is there a problem with ORACLE VB 5.0.26 in LM? [SOLVED]

[52ROSt]

SW: LM 17.3, 64 bit, KDE

I was recommended to install the ORACLE VB 5.0.26 directly from ORACLE's download side.

In the meantime I learned that ubuntu modifies the ORACLE VB a little bit. Could it be I am running into problems with a direct download an installation on my machine?

What kind of experience has been made with ORACLE VB 5.0.28 in LM 17.3, 64bit, KDE?

[Fred Barclay]

What sort of issues are you experiencing?

I ran 5.0.26 for a while in LMDE 2 (I've since moved to 5.1) and I don't remember any problems.

[Cosmo.]

I have the same system as you, but Cinnamon, this should make no difference in this regard. I also use VB 5.0.26 without complaints.

The contrary of what you fear is right: In the official repositories you find the far outdated version 5.0.4, which is full of many bugs. I remember, that the advice to install from the Oracle download helped several users to solve problems.

There is only one thing, that you have to obey: You have to download the correct version, in your case for Ubuntu 14.04 64 bit.

[52ROSt]

Thanks to both of you for your answers.

In the meantime I installed 5.0.26 directly from Oracle incl. the related extension pack. (Ubuntu 14.4 64bit)

I also got an XP VM is running and the SW license dongle (USB) works. The dongle is for my most important SW Application and requires XP as an OS.(SW application: Metasoftware: Workflow Modeller; Metasoftware does not exist anymore; thus XP)

2 Problems are remaining:

- The fonts (Arial and others as well) in the XP VM have a problem. The distance between 2 characters disappears which makes it difficult to read the text
- The key to switch between English and Japanese input doesn' t go through into the guest. (I am using the zenka-hanku key of a Japanese keyboard)

I will now compare with an installation at a different PC to see what happens there. The installation is again LM 17.3 KDE but with the Oracle VM is 5.0.2 from the LM SW Manager. VM is XP.

The remaining alternative is to create a W7 VM and try to install the Workflow Modeler in W7 VM. Rumors say the application still runs in W7.


Any additional comments concerning the font and key problem are highly appreciated!


Running VB 5.0.26 on an LMDE2 machine is very interesting, because I have an older notebook with LMDE2 Mate and want to get the VB with the same XP VM running. Thus I might better upgrade.

[Cosmo.]

At first: A guest system is isolated from the system of the host. The guest OS does not even know that it is running in a virtual environment. So it is pretty normal, that switching language or keyboard layout in the host does not reflect in the guest. You have to make the appropriate changes in the guest just as you would have to do in a physical installation.

Regarding the font problem: Do you have the guest additions installed inside of the XP guest?

[52ROSt]

@Cosmo,

Thanks for your explanations.

Switching "languages" means actually switching the input methods. Japanese, a double-byte language requires a different method than English, German, single-byte languages, etc. In Linux ANTHY enables Japanese writing in combination with IBUS, the SW switcher. In LM it is very easy to make this Jap-Eng setup. (Now, but 2 years ago it still was a major work.)

The keyboard remains always the same. I am using a Japanese keyboard, slightly different to an US keyboard.

In Windows and Linux the zenkaku-hankaku key, a special key on the Japanese keyboard, is used to switch between Japanese and English. Other keys or better key combinations can be used as well. Currently, when I press this Z-H key, the Linux host switches the input method but not the Windows guest. Settings in the guest are the same as in my normal, not virtual XP machine.

Thus I need to find out how I can make this working without using the mouse.



Guest additions - I don't know if they are installed. I installed the Extension Packages. In the VB File > Preferences > Extensions I see the Oracle VM VirtualBox Extensions.... are installed. But I don't know where I can see the "guest additions" which are installed or not.

Looking into the SYNAPTIC package Manager it shows as installed:
- virtualbox-5.0 / 5.0.26..
-virtualbox-guest-x11 / 5.0.4-dfsg-2
-virtualbox-guest-dkms / 5.0.4-dfsg-2
-virtualbox-guest-utils / 5.0.5-dfsg-2
Except for the first entry, the next 3 listed packages are described as "x86 virtualization solution...."
I installed 64bit VB on a 64 bit PC.

I also see a lot of virtualbox packages not marked as "installed".

Am I missing some packages? Which packages? Could some packages named "x86....." need to be installed for a 64 bit machine as well>

I hope that this explanation gives you a better picture of the situation.




-

[Cosmo.]

Regarding the input methods: I see this setting in Cinnamon, but I have not the least clue, what this practically means. As I do not have the slightest idea about far-east languages, this will always be a book with seven seals for me. (You surely know this expression in German language.)

Regarding the guest additions. This is something quite different to the extension pack. Also: They get installed inside(!) the guest system. As you do not know about them (no offense intended) I am rather sure, that you do not have the installed.

You do not need any package for that (at least not if you use the downloaded VB version from Oracle). Just start the VM; you have to login in XP as administrator. Now open the device menu of the VM window, you find the guest additions as the last menu entry. Let the installer run (it appears as a usual Windows installer program), if ready you get prompted to reboot the guest, do this. If you get asked about not-signed drivers: Accept them, otherwise it will not work.

[52ROSt]

Far east languages were a book with 7 seals for me as well. Until I sat down and studied Japanese.... There are easier languages to learn.

That you see settings in Cinnamon is not surprising to me. In LM I see the same way to make the settings in the Debian Mate and Ubuntu KDE version. Cinnamon I have not set up yet. LM standardized the set-up, included packages, and graphical interfaces makes it pretty easy. If I recall it right I only needed to install the IBUS-ANTHY package additionally. This is normal as for Chinese you need IBUS+??? (I forgot the name). Nevertheless, I still struggling a little bit in an LMDE Mate version. It works but a small setting seems to be wrong. Need a bit of time.

VMs
You are right, I have not much knowledge about Guest Additions, and I appreciate your help.

I started my XP VM and in Devices there is as the last menu item something like "Insert the Guest Addition CD...."
I ran the program, clicked 2x continue and at the end the VM asked for rebooting, and I did. Thus, now the Guest Additions should be installed now. However the menu item remains in the Devices menu.

When watching this installation it reminded me to the "Found new Hardware" wizard which started when I started this XP VM for the first time. It kept popping until I closed the XP VM one time with "save current status". Now this "Found new Hardware" wizard does not pop up again.

Now I am wondering if I installed the Guest Additions without knowing it.

Nevertheless in my personal installation notes I will add the way you described it.

Switching Japanese-English with the Zenkaku-Hankaku key still does not work. I also don't get another key combination working. Fall back is switching with a mouse click.

Font problems still remain in the Workflow Modeller application running in the XP VM.

I would need to find someone very experienced in font issues in XP.... In the internet I did not find much. XP is out of the official support (but on my normal XP PC I still get updates!).

Should you, by any chance, have an idea and how to solve my remaining problems, please let me know.

[Cosmo.]

However the menu item remains in the Devices menu.

That is normal. There are (rare) cases, where a GA installation must be done a second time. Further more - and you should keep this in mind - if you do an update for VB you also should update the GA by installing them again - simply on top of the existing one. The running VM will usually give you a notification, if there is a GA update available. Also for the update you simply call the installer from the menu.

Wether you have the GA installed can be seen with the session information in the running VM. Press host-key & N to open them (or use the machine menu). This will also tell you which version of the GA is currently installed.

The GA act partially as driver for the virtual hardware. When you open the hardware manager in XP before you install the GA, you will see some yellow question marks, because XP finds some hardware, which it cannot identify. After installing the GA and running the hardware wizard there should no question marks be visible, otherwise run the hardware wizard again.

Regarding the Zenkaku-Hankaku key: Sorry I am clueless, as I have not he least idea, how and where this has to be done in XP. As this is a absolute unknown area for me, I give the following hint in German, to prevent misunderstanding: Systemsteuerung -> Region- und Sprachoptionen -> Sprachen -> die Optionen im unteren Bereich unter Zusätzliche Spracheinstellungen. (Beg your pardon to all non-German speaking users here.) I don't know, if this helps in this case, it is only a guess.

Regarding the font problem. Close the VM and play with 3d and 2d acceleration settings for the VM. Again: Without knowlede about your software this is only a guess. For getting 3d-acceleartion to work in Windows you have to install possibly the GA again in the save mode of XP. (This is a case, where the installation has to be redone.)

[52ROSt]

Thanks for your very many and helpful explanations! My own notes on the installation of VB and its set-up are quiet many after I filled in the wealth of information from you.


I know that the setting of the switching needs to be done in a sub menu of regional settings. Here cannot find what I am looking. The sad point is, the settings of my real XP machine which switches Japanese - English perfectly fine are the same of what I am seeing. While typing this I got the idea to check if the East-Asian support package in Windows is installed. That could be the problem. Need to check this but forgot what I did 4 years ago....u simply call the installer from the menu.

I will also give the 2G experimental feature a try. Snap shots are great ways to do such things.