VirtualBox in Tumbleweed?

English Virtualization
1

Hello

I’m new to openSUSE, both the distro itself & also finding my way around the fora here. I’ve been playing over the past month with Leap & Tumbleweed in Virtualbox VMs running as Guests in my Tower’s current Host [Maui 17.03]. Leap is nice but TW is fantastic. I liked it so much that after the first week of VM-based testing i took the next step of replacing my second computer’s [Lappy] Maui with TW - it’s really impressed me with its solid Plasma desktop stability compared to what i’ve been used to. i cannot tell whether this reflects some vast superiority of TW’s 5.10.2 over Maui’s current 5.9.3, or if the stability improvement is instead due to the openSUSE code-base as opposed to Maui’s base [Ubuntu 16.04]… but either way TW has seriously impressed me.

That said, there’s a few issues i’ve been unable to resolve on Lappy = my “experimental” pc; i test prospective new distros initially in VMs in my Tower, then if ok there i install one onto Lappy, & if also ok there, then install onto Tower]. For my Tower to have TW instead of Maui i need to solve these issues, otherwise would have to regretably abandon the changeover. The issue for this post is VirtualBox.

I have a lot of existing VirtualBox VMs [many Linux, some Windows] & it’s essential that i can still use these in TW [otherwise TW is not for me, which would be sad]. My habit of years is to use the Oracle site’s VirtualBox & Guest Additions downloads, not the open-source versions. Hence the first thing i tried was to visit https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads & download the latest 5.1.22 RPM for openSUSE Tumbleweed… but was disappointed to see there is NONE there, only:

openSUSE 13.2 (“Harlequin”) / Leap 42.1 (“Malachite”) i386 | AMD64

I did however download the latest GA from there.

Next i decided to try the openSUSE repo version. In YaST2 i selectedthe “virtualbox” package, then picked Option 1 followed by Option 2 to resolve the conflicts [see pics].

By the end of the installations the package status was as per pic.

I then also installed the latest GA via the earlier-downloaded Oracle file.

Unfortunately when i tried starting a couple of my existing VMs, VB failed with error msg as follows; i then created a new VM “dummy vm”] & tried launching it, but again only got the error:

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine dummy vm.

The virtual machine ‘dummy vm’ has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1).

Result Code:
NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component:
MachineWrap
Interface:
IMachine {b2547866-a0a1-4391-8b86-6952d82efaa0}

In https://en.opensuse.org/SDB:VirtualBox_Installation * i read about upgrading the kernel, so i tried running

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

…but got an error:

/etc/init.d/vboxdrv: line 385: /sbin/vboxconfig: Permission denied

Then in https://forums.opensuse.org/showthread.php/524461-Unable-to-run-Virtualbox-after-latest-kernel-update/page2 i read about the need to create a symlink, viz:

sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/ /etc/rc.d

So i did that & rebooted. Sadly the same errors recurred with each attempt to run a VM.

Have i made a mistake / neglected to do something necessary? Or is it simply not possible to use VirtualBox with Tumbleweed? Thank you.*

2

I have not much experience with VirtualBox, but the usage if /etc/init.d and /etc/rc.d in to days openSUSE looks very old fashioned to me.

3

You can try these two repos:

For the latest stable kernel:
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Kernel:/stable/standard/

and the matching vbox repo:
http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/Kernel:/stable:/KMP/standard/

4

This won’t work with openSUSE’s virtualbox packages, and it is not necessary either, as the packages contain a precompiled kernel module.

It only applies if you install VirtualBox from Oracle, but AFAIK they switched to a systemd service a while ago, i.e. there is no /etc/init.d/vboxdrv any more.

Then in Unable to run Virtualbox after latest kernel update - Virtualization - openSUSE Forums i read about the need to create a symlink, viz:

sudo ln -s /etc/init.d/ /etc/rc.d

That problem should be fixed by now.
I.e. that won’t help.

Have i made a mistake / neglected to do something necessary? Or is it simply not possible to use VirtualBox with Tumbleweed? Thank you.

It should work out of the box.

What is your repo list?

zypper lr -d

What virtualbox and kernel packages do you have installed?

rpm -qa | egrep -i "kernel|virtualbox"

Did you add your user to the group “vboxusers”?

groups
5

It looks like, for some reason, it’s trying to install the 32-bit host-kmp
package rather than the 64-bit version.

Are you running TW 32-bit or 64-bit?

If you’re running 64-bit, try manually installing the 64-bit host-kmp
package.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

6

To add: Virtualbox packages are part of Tumbleweed. If a new kernel is released, new vbox kmp packages are as well. I’m onlly using Vbox for testing purposes, and I don’t have any issues doing so.

7

On Wed, 28 Jun 2017 21:46:02 +0000, Knurpht wrote:

> To add: Virtualbox packages are part of Tumbleweed. If a new kernel is
> released, new vbox kmp packages are as well. I’m onlly using Vbox for
> testing purposes, and I don’t have any issues doing so.

The other thing that struck me was I seem to recall there was a problem
with the i586 builds on TW, and so those were discontinued. So if the
packages are being mixed for some reason, that breakage could well be the
cause of the problem here. If it’s a 64-bit system, the x86_64 versions
should be installed and it should work fine.

Jim

–
Jim Henderson
openSUSE Forums Administrator
Forum Use Terms & Conditions at http://tinyurl.com/openSUSE-T-C

8

Well, i’m going to reply to each of you sequentially, but first i just wished to post this generic reply – THANK YOU. So many good helpful responses, in less than 24 hours … that’s impressive, & kind. Many thanks. :slight_smile:

9

OK, fair enough, thanks. I really was uncertain to what extent those pages i linked might still have been current, or otherwise obsolete. Did i miss it; are there dates on those pages that i accidentally ignored? How can an OSS* newbie like me reliably distinguish obsolete from current pages?

  • PS - As i’m a bone lazy woman, i like using acronyms & abbreviations when i can get away with it. Is “OSS” generally understood to denote “openSUSE”? :wink:
10

Hi, thanks, but… sorry to be a thick-head, but i don’t understand. Does this imply that if i want to do something comparatively [IMO] commonplace like use VirtualBox in OSS TW, i actually have to start worrying about / installing / managing dedicated kernels separate to whatever i currently get automatically from TW each time i run

sudo zypper dup --no-allow-vendor-change

To help you understand why i feel a bit overwhelmed by this, i’ve only been “touching” OSS for the past ~month, & before that it was Mint 17.x KDE4 [July 2014 - Sept 2016] then Maui [til now], both of which completely “hold my hand” & manage all this stuff themselves for me… so i guess that means i now feel out of my depth. :expressionless:

11

Such great info - thanks!

Aha, cool, thanks.

Well, as i indicated in my initial post, historically i have preferred to use the Oracle versions not the “distro-native” versions, & that’s what i would have attempted here too, except the Oracle site seems to have no TW version.

I’d like to offer this statement now, in case it helps all “Helpers” comprehend my attitude here… i am 100% ambivalent about whether i use Oracle’s or OSS TW’s flavour of VirtualBox, so long as both these criteria are satisfied:

  1. All my existing
    VMs must still work for me & of course future new ones must too]. 1. Shared Folders
    & Shared Clipboard must still work for me [which functionality currently [in Maui] comes from me using the Oracle Guest Additions supplementary program with the main Oracle VB program].

OK, thanks.

Well that is very encouraging for me to read; it suggests that once i find & correct whatever ghastly error i made, VB should be viable… which in turn will mean that my desire to also migrate my Tower to TW would also remain viable want to use TW :slight_smile: ]

It is:

linux-763v:~> zypper lr -d

Repository priorities are without effect. All enabled repositories share the same priority.

#  | Alias                               | Name                       | Enabled | GPG Check | Refresh | Priority |
 Type   | URI                                                                               | Service
---+-------------------------------------+----------------------------+---------+-----------+---------+----------+
--------+-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------+--------
 1 | Vivaldi_Snapshot_x86_64             | Vivaldi Snapshot x86_64    | Yes     | ( p) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://repo.vivaldi.com/snapshot/rpm/x86_64/                                      |         
 2 | download.opensuse.org-non-oss       | Main Repository (NON-OSS)  | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 yast2  | http://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/non-oss/                             |         
 3 | download.opensuse.org-oss           | Main Repository (OSS)      | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 yast2  | http://download.opensuse.org/tumbleweed/repo/oss/                                 |         
 4 | download.opensuse.org-tumbleweed    | Main Update Repository     | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://download.opensuse.org/update/tumbleweed/                                   |         
 5 | http-download.opensuse.org-0326dc60 | home:Herbster0815          | No      | ----      | ----    |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/home:/Herbster0815/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/ |         
 6 | http-download.opensuse.org-1b95eb6d | openSUSE:Factory           | No      | ----      | ----    |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://download.opensuse.org/repositories/openSUSE:/Factory/snapshot/             |         
 7 | http-ftp.gwdg.de-fb19a32c           | Packman Repository         | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://ftp.gwdg.de/pub/linux/packman/suse/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/                    |         
 8 | http-opensuse-guide.org-08dff8a2    | libdvdcss repository       | Yes     | (r ) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://opensuse-guide.org/repo/openSUSE_Tumbleweed/                               |         
 9 | repo-debug                          | openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Debug  | No      | ----      | ----    |   99     |
 NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/debug/tumbleweed/repo/oss/                           |         
10 | repo-source                         | openSUSE-Tumbleweed-Source | No      | ----      | ----    |   99     |
 NONE   | http://download.opensuse.org/source/tumbleweed/repo/oss/                          |         
11 | x86_64                              | Vivaldi Stable x86_64      | Yes     | ( p) Yes  | Yes     |   99     |
 rpm-md | http://repo.vivaldi.com/stable/rpm/x86_64/                                        |         
linux-763v:~>

They are:

linux-763v:~> rpm -qa | egrep -i "kernel|virtualbox"
**virtualbox**-guest-desktop-icons-5.1.22-2.12.noarch
**kernel**-default-4.11.5-1.1.x86_64
**kernel**-default-4.11.6-1.1.x86_64
**virtualbox**-qt-5.1.22-2.12.x86_64
**virtualbox**-host-kmp-default-5.1.22_k4.11.6_1-2.12.x86_64
**virtualbox**-5.1.22-2.12.x86_64
**kernel**-firmware-20170530-2.1.noarch
linux-763v:~>

Yes i certainly did:

linux-763v:~> groups
users vboxusers wheel
linux-763v:~>

My fingers are crossed :slight_smile:

12

I am definitely running a 64-bit system [Lappy AND Tower, but so far OSS TW only exists “on the metal” in Lappy; in Tower so far it’s only in some VMs]. If it helps, here’s this for Lappy:

linux-763v:~> inxi -Fxz
Resuming in non X mode: xdpyinfo not found. For package install advice run: inxi --recommends
**System:   ****Host:** linux-763v **Kernel:** 4.11.6-1-default x86_64 (64 bit **gcc:** 7.1.1)
**Desktop:** KDE Plasma 5.10.2 (Qt 5.9.0) **Distro:** openSUSE Tumbleweed                                      
**Machine:  ****Device:** portable **System:** Dell **product:** XPS L501X **v:** A08                                                
**Mobo:** Dell **model:** 00CKNG **v:** A08 **BIOS:** Dell **v:** A08 **date:** 07/26/2011                                     
**Battery   ****BAT0:****charge:** 8.5 Wh 100.0% **condition:** 8.5/52.0 Wh (16%) **model:** LGC Dell **status:** Full                  
**CPU:      ****Dual core** Intel Core i5 M 460 (-HT-MCP-) **cache:** 3072 KB                                                
**flags:** (lm nx sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx) **bmips:** 10107                                      
**clock speeds:****max:** 2534 MHz **1:** 1199 MHz **2:** 1599 MHz **3:** 1599 MHz **4:** 1333 MHz                            
**Graphics: ****Card-1:** Intel Core Processor Integrated Graphics Controller **bus-ID:** 00:02.0                            
**Card-2:** NVIDIA GF108M [GeForce GT 420M] **bus-ID:** 02:00.0                                                
**Display Server:** X.org 1.19.3 **drivers:** modesetting,nouveau (unloaded: fbdev,nv,vesa)                    
**Resolution:** 114x22                                                                                     
**Audio:    ****Card** Intel 5 Series/3400 Series High Definition Audio **driver:** snd_hda_intel **bus-ID:** 00:1b.0            
**Sound:** Advanced Linux Sound Architecture **v:** k4.11.6-1-default                                          
**Network:  ****Card-1:** Intel Centrino Ultimate-N 6300 **driver:** iwlwifi **bus-ID:** 04:00.0                                 
**IF:** wlp4s0 **state:** up **mac:** <filter>                                                                     
**Card-2:** Realtek RTL8111/8168/8411 PCI Express Gigabit Ethernet Controller                              
**driver:** r8169 **v:** 2.3LK-NAPI **port:** 5000 **bus-ID:** 09:00.0                                                 
**IF:** p12p1 **state:** down **mac:** <filter>                                                                    
**Drives:   ****HDD Total Size:** 256.1GB (75.5% used)                                                                   
**ID-1:** /dev/sda **model:** SAMSUNG_SSD_PM81 **size:** 256.1GB                                                   
**Partition:****ID-1:** / **size:** 50G **used:** 13G (25%) **fs:** btrfs **dev:** /dev/sda3                                             
**ID-2:** /var/log **size:** 50G **used:** 13G (25%) **fs:** btrfs **dev:** /dev/sda3                                      
**ID-3:** /var/tmp **size:** 50G **used:** 13G (25%) **fs:** btrfs **dev:** /dev/sda3                                      
**ID-4:** /opt **size:** 50G **used:** 13G (25%) **fs:** btrfs **dev:** /dev/sda3                                          
**ID-5:** /home **size:** 177G **used:** 164G (94%) **fs:** ext4 **dev:** /dev/dm-1                                        
**ID-6:** swap-1 **size:** 4.29GB **used:** 0.00GB (0%) **fs:** swap **dev:** /dev/dm-0                                    
**Sensors:  ** None detected - is lm-sensors installed and configured?                                                
**Info:     ****Processes:** 254 **Uptime:** 18:08 **Memory:** 1472.2/7718.0MB **Init:** systemd **runlevel:** 5 **Gcc sys:** N/A            
**Client:** Shell (bash 4.4.121) **inxi:** 2.3.8                                                               
linux-763v:~>

Ah, ooh, ok… should i first remove something?

13

That is extremely pleasing for me to learn - i thank you.

14

Thank you Jim. With respect to my earlier-pasted Repos list, does that look ok to you, or problematic?

15

Looks good.
What does “systemctl status vboxdrv” say?

Btw, I just noticed this in your original post:

Could you provide more details please?
I.e. what is this “earlier-downloaded Oracle file” exactly, and how did you “install” it?
It may very well be the source of your problem, as it may override or have overwritten the files of the openSUSE packages.

16

O don’t know about “those pages”, but openSUSE since several version already uses systemd and no longer SysVinit. That means that directories like init.d and rc.d, etc. are obselete.

The most used statement used in systemd is systemclt (as some already asked you to use).
More info of course in the man pages:

man systemd

man systemctl

and more there are pointed to.

And while programmers in principle are lazy, please do not overdo it. Many here type oS for openSUSE, but some make it OS, which also means Operating System. So confusion is threatening. I prefer openSUSE.

17

Yes, by default since 12.1 (released in 2011), and as only option since 12.3 (released in 2013)

That means that directories like init.d and rc.d, etc. are obselete.

systemd does support them for backward compatibility though.

And openSUSE’s virtualbox packages does still ship with sysvinit service files in /etc/init.d/.
Actually it meanwhile comes with both, a systemd unit and a sysvinit script, but the former just calls the latter (and was added as a workaround for the mentioned “missing /etc/rc.d/” problem in Tumbleweed that broke systemd’s legacy sysvinit script support).

18

That file to which i alluded is “Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-5.1.22-115126.vbox-extpack” [aka “[i]Guest Additions”], which comes from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads:

VirtualBox 5.1.22 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension PackAll supported platforms
Support for USB 2.0 and USB 3.0 devices, VirtualBox RDP, disk encryption, NVMe and PXE boot for Intel cards. See this chapter from the User Manual for an introduction to this Extension Pack.
The Extension Pack binaries are released under the VirtualBox Personal Use and Evaluation License (PUEL).
*Please install the extension pack with the same version as your installed version of VirtualBox: *
If you are using VirtualBox 5.0.40, please download the extension pack here.

…& looks like this once installed [via its GUI] into VirtualBox: Imgur: The magic of the Internet [it seems NOT to show up in YaST2].

Having tonight read your reply, i have now removed it [via its GUI], then in YaST2 i reinstalled* the 4 packages i previously showed you, viz Imgur: The magic of the Internet, then rebooted Lappy.

  • by right-clicking on each one, & selecting “Update unconditionally”], then once all 4 were so-marked, letting YaST2 proceed with the operation. Is that method acceptable, or should i instead first completely remove each of them [with “[i]Cleanup when deleting packages” option], & then install them afresh?

Oh, just before i rebooted [but [i]after completed the other steps i said, above], i checked this as requested:

linux-763v:~> systemctl status vboxdrv
● vboxdrv.service - Start/Stop VirtualBox host kernel modules
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/vboxdrv; disabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: inactive (dead)
linux-763v:~>

Post-reboot, i rechecked that last command, but the output was unchanged *. Then i tried to launch another VM… disappointingly it still fails with the same error as previously posted:

Failed to open a session for the virtual machine RandomLinux64bitLiveISOs.The virtual machine ‘RandomLinux64bitLiveISOs’ has terminated unexpectedly during startup with exit code 1 (0x1).

Result Code: NS_ERROR_FAILURE (0x80004005)
Component: MachineWrap
Interface: IMachine {b2547866-a0a1-4391-8b86-6952d82efaa0}

Rats.*

19

Thank you Henk. I shall try to do better.

20

The “Extension Pack” is not the same as “Guest Additions”. The former is for the host, while the latter is for the guest.

Anyway, virtualbox should work fine with and without it.

Oh, just before i rebooted [but [i]after completed the other steps i said, above], i checked this as requested:

linux-763v:~> systemctl status vboxdrv
● vboxdrv.service - Start/Stop VirtualBox host kernel modules
   Loaded: loaded (/etc/init.d/vboxdrv; disabled; vendor preset: disabled)
   Active: inactive (dead)
linux-763v:~>

And that’s the problem.

The service is not started, it is actually disabled.

Run this and VirtualBox will hopefully work:

sudo systemctl start vboxdrv

This should make it start automatically during boot:

sudo systemctl enable vboxdrv