The problem is I'm getting the message 'Running in software rendering mode' message but the video drivers I'm running are the VirtualBox. Mar 06, 2017 When you install Linux Mint on VirtualBox with the default settings, then when you launch Linux Mint you will most likely encounter this notification on the screen: Running in software rendering mode Cinnamon is currently running without video hardware acceleration and, as a result, you may observe much higher than normal CPU usage.
I wanted to try running Linux Mint as a VM in Oracle VirtualBox. I created a new VM using the standard settings (only increasing the memory from the default of 768 MB to 2048 MB and disk size from 8 GB to 20 GB (the actual file size on my physical disk is allocated dynamically, so I’m not too worried)). I pointed it at the Mint ISO I’d downloaded and started it up. A few seconds later, I was at the desktop (running as a Live CD). Everything was looking good, except for this message towards the top-right:
Running in software rendering mode
Cinnamon is currently running without video hardware acceleration and, as a result, you may observe much higher than normal CPU usage.
There could be a problem with your drivers or some other issue. For the best experience, it is recommended that you only use this mode for troubleshooting purposes.
The message makes it sound like some sort of driver problem. Since it’s running as a LiveCD at this stage and hasn’t actually been installed yet, I thought that might be the reason, so I went ahead and installed it.
The message didn’t go away.
I spent a while trying to update drivers.
The message still didn’t go away.
The fix is to install (the latest) Guest Additions and enable 3D acceleration:
Install (the latest) Guest Additions
- With the VM running, click on Devices on the VM container menu
- Click the option “Insert Guest Additions CD image…”
- When the warning box appears asking if you’re sure you want to run the software, select “Run”
- Enter the super user password as required
- A terminal window will warn you that you already appear to have a version installed and are you sure you want to continue installing this. Enter “yes”
- When it’s finished, press enter to close the terminal window
Enable 3D Acceleration
- Shutdown the VM
- In the main VirtualBox window, right-click on the VM and go to Settings
- Under the Display section, turn on “Enable 3D acceleration”
- Oracle VirtualBox 5.0.26
- Host: Windows 10
- Guest: Linux Mint 18 “Sarah” Cinnamon Edition
I have Arch with Cinnamon running as a guest OS in a Virtualbox running in Windows. I have the guest additions installed, which, as I understand it, supply the driver for the Virtualbox Graphics Adapter. Yet, Cinnamon is starting in software rendering mode. I'd like got get it to run using the GPU.
![Software rendering mode linux mint Software rendering mode linux mint](/uploads/1/2/6/3/126302952/274914197.png)
Here are the loaded modules:
And here's the graphics adapter:
I found a solution from 2014 on the forums which suggests downgrading mesa to a now very old version. I don't know whether that's still applicable (which is why I opened a new topic), but I downloaded that version and tried downgrading it:
Is uninstalling everything that has to do with graphics in any way, installing the old mesa version, then reinstalling everything the only way to get this fixed? Or is there a fix available for cinnamon to get it to work with a more current version of mesa? Or can I downgrade to the old version without breaking every dependency imaginable? Or is my problem elsewhere entirely? I don't really know where to look.
Thanks in advance.
Last edited by darknetfan (2018-01-09 10:16:48)