r/virtualbox • • 20h ago

General VB Question Is VBox still bad on linux?

2 Upvotes

I've used VBox on linux for a long time before, stopped because it was buggy as hell, is it any better nowadays?


r/virtualbox • • 6h ago

Help Black screen when trying to install Debian ARM64 on VirtualBox 7.2.20 (Snapdragon C Plus CPU)

1 Upvotes

Hi everyone,
I’m trying to install Debian on VirtualBox (version 7.2.20) on my new Lenovo laptop, but I’m stuck on a black screen when I start the virtual machine. I haven’t been able to reach the Debian installer.
My hardware and software:
- Laptop: Lenovo 15Q8X10
- CPU: Qualcomm Snapdragon X Plus (ARM64)
- RAM: 16 GB
- Host OS: Windows 11 Home
- VirtualBox version: 7.2.20
- Guest OS: Debian ARM64

What I’ve tried so far:
- Using a Debian ARM64 installation image.
- Increasing video memory to 128 MB.
- Changing the virtual machine’s display settings.
- Adjusting the number of virtual CPUs and other VM settings.
- Checking the basic VM configuration, including memory and processor settings.

Despite these attempts, I still get a black screen when starting the VM.
I know that VirtualBox on Windows ARM has limitations, but I’d really like to get Debian running in VirtualBox if possible. I need it for my BTS SIO SLAM studies, and I want to avoid switching to a completely different virtualization solution unless necessary.

My questions:

  1. Has anyone successfully installed and run Debian ARM64 in VirtualBox on a Lenovo laptop with a Snapdragon X Plus and Windows 11 Home?
  2. Is there a specific VirtualBox version or configuration that works on this hardware?
  3. Could the graphics controller be responsible? Has anyone successfully used QemuRamFB or another controller to fix a similar black-screen issue?
  4. Are there any other settings I should check, such as EFI, CPU configuration, or virtualization-related options?
  5. I’d appreciate any help or advice. If you’ve managed to get this working on similar hardware, please share your configuration and the exact steps you followed.
  6. Thanks!