Update Manager & VirtualBoxs

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krustybaguette
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Update Manager & VirtualBoxs

Post by krustybaguette »

After solving kernel ¨issues¨ and getting VirtualBox updated not so long agoviewtopic.php?f=231&t=266875#p1451967, I was dismayed when Update Manager showed further updates available both for kernels and VirtualBox. My history with VB has been that every time I update it there end up being side issues that I need to solve before getting it to run properly.

I think the most recent episode involved using Update Manager to update my then existing VB. I had installed VB using a .deb from Oracle web site and updating from the repositories may have been either the cause, or at least a contributor to the failure. In any case I am reluctant to mess around trying to update VB as I need to be able to use my computer, not spend hours finding solutions for incompatibilities that seem to be created by updates.

As I mentioned in the above cited thread, I did update my kernel to the current 4.13.0-37-generic and in the process learned the terminal command to id my kernel. :D

Update Manager is showing two different kernel updates available, one to 4.13.0-39.44 and the other to 4.4.0.122.128 Does either, or both, of these kernels include fixes for the (in)famous Spectre/Meltdown hack? If there is additional protection included in these kernels, especially the 4.13.0 family, I might take a chance that installing it and running the VB update is ¨worth the risk¨. Otherwise I would choose to remain status quo.
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Cosmo.
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Re: Update Manager & VirtualBoxs

Post by Cosmo. »

At first it would be helpful, if you would have presented here the basic system specs, in this case incluusive the VB version. I don't want to reread another thread to hunt for this information.

Next I cannot recognize, if you are talking here about the host or the guest: :?:
krustybaguette wrote: Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:15 am I was dismayed when Update Manager showed further updates available both for kernels and VirtualBox.
Also not clear, which updates for VB do you get.

A principle tip: If you are talking about a VM, create in the VB Manager a snapshot for the machine. In this case you can undo any change, which you did after the snapshot.
krustybaguette wrote: Mon Apr 30, 2018 11:15 am Update Manager is showing two different kernel updates available, one to 4.13.0-39.44 and the other to 4.4.0.122.128 Does either, or both, of these kernels include fixes for the (in)famous Spectre/Meltdown hack?
Both are the most current versions of both kernel lines and are current, inclusive Spectre / Meltdown issues.
krustybaguette
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Re: Update Manager & VirtualBoxs

Post by krustybaguette »

At first it would be helpful, if you would have presented here the basic system specs, in this case incluusive the VB version. I don't want to reread another thread to hunt for this information.
System (Host) is Linux Mint 18.3
Also not clear, which updates for VB do you get.
My current VB version is 5.2.8 r121009 and the suggested ¨new version¨ 5.2.10-122088~Ubuntu~xenial

My main concern is that previous upgrades of VB have required complete removal of the existing version before installing the new version. Update Manager in my host system does not make mention of this requirement so I am hesitant to install the update via the Update Manager. If I remember correctly that is what led to my problems when I updated from whatever my previous version of VB was to the current 5.2.8 r121009.
After running the update from Update Manager I was unable to start my VM (a Windows 10 Pro VM) until after I updated my kernel headers and kernel. I had previously never updated a kernel and since kernel upgrades are listed as level 4 ¨apply with caution¨ or words to that effect.

I spent a long time hunting on LM and other (Ubuntu) forums until I found advice to update kernel headers in order to fix the ¨no start¨ condition with my Win 10 VM. After discovering that my VM was OK, I installed my currently running kernel. Now that I have an increased understanding about kernel updates I will not automatically hide them.

However, I am still concerned about the VirtualBox update. Does Update Manager do a complete uninstall of the current VB version before installing the update? Thatś what I thought was happening the last time but I ended up with a mess that took me a couple of days to straighten out. I am not the only person who has had similar nightmares with updating VirtualBox. Thatś why I am hesitant to bother with the update currently suggested, even though it´s a level 2 update.

I´m not as concerned about the two kernel updates suggested, although I don´t know about the advantages or disadvantages of 4.13.0 vs. 4.4.0 kernel families.

krustybaguette
Cosmo.
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Re: Update Manager & VirtualBoxs

Post by Cosmo. »

If the update for VB is a minor update - that means in the version number x.y.z only z is changed, you can install the new version via the DEB file simply in top of the existing install. In case of a major update the old version needs to get removed at first (and to be quite sure reboot the host). The VMs do not get touched if VB gets removed, but you should make sure, that they are all completely shut down and not in saved state.

Regarding W10 I cannot help, I know this only by name (and this will never change).
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