[Solved] Virtualbox Guest Additions Won't Install

[Sundance]

I recently upgraded from LM19.1 to LM20.3 (after encountering significant problems trying to go to LM21). I upgraded using the "something else" option to preserve my /home partition. Everything went very quickly, and all of my old applications were waiting when I booted 20.3 for the first time. After booting I applied all the updates listed in the Update Manager.

I have been running Windows 10 in a virtual machine for years. While I don't need it very often, when I do I really need it. Today was one of those days when I needed to run a program with no Linux equivalent. That's when I discovered that I couldn't use my usb printer, even though it shows as being active in the usb device settings. Checking Runtime Information, I discovered that, while I now have version 6.1.38 of virtualbox, my virtual Windows machine still lists version 5.2.18 for Guest Additions.

Thinking this would be an easy fix, I went into Devices and clicked on Insert Guest Addititons CD Image. I got the message "Unable to insert the virtual optical disk into the machine Windows 10." Clicking on Details produced "/usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso' (VERR_PDM_DRIVER_NOT_FOUND)."

I've found a number of postings online about this problem. Some have suggested removing and reinstalling version 6.1.38. That didn't help. Others have posted about updating using terminal commands, but I haven't had any success with these. Others said go to Devices/Optical Drives and click Remove disk from optical drive. This generates the error message "Unable to eject the virtual optical disk Host Drive HL-DT-ST DVDRAM GTB0N (sr0) from the machine Windows 10. Would you like to try to force ejection of this disk?" Clicking "Force Unmount" also fails. Right now I'm considering downloading and installing version 5.2.18 since that worked before moving to LM 20.3.

Is that my best hope, or is there some other way to bring Guest Additions up to date with the installed version of Virtualbox?

Thanks!

[Qapla]

I am sure you know this, but I will state the obvious ... you have to download a separate file for the Extension Pack (EP) guest additions (GA) with each release of VB. It does not come as part of the main package. The EP file is the same for all versions of VB (windows, Linux, etc). You must install the EP in VB before trying to install the GA in any virtual machine. And sometimes older GAs will not install in a newer VB at all.

Did you download and install the 6.1.38 extension pack?

[AndyMH]

I am sure you know this, but I will state the obvious ... you have to download a separate file for the Extension Pack (EP) guest additions (GA) with each release of VB. It does not come as part of the main package.

Assuming you have installed the version in the mint repos, this is correct. You will find them in synaptic package manager:

If you installed VB direct from oracle (as I do), guest-additions is bundled in but you still need to download and install the extension pack.

[linux-rox]

... is there some other way to bring Guest Additions up to date with the installed version of Virtualbox?

Go to the VBox testbuilds page and download the 6.1.39 GA file. That should work with your version of VBox (which is to say, something of the sort has worked for me several times when I needed a more current GA version to fix a bug in the as-shipped version). Copy to the /usr/share/virtualbox folder or simply mount it directly to the virtual CD drive using Settings.

Can't guaranty this will work, but pretty confident. Worth trying, at least.

[Sundance]

Thanks to all of you for taking the time to respond ... and listen to my tale of woe.

I installed virtualbox from the LM repositories, so all the correct versions are there. Regardless, I launched Software Manager and removed every virtualbox file, including Guest Additions. Next, I reinstalled each of the just-removed files. After that I launched Synaptic Package Manager and verified that every file (including GA) had the same version number. All are version 6.1.38.

Unfortunately, the problem persists. My USB printer is enabled under Devices, but I still can't print. The Windows Control Panel recognizes the printer but lists it as offline. I tried plugging the printer into a different port, but it's still not online.

I launched Session Information and checked the Runtime Information tab. It still has 5.2.18 as the GA version. Also, for the first time I noticed a No Guest Additions! warning under the Performance Monitor tab. But, when I go to Devices/Insert Guest Additions CD Image i still get the message:

Unable to insert the virtual optical disk /usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso into the machine Windows 10.

Could not mount the media/drive '/usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso' (VERR_PDM_DRIVER_NOT_FOUND).

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

I checked, and I do have GA 6.1.38 in the usr/share/virtualbox folder. However, when I attempt to install it from Devices/Optical drives I get this error message:

Unable to insert the virtual optical disk /usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso into the machine Windows 10.
Would you like to try to force insertion of this disk?

When I try to force insertion I get the could not mount error message once again.

I'd like to continue with LM 20.3, but right now I'm seriously considering reinstalling LM 19.1. It worked.

[linux-rox]

Bear in mind, LM19 only has six months of support left. Not a great solution. FWIW, what I infer from your careful and thorough tests is that the problem isn't the VBox installaiton, but rather the VM. Some little bit of cruft the app can't figure out how to fix. Two things to try.

First, unable to insert the GA.iso suggests (to me) a problem with the .vbox file. Start by opening Virtual Media Manager (under File), go to the Optical Disks tab, and see whether the 5.2.18 iso is listed. If so, some combination of Release and Remove is supposed to solve your problem. My experiences have been about 50/50. If no joy, you can edit the .vbox file manually using xed.

VBox warns against it, but I've never had trouble with this particular edit (indeed, have never tried any other). Navigate to the file in File Manager. Make a backup copy (mostly for peace of mind). Then, right-click and enter xed in the open-with-other-application box. Find this section:

Code: Select all

<DVDImages>
    <Image uuid="{d667117a-3e95-4cb9-b798-241f8952aa42}" location="/usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso"/>
</DVDImages>

Delete the middle line, i.e., <Image ... .iso"/>. Save file, close xed, and see whether VBox now will let you insert the correct GA.iso.

Second, if that doesn't work, try uninstalling GAs from within the VM. In a Linux VM, there's a script for this very purpose in the /opt folder. Have to believe there's a similar procedure for a Windows VM. Check the VBox Manual and/or do an internet search.

Edit: Out of curiosity, decided to take a look at the last question. I notice there's nothing in the Manual (the Linux procedure is mentioned, but not Windows). A quick internet search turns up several sources (albeit nothing from Oracle), example, saying GAs is considered an app by the Windows VM and can be uninstalled in the usual way using Control Panel or Settings. Easy enough to test. Take a snapshot first, so you can revert if it doesn't work.

[Sundance]

Problem solved ... at last.

It turns out I actually had two problems, not just one. Problem #1 was the installation of GA 5.2.18 rather than the correct versions. GA 6.1.38. After trying many ways to resolve the issue, I decided a "do over" was worth a try. So I added a new VM, essentially a clone of the existing Windows 10 machine. What was different was the fact that the new machine was able to access the CD/DVD drive, something the existing machine didn't find worth the effort. I tried once again to install the GA from Devices/Insert Guest Additions CD Image. This time I didn't get an error message. In fact, nothing at all happened, but I felt like I was making a bit of progress at least. So, I burned the GA 6.1.38 iso to a CD. I went into the file manager, launched the GA app manually, and (drum roll please) it worked. When I checked the Session Information GA 5.2.18 was gone, replaced by GA 6.1.38!

One problem remained, I discovered that I still couldn't print. When I checked the USB settings, no devices were listed. When I tried to add devices, I got a message that no USB devices were available. I found the remedy for this right away. After upgrading to LM 20.3 I was no longer listed as a vboxuser. A simple terminal command and reboot resolved that issue.

Thanks to all who offered ideas and encouragement. The time you took is greatly appreciated!