X-Windows Display Is Corrupted or Does Not Appear When You Install Linux as a Guest Operating System (825379)


The information in this article applies to:

  • Microsoft Virtual PC 2004
  • Connectix Virtual PC for Windows version 5.2

SYMPTOMS

When you install Linux as a guest operating system in Connectix Virtual PC 5.2 or Microsoft Virtual PC 2004, the X-Windows display appears to be corrupted, or it does not appear at all.

CAUSE

This issue may occur if either of the following conditions is true:
  • The color depth is set to 24-bit during the Linux installation.
  • The display adapter that was selected during the Linux installation was not S3 Trio (generic).
The default color depth that is used by many later Linux distributions is 24-bit. However, Virtual PC 5.2 supports only the following color-depth selections:

8-bit
16-bit
32-bit

Additionally, Virtual PC 5.2 emulates the S3 Trio display adapter. When you are prompted to select a display adapter during the graphical interface (X) configuration, do not select the display adapter that is physically installed in the host computer.

RESOLUTION

To resolve this issue, reconfigure your Linux guest image display adapter settings. To do so, follow these steps.

Note For detailed instructions about how to configure Linux display settings, contact your Linux distribution provider.
  1. Start the Linux guest operating system.
  2. When the corrupted X-Windows display appears, press ALT+SPACEBAR to switch to the console.
  3. At the login prompt, log on to the virtual PC.
  4. Run the xf86config command, and then follow the instructions to configure your display adapter. When you are prompted to select a display adapter, select the S3 Trio64 display adapter, and then specify 4 megabytes (MB) of RAM.

    Note Some Linux distributions may use a different command to configure X. For detailed instructions about how to configure X, contact your Linux distribution provider.
  5. When you are finished configuring the display adapter and the color-depth settings, type startx, and then press ENTER to start the graphical user interface in the Linux guest operating system.

MORE INFORMATION

The third-party products that this article discusses are manufactured by companies that are independent of Microsoft. Microsoft makes no warranty, implied or otherwise, regarding the performance or reliability of these products.
Modification Type:MajorLast Reviewed:11/18/2003
Keywords:kbprb KB825379 kbAudEndUser
©2003 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.