Devuan and VirtualBox

Micronaut · 2022-05-02 15:08:15

Not wanting to use Windows 10 / 11 or how ever many iterations are coming to the MS Kiosk, but not being certain I can completely toss all access to Windows, I have been trying to configure a VM to use as a browser sandbox. Hopefully this would allow the safe maintenance of a Windows 8.1 system after security patches end next year. Other exposure to the Internet should not be necessary.

Installing Devuan 3.1 into a Virtual Box VM, I find an oddity. It is not possible to run the VB Additions CD. BUT... Devuan seems to already be integrated in certain ways. I don't have to fiddle around with the focus settings or use right-ctrl to capture focus. Usually you have to install the additions to have integration like that. And yet, the other things I need the additions for don't work. Clipboard integration, for example. I can click the options on the menu, but they have no effect. There is just no way to copy from the VM to the host. Or vice versa. I had been using the shared folder option to get data into and out of the VM, but today that stopped working and I can't get it to work again.

WHY would Devuan not allow the additions CD to run? I mean, really not allow. I get 'permission denied' when I try to run it either a s user or as root. And since it won't allow the additions to be installed, why is it partially integrated anyway?

rolfie · 2022-05-02 16:32:59

I think you need to be a bit more specific.
* What is the host system?
* Where did you get VBox from? Version?
* Extension pack installed?
* On Linux host: kernel modules built?
To install guest additions on a Debian based Linux guest:
* Insert guest addition iso in guest via menu.
* Get root privilegues with su -
* # mount /dev/sr0 /media/cdrom0
* # cd /media/cdrom0
* # sh ./LinuxGuestAdditons.run

In the properties of your guest enable drag'n'drop and clipboard both ways. These settings sometimes require a few boots to work.

rolfie

Edith: corrected the sh command to run the guest additions

Last edited by rolfie (2022-05-03 19:00:31)

Micronaut · 2022-05-02 16:50:15

The host is Windows 8.1, and the VirtualBox install comes directly from the Oracle site, not a third-party 'download site'. This is version 6.1.32 so it's pretty recent.

Are special modules needed in the kernel? I didn't need to build anything special with CentOS, though it might have detected its environment and chosen a kernel with any special modules already installed. In that case, it was possible to install the Additions CD and everything seems to work.

Edit: I went and got the latest from Oracle, it's 6.1.34, and also the extensions and additions. After updating the VBox software itself, the CentOS happily updated its additions. That worked fine. The Devuan VM won't let me change the iso in the virtual drive. Error:

Could not mount the media/drive 'C:\Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxGuestAdditions.iso' (VERR_PDM_MEDIA_LOCKED).

Result Code:
E_FAIL (0x80004005)
Component:
ConsoleWrap
Interface:
IConsole {872da645-4a9b-1727-bee2-5585105b9eed}
Callee:
IMachine {85632c68-b5bb-4316-a900-5eb28d3413df}

Clicking the 'force unmount' button has not effect.

Last edited by Micronaut (2022-05-02 17:10:14)

rolfie · 2022-05-02 17:19:57

Sounds like a Windose problem. Is that iso by chance mounted on the host? Have you got access rights to that folder?

Is your CentOS another VM on the same host? Then make sure the iso is not assigned to CentOS.

Last edited by rolfie (2022-05-02 17:22:53)

Micronaut · 2022-05-02 17:31:36

After literally removing the virtual drive and re-adding it, the machine still won't run the additions CD. I get a popup that says "Error autorunning software" and "cannot find the autorun program"...

This is the exact same CD that just ran in the CentOS VM.

Manually running it as root doesn't work:
/media/cdrom/auotrun.sh returns "permission denied"

Last edited by Micronaut (2022-05-02 17:40:01)

rolfie · 2022-05-02 17:40:15

Have a look at: https://superuser.com/questions/760327/ … ed#1407054

Make sure the cd drive in the Devuan machine is empty. Then reboot. Then insert the guest additions from the Device -> Insert GuestAdditions CD Image

Micronaut · 2022-05-02 17:54:12

Just got to work by invoking with sh instead of a plain reference. Apparently that gets around whatever the permissions issue is. We'll see how difficult it is next time...

Now to test the interface and see if it's possible to communicate between host and VM properly.

Last edited by Micronaut (2022-05-02 17:54:45)

golinux · 2022-05-02 18:16:51

Micronaut wrote:

Just got to work by invoking with sh instead of a plain reference. Apparently that gets around whatever the permissions issue is.

This ^ . . . I ran into the same problem recently . . .

Head_on_a_Stick · 2022-05-03 05:55:02

Micronaut wrote:

Manually running it as root doesn't work:
/media/cdrom/auotrun.sh returns "permission denied"

The file needs to be made executable (chmod +x) before it can be run directly.

Micronaut · 2022-05-03 12:17:48

But it's on an ISO image. I'd have to edit the ISO. Kinda extreme for a small glitch. Though I found a fix with the sh invocation, someone else had another idea. Edit fstab and replace the 'auto' attribute on the cdrom mount with 'exec' and then it should run. Apparently this is the mistake that Devuan makes compared to CentOS. Using 'auto' on the cdrom mount.

/dev/sr0        /media/cdrom0   udf,iso9660 user,exec     0       0

thierrybo · 2022-05-03 18:34:23

Excerpt from the Virtualbox manual

4.2.2.1 Installing the Linux Guest Additions
The Oracle VM VirtualBox Guest Additions for Linux are provided on the same virtual CD-ROM
ﬁle as the Guest Additions for Windows. See chapter 4.2.1.1, Installing the Windows Guest Addi-
tions, page 69. They also come with an installation program that guides you through the setup
process. However, due to the signiﬁcant differences between Linux distributions, installation
may be slightly more complex when compared to Windows.
Installation generally involves the following steps:
1. Before installing the Guest Additions, you prepare your guest system for building external
kernel modules. This works as described in chapter 2.3.2, The Oracle VM VirtualBox Kernel
Modules, page 37, except that this step must be performed in your Linux guest instead of
on a Linux host system.
If you suspect that something has gone wrong, check that your guest is set up correctly and
run the following command as root:
rcvboxadd setup
2. Insert the VBoxGuestAdditions.isoCD ﬁle into your Linux guest’s virtual CD-ROM drive,
as described for a Windows guest in chapter 4.2.1.1, Installing the Windows Guest Additions,
page 69.
3. Change to the directory where your CD-ROM drive is mounted and run the following com-
mand as root:
sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

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#1 2022-05-02 15:08:15

Devuan and VirtualBox

#2 2022-05-02 16:32:59

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#3 2022-05-02 16:50:15

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#4 2022-05-02 17:19:57

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#5 2022-05-02 17:31:36

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#6 2022-05-02 17:40:15

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#7 2022-05-02 17:54:12

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#8 2022-05-02 18:16:51

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#9 2022-05-03 05:55:02

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#10 2022-05-03 12:17:48

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

#11 2022-05-03 18:34:23

Re: Devuan and VirtualBox

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