 GNU/Linux

Guest systems:[/b]

Windows XP Professional (32-bit) - 768 MB

Windows XP Professional x64 Edition - 256 MB

The problem happens with both guests at seemingly random intervals when in use after about 30 minutes or an hour. The freezes seem to last about (maybe exactly) 5 minutes. Any suggestions to get around the problem? I have another system (Dell OptiPlex GX620) running 32-bit Windows XP Professional and 32-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 which I can try as hosts. Of course, I'd really like to use my new 8x8 Dell Precision 490.

Message was edited by: jneffenger

Removed line saying this happens in VMWare Server 1.0.1, since I think that was a different problem.

[KevinG]

What is reported in the output from dmesg?

Oct 25 13:01:00: mks| MKS lost grab

These are normal messages when the MKS (Mouse Keyboard Screen) grabs and ungrabs the input

You may want to try running only one virtual machine with the virtual CD-ROM drive, Sound adapter, USB controller, Floppy Drive removed from virtual machine configuration to see if one of the devices is causing the freeze.

Check the UI log file for the VMware Workstation application.

/tmp/vmware-.log for any errors.

I've just installed VMware Workstation 5.5.2 on my new Ubuntu system, and now I'm seeing these freezes.

I assume that your old system was running fine

[jneffenger]

Hey, I think I can recreate it on demand! At least it has worked a few times in a row now. The freeze always happens on a mouse click and lasts 5 minutes, exactly. Below are the recent log file messages when the problem occurs.

/var/log/messages[/b]

Oct 25 15:07:07 p490 kernel: \[143422.653194] ioctl32(vmware-vmx:18853): Unknown cmd fd(141) cmd(40109980)\{00} arg(ffff9590) on /proc/bus/usb/005/001

Oct 25 15:18:33 p490 kernel: \[144107.894756] ioctl32(vmware-vmx:19169): Unknown cmd fd(141) cmd(40109980)\{00} arg(ffffabc0) on /proc/bus/usb/005/001

Oct 25 15:35:46 p490 -- MARK --

--> Oct 25 15:38:?? freeze on mouse click[/i]

/tmp/vmware-john/ui-19145.log[/b]

Oct 25 15:18:21: vmui| VMHSVMCbPower: Setting state of VM /vm/#50020e5f471452dd/ to powerOn with option default

Oct 25 15:18:21: vmui| VMHS: Exec()'ing /usr/lib/vmware/bin/vmware-vmx

Oct 25 15:18:21: vmui| VMNetCtlConstruct: no Network Names to list

Oct 25 15:18:21: vmui| VMUIGtkVmdb_LoadDevice: unhandled device class scsiCtlr

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| VMNetCtlConstruct: no Network Names to list

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| VMUIGtkVmdb_LoadDevice: unhandled device class scsiCtlr

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| XAuth Display Guess: ':0.0' - ':0'

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| XAuth AuthType Guess: 'MIT-MAGIC-COOKIE-1'

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| VMNetCtlConstruct: no Network Names to list

Oct 25 15:18:33: vmui| VMUIGtkVmdb_LoadDevice: unhandled device class scsiCtlr

--> Oct 25 15:38:?? freeze on mouse click[/i]

~/vmware/Windows XP Professional/vmware.log[/b]

Oct 25 15:18:59: vcpu-0| TOOLS unified loop capability requested by 'toolbox'; now sending options via TCLO

Oct 25 15:19:08: vcpu-0| VMMouse: CMD Read ID

Oct 25 15:19:08: vcpu-0| MKS switching absolute mouse on

Oct 25 15:19:16: vcpu-0| TOOLS unified loop capability requested by 'toolbox-dnd'; now sending options via TCLO

Oct 25 15:19:16: vcpu-0| GuestRpc: Channel 2, registration number 1, guest application toolbox-dnd.

Oct 25 15:19:16: vcpu-0| DISKUTIL: ide0:0 : toolsVersion = 6433

Oct 25 15:19:18: vmx| VIDE: ATAPI DMA 0x25 Failed: key 0x2, asc 0x3a, ascq 0x0

Oct 25 15:19:18: vmx| VIDE: ATAPI DMA 0x25 Failed: key 0x2, asc 0x3a, ascq 0x0

Oct 25 15:19:19: vmx| VIDE: ATAPI DMA 0x51 Failed: key 0x2, asc 0x3a, ascq 0x0

--> Oct 25 15:38:?? freeze on mouse click[/i]

--> Oct 25 15:43:14 un-freeze[/i]

Oct 25 15:43:14: mks| MKS lost grab

You may want to try running only one virtual machine

with the virtual CD-ROM drive, Sound adapter, USB

controller, Floppy Drive removed from virtual machine

configuration to see if one of the devices is causing

the freeze.

I'll try all that next.

I've just installed VMware Workstation 5.5.2 on my

new Ubuntu system, and now I'm seeing these freezes.

I assume that your old system was running fine

Yes, but I changed too much for that to help us out:

\- IBM ThinkPad T42 -> Dell Precision 490

\- Windows XP 32-bit host -> Ubuntu Linux 64-bit host

\- Ubuntu Linux guest -> Windows XP guest

\- No VMware Tools installed -> VMware Tools installed

John Neffenger

[jneffenger]

Make that 4 minutes, 43 seconds, exactly (283 seconds). I timed it to the second the past two times, and that's what I got each time.

You may want to try running only one virtual machine

with the virtual CD-ROM drive, Sound adapter, USB

controller, Floppy Drive removed from virtual machine

configuration to see if one of the devices is causing

the freeze.

I made a clone of the Windows XP guest and made sure I could reproduce the problem. Then I removed the CD-ROM, Floppy, USB Controller, and Sound Adapter. The problem still occurred, but not as quickly. I couldn't reproduce it by simply clicking on links in Internet Explorer, as before, but I still managed to reproduce it randomly twice by just moving the mouse over the red "Turn Off" button of the "Turn off computer" dialog.

I've so far been unable to reproduce it after removing the Ethernet Adapter (leaving only the Memory, Hard Disk, Mouse, and Processor), but I'll keep trying.

I'll also try uninstalling VMware Workstation and installing VMware Server on this same machine to see whether using the Server Console will get rid of the problem. If that fails, I'll try running the Windows XP guest under an Ubuntu 32-bit host (instead of this 64-bit one) with VMware Server and Workstation.

John Neffenger

[KevinG]

Try the following from the Ubuntu command line

VMWARE_USE_GTK_SHIPPED=force vmware

OR

VMWARE_USE_GTK_SHIPPED=yes vmware

Does it still have the issue?

[jneffenger]

I even get the same problem under VMware Server 1.0.1 on the same host! In all cases, the freeze lasts just under 5 minutes (~283 seconds).

VMWARE_USE_GTK_SHIPPED=force vmware

Didn't help.

VMWARE_USE_GTK_SHIPPED=yes vmware

Nor did this.

I've done a lot more tests, and all of them failed. No matter what I do, I'm still able to create these freeze problems easily just by using the guest with the mouse for a few minutes. Here's what I did:

\- Tried both bridged and NAT networking => same problem.

\- Tried moving the files off my RAID 1 partition to a normal non-RAID partition => same problem.

\- Tried without the VMware Tools installed => same problem, and even easier to recreate.

\- Tried with the "nv" video driver instead of the "nvidia" optimized driver => same problem, and even easier to recreate.

\- And I even tried the same Windows XP guest under VMware Server 1.0.1, upgraded the VMware Tools, and connected locally with the VMware Server Console 1.0.1 build-29996 => same problem!

I believe it's the same problem this person is having:

VMWare temporarily freezes guest AND host[/b]

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?messageID=478032

Next, I'll try moving all this to 32-bit hosts (Windows XP and Ubuntu), but I'm starting to wonder why I bought this 8-GB dual-processor dual-core hyper-threading monster if I can't run VMware.

John Neffenger

[jneffenger]

I've now been able to reproduce this problem rather easily under all of the following products on my 64-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 host:

\- VMware Workstation 5.5.2 build-29772

\- VMware Workstation 5.5.1 build-19175

\- VMware Server 1.0.1 build-29996

It takes me just a minute or two to cause the 4-minute 43-second (or so) freeze. I'm running out of options, other than using a real machine. I've opened up one of my pre-paid VMTN support requests for this issue.

Unfortunately, VMware is the only solution that supports 64-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS (Dapper Drake). Parallels doesn't yet have 64-bit host support. "Support for 64-bit primary and guest OSes is in scope for future versions of Parallels Workstation," they say in their FAQ.

Ubuntu Linux 6.10 Edgy Eft came out today with a pre-built Xen package (xen-hypervisor-3.0-amd64), so that may be an option. Getting Xen to work on Dapper Drake looked like a lot of work, but maybe Edge Eft makes it easier.

John Neffenger

[conreyta]

I'm seeing this same behavior on VM Server 1.0.1 build-29996 running on Ubuntu, with 1 Windows XP VM.

[Peter_vm]

Next, I'll try moving all this to 32-bit hosts

(Windows XP and Ubuntu), but I'm starting to wonder

why I bought this 8-GB dual-processor dual-core

hyper-threading monster if I can't run VMware.

I'm running Windows XP 64-bit host OS on this type of hardware (490, 8GB RAM, dual 5060). I have 26 concurrent VMs running, 3GB free RAM, no freezes, no other problems.

[jneffenger]

Problem solved. It was the Demand Based Switching on my dual-processor dual-core hyper-threading Xeon 5050 processors. It's called SpeedStep in my Dell Precision 490 BIOS settings, but Intel calls it Demand Based Switching for their Xeon 5000 series.

With DBS enabled, the 5-minute freeze (or hang, or temporary deadlock) was easily created with a few minutes of mouse movement or clicking. With DBS disabled, I can no longer reproduce the problem. I narrowed it down through the prodding of the VMware support person to do lots of different tests after filing a support request.

Below is the environment where it did happen ...[/b]

Hardware:

\- Dell Precision 490 with two Intel Xeon 5050 Processors ("Dempsey")

\- Hyper-Threading = ON

\- Multiple CPU Core = ON

\- SpeedStep = ON

\- Virtualization = ON

\- Execute Disable = ON

Host Operating System:

\- 64-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS "Dapper Drake" PC (AMD64) Desktop

Guest Operating Systems:

\- 32-bit Windows XP Professional

\- 64-bit Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

Just disable SpeedStep (DBS) in the BIOS, and the problem goes away!

Below are some environments where it did not happen ...[/b]

Changing the Hardware:

\- Dell OptiPlex GX620 with one Intel Pentium 4 Processor 630 ("Prescott")

\- Hyper-Threading = ON

\- SpeedStep = ON

\- Execute Disable = ON

The problem did not happen in the Pentium 4 even with the exact same host (64-bit Ubuntu) and guest (Windows XP) operating systems and even with Enhanced Intel SpeedStep Technology enabled in the BIOS. So it seems to be a problem specific to the Demand Based Switching, Xeon, dual-core, or dual-processor environment of the Dell Precision workstation.

Changing the Host Operating System:

\- 64-bit Windows XP Professional x64 Edition

The problem did not happen with the exact same hardware (Dell Precision 490) and same guest operating system (Windows XP) but with Windows XP as the host (instead of Ubuntu).

Changing the Guest Operating System:

\- 32-bit Ubuntu Linux 6.06 LTS "Dapper Drake" PC (Intel x86) Desktop

The problem did not happen with the exact same hardware (Dell Precision 490) and host operating system (Ubuntu) but with Ubuntu as the guest (instead of Windows XP).

So if people see their keyboards and mouse freeze -- which seems permanent unless you're patient enough to wait 5 minutes -- tell them to disable Demand Based Switching (or SpeedStep) in their BIOS and try again.

I saw comments in the forums about time and performance problems with SpeedStep, but nothing about a keyboard and/or mouse freeze. I tried a dozen or more other tests -- changing the mouse, memory settings, and other BIOS settings -- but it's the single DBS setting that makes the problem come and go.

John Neffenger

[KevinG]

What is this USB device on your host ? /proc/bus/usb/005/001

Are you using a special USB mouse? (Wired or wireless..etc)

Did you run the vm-support script and submit it with your paid server request with technical support?

[abisen]

Same problem with SuSE 10.1 x86_64 / Intel Core 2 Duo nForc 590 chipset

[Joshua74]

Exact same problem with Ubuntu 6.06 , VMware workstation 5.5.3

Linux host, Windows XP guest.

I found that this freeze occurs only with NAT network setting.

I have not solved this problem yet.

[tropikhajma]

I'm having the same problem with VMware-workstation-5.5.3-34685.i386.rpm Mandriva Cooker as guest and Mandriva 2007 Official as guest.

The virtual machine is just the default one

The machine is Athlon XP 1800+.

running ps aux | grep vmware showed me that the vmware process' state was marked as

D<+1

which means IO wait of high priority, if I'm not mistaken.

[Joshua74]

FYI, I guess my problem has gone.

In my case , I believe it was caused by some linux-kernel defect ( 2.6.15-26-686 / Ubuntu Dapper )

I have tested with some old kernel images ( 2.6.15-23, 2.6.15-25 ) and I couldn't find the temporal freeze problem, also the latest kernel ( 2.6.15-27 ) did not bring that symptom.

Also VMware 5.5.1 or VMware 5.5.2 freezed with 2.6.15-26 kernel.

So, I believe VMware 5.5.3 is innocent.

In addition, I'm using one core Intel CPU with speed-step ( 800 Mhz ~ 1730 Mhz ).

However, your symptom may caused by other issue, not kernel defect.

[dugan]

Wow. Someone else has found this problem before me.

I just recently purchased a Dell Latitude D620 (2GB RAM, Intel Core 2 Duo, 2GHz each core)

Using: VMware Workstation 5.5.3 build-34685 (also tried the preceding minor release)

Notebook is running Ubuntu , but 6.10, and the VMware guest is Win XP Pro.

Latest kernel supports smp in generic in 6.10 ( 2.6.17-10-generic #2 SMP Tue Dec 5 22:28:26 UTC 2006 i686 GNU/Linux)

Initially, I assumed hardware problems due to a lack of patience, then I discovered I could also ssh to the machine when frozen. Then I tried to remove VMware tools, and during the diagnostic process, enough time passed to cause VMware to give up the mouse and keyboard control to Linux. (VMware tools was unrelated.)

I too own another machine with VMware 5.5.1 build-19175 (non-trial-ware, purchased, licensed copy) but that other machine does not have a multi-core CPU and as a desktop has no speedstepping for power conservation. (It may have this for heat, but that has not been a problem.)

The Ubuntu Desktop with VMware and windows guest (Win 2000) has no freezing.

This new 30-day trial install on the notebook does have the problems described in this thread.

I've just altered the config to disable SpeedStepping in the BIOS to test that work-around, but this means my notebook works at half the speed. (1GHz per core instead of up to 2GHz per core.)

I can't reliably duplicate it yet, but it does happen with keyboard and mouse events.

Suggestions welcome for allowing use of SpeedStepping with the CPU.

If this works as well on my new laptop as it does on my Desktop, I will be buying another license for this notebook. I've used VMware Workstation for about 5 years Since version 3 at my previous job.

If you need any more information, please let me know.

(Will reply later with how disabling the speedstepping option in the BIOS "works".)

Thanks.

[belloa]

http://www.vmware.com/community/thread.jspa?threadID=64933&tstart=0

same problem for me... take a look to that.

[dugan]

Thanks. I applied more patience, and found that after a brief time, mouse/keyboard controls are given back to the host OS, and then after even more time, the VMware session returns back to continue where it left off.

I did try the BIOS option to disable speed stepping, but that didn't help.

On a whim, I turned on the VMM option in the BIOS as another test, but that didn't help.

I'll be checking for host daemons that might be enabling stepping even though the BIOS has is disabled.

I'm thinking my issue is more of a CPU speed stepping problem. Still working on diagnostics.

[dugan]

Nope. I finished trying the other suggestions listed above with the last one being to disable the virtual drive (image on HD)

So far, I've not been able to repeat this same problem; now I have a different problem:

every time the CD/DVD spins up, the application waiting for the CD/DVD pauses until the disk has spun up to speed.

"Eh." So, I get to choose to wait one to three seconds of application wait when that application is needs something from a CD/DVD, or a 5++ minute wait where I can't do anything.

The Local DVD/CD image is much faster, and saves my battery more than the local HD \*and* a CD/DVD running.

Any word on when virtual CD/DVD will be fixed to work properly?

[jneffenger]

As an update to my November 5th post, I've now been running with no problems for 6 weeks after I disabled SpeedStep[/b] in my BIOS settings (known as Demand-Based Switching on my Xeon processor). Other people may be seeing similar freezes due to other causes, but getting rid of the SpeedStep completely solved[/b] the problem for me. I'm running:

Host system[/b]

Dell Precision 490

Two dual-core hypterthreading Xeon 5050 processors with EM64T

8 GB of RAM

Hyper-Threading - ON

Multiple CPU Core - ON

SpeedStep - OFF[/b]

Virtualization - ON

Execute Disable - ON

Ubuntu 6.06 LTS Desktop AMD64 "Dapper Drake" (64-bit)

Guest systems[/b]

Microsoft Windows XP Professional (32-bit)

Microsoft Windows XP Professional x64 Edition (64-bit)

Ubuntu 6.10 Desktop i386 "Edgy Eft" (32-bit)