1 installing the linux guest additions, Installing the linux guest additions – Sun Microsystems VIRTUALBOX 3.0.0 User Manual
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4 Guest Additions
• Ubuntu 5.10, 6.06, 7.04, 7.10, 8.04, 8.10 and 9.04.
Other distributions may work if they are based on comparable software releases.
The version of the Linux kernel supplied by default in SUSE and openSUSE 10.2,
Ubuntu 6.10 (all versions) and Ubuntu 6.06 (server edition) contains a bug which
can cause it to crash during startup when it is run in a virtual machine. The Guest
Additions work in those distributions.
As with Windows guests, we recommend installation of the VirtualBox Guest Addi-
tions for Linux.
4.3.1 Installing the Linux Guest Additions
The VirtualBox Guest Additions for Linux are provided on the same ISO CD-ROM
as the Additions for Windows described above. They also come with an installation
program guiding you through the setup process, although, due to the significant dif-
ferences between Linux distributions, installation may be slightly more complex.
Installation involves the following steps:
1. Before installing the Guest Additions, you will have to prepare your guest system
for building external kernel modules. This works similarly as described in chap-
ter
, page
, except that this step must now
be performed in your Linux guest instead of on a Linux host system, as described
there.
Again, as with Linux hosts, we recommend using DKMS for Linux guests as well.
If it is not installed, use this command:
sudo apt-get install dkms
Install DKMS before installing the Linux Guest Additions.
2. Mount the VBoxGuestAdditions.iso file as your Linux guest’s virtual CD-
ROM drive, exactly the same way as described for a Windows guest in chapter
Mounting the Additions ISO file
, page
3. Change to the directory where your CD-ROM drive is mounted and execute as
root:
sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
In a 64-bit Linux guest, use VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run instead.
The VirtualBox Guest Additions contain several different drivers. If for any reason
you do not wish to install them all, you can specify the ones which you wish on the
command line - for example
sh ./VBoxAdditions.run x11
to install the X Window graphic drivers. Type in the command
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