Yesterday I talked about how to create an Ubuntu virtual machine in VirtualBox and today I will walk through installing VirtualBox Guest Additions in Ubuntu. It, of course, requires using the command line!
The VirtualBox Guest Additions are very similar to the Virtual Machine Additions that comes with Virtual PC. They basically add a couple of nice extra features that improve performance and allow better integration between the guest OS and the host OS.
- Ability to move mouse between guest and host OS without having to press the right CTRL key to switch.
- Clipboard support, so you can cut and paste between the guest and host OS
- Automatic resize of the guest OS when you resize the VirtualBox window.
Here are the steps to install Guest Additions in Ubuntu for VirtualBox:
Step 1: First start up your Ubuntu guest OS and then click on Devices and choose Install Guest Additions.
Now the ISO for Guest Additions will be mounted automatically and you should see the CD icon on your desktop.
Step 2: Now while inside Ubuntu, click on Applications, then Accessories, and then Terminal. You can also use the ALT + F2 keyboard shortcut and then search for Gnome-Term.
Step 3: Now go to the directory where the Guest Additions are stored by typing in the following:
cd /media/
Then type ls to get a listing of the files. You may see something like cdrom or you may see a different name for the CD-ROM image. In my case, it was aseem, which was the name I used when installing Ubuntu. CD into that directory and do another ls.
There is a directory starting with VBox that you have to CD into. When you perform an ls here, you should see several files, some for Windows and some for Linux.
Since my computer is not 64-bit and we are working with Ubuntu here, we will need to run the Linux x86 installer. Go ahead and type in the following to being the installation:
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
You’ll be asked for the Administrator password and then the install will begin.
Step 4: The installer will create a few new folders, etc. and install Guest Additions.
Step 5: After the installation has completed, you have to restart the guest OS. You can restart Ubuntu 16 from the command line by just typing sudo restart. You can also click the Ubuntu button and restart from there.
When Ubuntu loads up, it will display a message stating that the guest OS supports mouse pointer integration. If you see this message, it means you have successfully installed VirtualBox Guest Additions on Ubuntu.
Now you can enjoy Ubuntu in a higher resolution than 800×600 since it supports 3D acceleration once Guest Additions are installed. Enjoy!
With Ubuntu Jaunty desktop 9.04 and virtualbox 3.0 i received the message "command not found" after running sudo VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run. Running the command as sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run fixed this, and installation resumed as described.
Thank you for the great tutorial. Got me rocking in no time. I notice that in your quote as to what to type in the terminal to run the installer you only put "VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run" when in your images you have the full command entered which is the only way that worked for me as "sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run". Just thought I would point that out to help avoid confusion.
Thx again!
Excellent article. After a lot of searching and failed attempts your step by step guide helped me to install guest additions.
I would agree with frenzi above who stated that your article didn't include the full command line of “sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run” which I spotted from your screenshot.
Many thanks
Cheers.. I've been allover for this too. 1st time it made sense and yes the ./ is missing. One soon works it out though..
Right then, what do I do with Linux then… Also, running it as a VM completely hammers my machine. It crawls… doubt that is Ubuntu's fault though. My machine crawls anyway and this is a second operating system, I'm now running…
It seems like everytime there is a kernel update pushed through the update manager, you need to redo these steps.
In my case this procedure doesn't work. I have a WIndows XP host and a Ubuntu 9.10 guest. After step 1, the cd is not mounted automatically. My guest OS is in another iso file mounted on a cd and it seems like it cannot mount two cds at the same time … I don't know. I am not too familiar with Linux. Can anybody help?
from the virtualbox documentation for installing linux guest additions:
"
Before installing the Guest Additions, you will have to prepare your guest system for building external kernel modules. This works similarly as described in Section 2.3.2, “The VirtualBox kernel module”, 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.
"
Please help. I have installed VB 3.1.6 and made an ubuntu guest OS. I am unable to make it full screen. If I do the VB changes to fullscreen but the visual of VM remains small.
I tried to follow guest additions but there is no option of Devices in virtual box. How can I install any guest additions?
I get a message while starting VM that chnage the color to 32 bit under Display, but that option is also not available.
Please help.
I'm running Ubuntu 10.04 as a guest on a Macintosh OS X 10.6
I ran into an issue where cd /media/cdrom wasn't working. I found that replacing cdrom with the name of the mounted disk worked out perfectly.
Thanks, it worked for a while, but now when I resize, huge blocks of window refuse to repaint, it becomes unusable and I have to restart. In fact, I'm going to have to uninstall this to get anything done.
These instructions are completely wrong (maybe just radically out of date, I'm on Virtualbox 3.2.8 with Ubuntu 10). There is no cdrom in /media and nothing auto runs when you choose install guest additions from the Virtualbox menu. You access the guest additions disk by clicking the Places menu in Ubuntu and choosing the vboxadditions volume. In the window that opens you click the Open Autorun Prompt button to install. You will then see a progress window similar to the screenshot above, and it will say press return when it's finished. At that point you reboot to use the new drivers. Much easier than using command line.
I am using a guest OS of Windows XP on a Sony Vaio laptop (CS 17G). Your post was very helpful to add "guest additions". However, I still get the "Display unknown" message in Ubuntu when I open the "Display Settings" within Ubuntu.
I get an error when trying to change directory, "No such file or directory."
Since I can't change the directory, I can't navigate to the file to authenticate as administrator and run the add-ons.
Any suggestions would be great.
I'm stuck at the first step. When I select Install Guest Additions from the Devices menu, nothing happens. Nothing mounts anywhere and I can't go forward. What am I missing?
Actually the right option would be:
sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions.run
In order to avoid the message:
sudo: unable to execute ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run: Permission denied
Thanks by the way :)