Linux VirtualBox guest suddenly running extremely slow

I found the problem, VirtualBox had for some reason reset my VM to 32-bit whereas my .vdi was of a 64-bit OS.

To fix this you need to:

  • delete the virtual machine (keep your .vdi file)
  • create a new virtual machine with the wizard
    • On the very first page when it asks you which OS it is, make sure you select the 64-bit version (if you have a 64-bit OS) (in my case: Linux - Redhat 64 bit)
    • otherwise pick the standard one (e.g. Linux - RedHat)

You do not need to:

  • do what I did!

Have virtual fun...


Change the chipset under System->Motherboard in the settings of your virtual machine to ICH9. The Intel chipset works correctly for Red Hat and its kids. CentOS 6.2 was running like a complete dog until I realized what the problem was. Now runs near real time like it should.

Source: LinuxQuestions.org


at my virtualbox setup (ubuntu 13.04 as host, debian 7 as guest) I changed to ICH9 and increased video memory to 129MB and enabled 3D graphic acceleration and debian now runs smoothly.

Not yet checked if only the video RAM increase would have sufficed.

Tags:

Virtualbox