Distorted screen

S

SystematicMe

New Member
Joined
Jul 10, 2023
Messages
5
Reaction score
1
Credits
35
Hey guys,
randomly when I'm setting up KALI on my MacBook Pro via virtual box, my screen is filled with this lines. Could someone please help me out.
IMG_0258.JPG
 


I moved this to the Kali sub-forum as that's the most appropriate, as it's at least what you're trying to run.

It may be a MacOS thing that you need to change and this is a Linux site, not an Apple site.

BUT...

I do believe we have a Mac user here that runs Linux in virtual machines, so there's some hope for you.
 
Welcome to the forums.

Why do you want to use Kali? In a virtual machine? On a Macintosh computer? Just why?

Kali Linux is not what you might think it is. Someone else will answer here shedding more light into it.

Hmmm that warped screenshot looks a lot like the Debian Installer. I wonder if ordinary Debian does that also. :/
 
KGIII said:
I moved this to the Kali sub-forum as that's the most appropriate, as it's at least what you're trying to run.

It may be a MacOS thing that you need to change and this is a Linux site, not an Apple site.

BUT...

I do believe we have a Mac user here that runs Linux in virtual machines, so there's some hope for you.
Click to expand...
Yes, but I am using VMware Fusion, not VirtualBox. I have seen this thread, but "MacBook Pro" covers many different computers with several different architectures. I can say that Kali runs well under VMware Fusion without graphics artifacts.

Can you run System Information and copy the following for me? To get System Information, go to the Apple menu, hold down the Option key and "About this Mac" will change to System Information.

-> I am interested in Hardware - Model Identifier and Graphics/Display - Video Cards. Which ones are there? There may be more than one.

My initial hypothesis is that Kali lacks the device driver needed for the graphics processor built into your Mac. I can't prove it yet.

If it makes sense, I can install Kali in VirtualBox to see how it behaves. My concern is that Mac models have different graphics hardware. It may work on mine and not on yours.
 
sphen said:
Yes, but I am using VMware Fusion, not VirtualBox.
Click to expand...

Ah, yeah, that'll be a bit of a barrier. I wasn't quite sure who it was that had run VMs on MacOS, but I knew we had someone.

Though, I suppose you could try VirtualBox to see if you like it.

As you're our resident Mac user, good luck!
 
sphen said:
Yes, but I am using VMware Fusion, not VirtualBox. I have seen this thread, but "MacBook Pro" covers many different computers with several different architectures. I can say that Kali runs well under VMware Fusion without graphics artifacts.

Can you run System Information and copy the following for me? To get System Information, go to the Apple menu, hold down the Option key and "About this Mac" will change to System Information.

-> I am interested in Hardware - Model Identifier and Graphics/Display - Video Cards. Which ones are there? There may be more than one.

My initial hypothesis is that Kali lacks the device driver needed for the graphics processor built into your Mac. I can't prove it yet.

If it makes sense, I can install Kali in VirtualBox to see how it behaves. My concern is that Mac models have different graphics hardware. It may work on mine and not on yours.
Click to expand...
IMG_0170.jpeg
 
Yours is reasonably close to my late 2016 MacBook Pro with four Thunderbolt ports. Give me a day to install VirtualBox and Kali and give it a try to see if I can replicate your issue. (One of our children is visiting from afar and I made commitments to my partner to make some stuff in the physical world as well. Busy day, but I will squeeze it in.)

I just looked at Kali - Are you running the pre-built VirtualBox image or did you install from scratch?
 
Earlier I tried to install from scratch and actually it run flawlessly. But due to a glitch I had to reinstall. Since then I’m facing this problem.
 
sphen said:
Have you tried manually uninstalling VirtualBox by deleting all the files, then reinstalling? I have not gotten to my own installation yet, but found this while doing the prerequisites/homework. If you scroll down past the automatic uninstall, you will see which files to remove manually:
Click to expand...
OH thanks,
I’ll try this method once and check if that improves.
 
I installed VirtualBox 6.1.44 because the current 7.1 is incompatible with my older macOS. (I am working to get ready for a big upgrade, but it will take some time.) In case it matters, my Mac is the high end from 2016 - Core i7 with Intel HD Graphics 530 on chip and an AMD Radeon Pro 460.

This is the first time I have used VirtualBox, and the basic settings are unfamiliar. I used defaults as much as I could. It was easy to use overall. There is a Graphics Controller setting under Display - the default option was VMSVGA which I used, but it also offers VboxVGA and VboxSVGA. Enable 3D acceleration is disabled by default - I usually enable it in VMware.

I installed Kali and have it running under VirtualBox. I am not seeing the lines, but I am getting black windows and black screens. I was able to fix them by playing around with settings in the View menu, including the Virtual Screen 1 settings and the Settings->Display from inside Kali. I was confused about why Kali kept changing its resolution but found that "Auto resize" was enabled. Keep in mind that those Macs have ultra-high resolution screens (mine is 2880 x 1800) and virtual machines do not handle them well. Sometimes I have to deal with scaling issues in VMware. I tried it with acceleration disabled (default) and enabled. Acceleration enabled felt "snappier".

I have two monitors - the one on the Mac, and an external monitor through a dock. I tested Windowed and Full Screen on both.

I also tried loading the pre-configured Kali for VirtualBox. My older version of VirtualBox has it grayed out, and I wonder whether that Kali virtual machine is compatible only with VirtualBox 7.1.

My advice: Try different settings from the View menu in VirtualBox. What I have working now in View->Virtual Screen 1: "Use Host Screen 1" and "Scale to 200%".

I am not sure where to go next on this one, so I will wait for a reply. I could post screenshots, but they would not tell you much - just the same Kali screen that everyone sees after a fresh installation.
 
With respect, it has been three days and there has been no response from @SystematicMe.

-> If I do not see a reply here in the next 8 hours, I will delete the virtual machine and uninstall VirtualBox. They are taking up valuable drive space that I need for other projects.

and ... you're welcome. :-(
 
Okay, it has been four days and no response. The installation is gone and I will not create it again. No further testing is possible. I am done trying to help @SystematicMe.
 
sphen said:
Okay, it has been four days and no response. The installation is gone and I will not create it again. No further testing is possible. I am done trying to help @SystematicMe.
Click to expand...
Thanks, @sphen for the help. As instructed I deleted those files and uninstalled VM.
I then installed pre-built VM KALI. Till now, haven't noticed any issues.
I also happen to notice, I found issues with the Debian version.

Sincere apologies for the delayed response, was bit held-up with studies.
 
No worries. I came back because I found this interesting set of comments, which may apply to your instance. It came from the latest Linux Mint upgrade Release Notes. Scroll down to "VirtualBox" and you will see these notes, which seem to match our respective experiences. Here is the link to the full Release Notes:
https://www.linuxmint.com/rel_victoria_cinnamon.php

Virtualbox
Black screen

If the screen is black when launching Linux Mint in Virtualbox, change the VirtualBox graphics controller to "VMSVGA". Do this by opening up the settings for your VM and select Display -> Graphics Controller.

Garbled screen

If the screen is garbled when launching Linux Mint in Virtualbox, switch to console with HOST+F1 (e.g. the RIGHT Ctrl key, no ALT) and back to tty7 with HOST+F7.

Another workaround is to disable "nested paging" (in the System -> Acceleration settings) and to increase the video memory to 128MB (in the Display settings).

Note: This issue only affects the live session. You don't need these workarounds post-installation.

Guest Additions

To add support for shared folders, drag and drop, proper acceleration and display resolution in Virtualbox, click on the "Devices" menu of Virtualbox and choose "Insert Guest Additions CD Image". Choose "download" when asked and follow the instructions.

For more info, read Installing the VirtualBox Guest Additions.

Link:
https://docs.oracle.com/cd/E36500_01/E36502/html/qs-guest-additions.html
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Members online

Total: 671 (members: 7, guests: 664)

Latest posts

Top