Linux @lemmy.ml vortexal @lemmy.ml 1y ago

I'm trying to run VirtualBox in Linux Mint but I keep getting an error message about Kernel drivers.

I tried looking into this myself but I couldn't really find much about this error. The only solutions I could find didn't work for me. The first one was to use mokutil but at the point where I was supposed to run sudo mokutil --import MOK.der it gives me the error message "Failed to get file status, MOK.der" even though I did everything it told me to do. The other one was to disable secure boot and then run sudo '/sbin/vboxconfig' but even though it looked like it worked, I'm still getting the error message. I have re-enabled secure boot, so you don't have to worry about that.

Is there something else I can try or does VirtualBox not work in Linux Mint for some reason?

67 comments

if you just need software to set up virtual machines you might look into Gnome Boxes or virt-manager which don't require external kernel modules like Virtuap Box to work

anyway these issues typically happen on Ubuntu based distros (like Linux Mint) because your linux kernel is to new for the Virtual Box version (or the Virtual Box version is simply too old)
- So I tried virt-manager but it's giving me an error message about not being able to connect to "libvirt qemu:///system" and it wont let me install a virtual machine. I'm assuming that I'm supposed to download "libvirtd", but I can't figure out how to install it. I think it wants me to build it from the source but there doesn't seem to be a guide on how to do that.
  
  Yayy, I have the same problem.
  
  Try a
  
  sudo systemctl enable --now libvirtd
  
  I dont know how manual everything is in Mint
  
  Also add your user to thr libvirt group
  
  groupadd libvit sudo usermod -aG libvirt $USER
  
  Are you using a package manager or downloading everything from virtualboxs website? When I installed virtual box earlier today it all worked fine so that's why I ask.
- Ok thanks, I might try those later if I can't get VirtualBox working.
  
  virt-manager
  
  I've used VirtualBox for years and only just tried virt-manager. I wish I had tried years ago, so much simpler and it is in my distro's default repository.
- I'm currently installing virt-manager but I ran into a problem with Gnome Boxes where I’m trying to run a Windows XP virtual machine but I can’t figure out how to get files from my host to the guest. Apparently, I need some software to be running on the guest but the website that I need to download the software from doesn’t work in internet explorer and I obviously can’t just download it on the host and transfer it to the guest.
  
  Yes this seems to be a Gnome Boxes Flatpak problem. I like that it works as a flatpak, but unsure if this can be fixed, I think its a known limitation.
  
  Oh yes, the spice guest addition. This will be needed on every Spice VM
  
  Try this bat script from Github
  
  Or the program they are referring to
First of all, check that hardware virtualization is enabled in your UEFI setup.

You need to have packages virtualbox-dkms and linux-headers installed (together with all their dependencies, but you don't have to check them manually). linux-headers must be of the same version as linux-image. That's all that you need to get driver properly built. Don't listen those users who recommend you to remove and reinstall these packages or install additional packages manually, this kind of magic doesn't work.

Also note that you cannot use kvm and virtualbox simultaneously. If you are using some kvm-based virtualization system, it causes a conflict.
Really try virt-manager with qemu and kvm. It doesnt need any kernel mods.
- 🏆
  
  virt-manager and libvirt. That works quite well and is easy to use. Virtualbox not so much.
Is there something else I can try

I use virt-manager, since it uses KVM which should already be present in the kernel.
- How similar to VirtualBox is virt-manager? I've only ever used VirtualBox but if virt-manager is easy to use, I have no problem trying it out.
  
  Gnome's Boxes is pretty easy to use and of course uses qemu + KVM. This would be a type 1 hypervisor vs. Virtualbox's type 2. It is point and click like Virtualbox. You don't need to use Gnome's DE to use Boxes.
  
  I have seen people post about your specific error for years when using the virtualbox website's repository instead of their own distro's repository (if it exists).
  
  I probably wouldn't describe it as similar, but virt-manager is fairly simple but powerful at the same time (like it will let you expose more advanced KVM/QEMU features like PCIe passthrough and similar).
  
  But like the other guy said, gnome boxes is very straight forward and probably more similar in it's simplicity.
  
  They both use QEMU + KVM, so you can have both virt-manager and boxes installed at once, and I believe virt-manager (probably boxes too) easily let you use existing VirtualBox .vdi files, if you've got an existing VM you want to run. Also like I said before, KVM is already mainlined into the Linux kernel, so you don't have to install sketchy kernel modules and stuff.
  
  I've only used VirtualBox once though, so I can't really compare them.
- So I tried virt-manager but it's giving me an error message about not being able to connect to "libvirt qemu:///system" and it wont let me install a virtual machine. I'm assuming that I'm supposed to download "libvirtd", but I can't figure out how to install it. I think it wants me to build it from the source but there doesn't seem to be a guide on how to do that.
As others have said, there's no reason not to be using virt manager with qemu/KVM at this point

This should get you started: https://hrishikeshpathak.com/blog/install-and-configure-linux-virtual-machine-using-virt-manager/
Try

sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)

Then reboot your machine. Virtualbox needs the kernel headers to work.
- I tried that but It's giving me the error message E: Unable to locate package kernel-headers.
  
  My bad, I haven't run Debian based distros for a while. Run this instead
  
  sudo apt-get install linux-headers-$(uname -r)
  
  I've edited my comment
Does loading the kernel module help, assuming it’s installed?

sudo modprobe vboxdrv
- No, it's giving me the following error message:
  
  j@j-HP-Notebook:~$ sudo modprobe vboxdrv [sudo] password for j: modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'vboxdrv': Operation not permitted
That's really odd. I'm running Linux Mint Debian Edition 6 and I installed virtual box from the oracle website just fine.

As others have said, try Gnome Boxes and see if they works. If it also has issues then it's something with your system.
- I actually just tried Gnome Boxes and it seems to work mostly fine but the only problem I'm having is that I'm trying to run a Windows XP virtual machine but I can't figure out how to get files from my host to the guest. Apparently, I need some software to be running on the guest but the website that I need to download the software from doesn't work in internet explorer and I obviously can't just download it on the host and transfer it to the guest.
  
  Have you tried to download it on the host to a USB (formatted with fat32) and then in Boxes select that usb in Windows to copy and run the software?
Use virt-manager or gnome boxes, they are both better and tend to run faster in my experience
Does your Kernel have a license?
- I don't know what that means, is there a way I can find out?
I had the same problem (running Fedora 38), and this post really helped me - it goes through the whole MOK generation/enrollment and then provides a script to automatically sign the modules. I had to make a couple of adjustments to make it work on my system and to automatically load the modules with modprobe , but now I just run /sbin/vboxconfig; /root/bin/sign-vbox-modules each time my kernel gets updated and can use VBox fine again.
- (Here‘s my adjusted version too in case that helps :)
It works fine. Install the kernel driver like it's telling you to.
- Ok but how do I do that?

67 comments