This problem does not affect Ubuntu 12.04 running as a guest OS.

When the Problem has been Noticed

• VirtualBox is running on Windows 7 with SP1
• the guest OS is Ubuntu 13.04 (32-bit)
• only a single CPU is configured for the virtual machine
• the underlying hardware is an AMD Quad-Core A6-3400M

Resolving the Problem

In my case, I have been able to solve the problem by configuring the virtual machine to have more than 1 CPU.

Suspicions

Initially, I thought the problem might be the VT-x/AMD-V or Nested Paging settings which are only enabled when multiple CPUs are configured for the virtual machine, but enabling then with a single CPU did not resolve the problem.

My next suspicion is that Ubuntu’s use of LLVM Pipe to provide 3D rendering may be the cause of the problem, but I don’t have time or plans to reinstall Ubuntu 12.10 to test that hypothesis.

If you are running Ubuntu 11.04 or later, you can use this check to see if 3D hardware acceleration is being used.

The post 3D Hardware Acceleration not Working in VirtualBox appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.

These instructions are for Ubuntu 13.04, they are probably the same for any version of Ubuntu that shipped with the Unity desktop (Ubuntu 11.04 and later), but no guarantee is made.

Without 3D hardware acceleration, the Unity desktop (and other desktops that require 3D hardware acceleration, like Cinnamon, GNOME 3, KDE Plasma, etc) run very, very sluggishly.

1) Open a terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T), enter the following command and press Enter:

/usr/lib/nux/unity_support_test -p

You will get a report similar to the following:

The important line is the first one Not Software Rendered:. If it says no, then there is no 3D hardware acceleration (it is all being done through software emulation using LLVM Pipe).

Trying to fix the problem

There are a number of reasons why you don’t have 3D hardware acceleration:

1. Your video graphics hardware is pre-2007 (or so). GNOME 3 (on which Unity is built) does not run on older hardware.
2. You are running Ubuntu under VirtualBox (or some other virtual environment and have not enabled 3D hardware acceleration). Instructions for enabling 3D hardware acceleration under VirtualBox can be found here
3. You do not have the latest hardware drivers for your graphics card. Instructions for installing hardware drivers can be found here.

The post Ubuntu 13.04 – Checking if you have 3D Hardware Acceleration appeared first on Complete, Concrete, Concise.