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I created a 64-bit ubuntu 16.04.3 guest VM on a Windows 7 Pro 64-bit host using Oracle VirtualBox 4.3.12. (Ubuntu VMs won't even start in later versions of VirtualBox.)

However the new VM only has a max screen size of 1024 x 768 compared to my 1920 x 1080 screen resolution. It's hard to work on a VM with such a small resolution.

I tried the following steps after the install to allow me to use a higher screen resolution, but none worked:

sudo apt-get update

Restarted VM as requested.

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms

Restarted VM.

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-x11

This failed with unmet dependencies, including xserver-xorg-core, so I did:

sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-core
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-x11

Restarted VM. But now the VM starts up in an even smaller resolution (800 x 600?) and when I mouse over it the cursor disappears! Also, keyboard input is now ignored.

Does anyone know (a) how I can interact with my VM again and (b) allow me to have a larger maximum screen resolution? I don't care whether the screen re-sizes automatically; I just want a larger resolution so my VM is usable.

EDIT This isn't a duplicate of How to install VirtualBox Guest Additions for Ubuntu 16.04 because that says to install the latest version of VirtualBox. Here's the error I get when I installed vbox 5.1.28 and try to start one of my ubuntu VMs:

enter image description here

AFAIK Where I work no-one's ever succeeded in running an ubuntu VM on a version of VirtualBox > 4.3.12. Possibly due to a clash with corporate antivirus software as the error implies. Also, I first need to be able to interact with my VM via mouse or keyboard before I can install Guest Additions.

snark
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  • I do not know about the mouse / keyboard issue, but once the vbox guest additoins are installed you resize the VM by dragging the corners like any other application, the resolution adjusts to window size. Not really a solution, but, FWIW, KVM + spice works very well as an alternate to vbox. – Panther Sep 22 '17 at 13:37
  • In my case, dragging the corners simply enlarges the external window for Oracle VirtualBox. The inner window for the VM's display stays at a fixed size. – snark Sep 22 '17 at 15:37
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    I would install the guest additions from the vbox .iso - https://askubuntu.com/questions/792832/how-to-install-virtualbox-guest-additions-for-ubuntu-16-04 - Use the ACCEPTED ANSWER installing from the .iso NOT the ubuntu repositories. – Panther Sep 22 '17 at 15:43
  • I'm sure I've tried the vbox .iso on previous VMs because that's the most obvious thing to do. The answer at https://askubuntu.com/a/792833/103266 is no good because the VM won't even start if I install the latest version of VirtualBox. Everyone I know at work only uses VirtualBox 4.3.12 if they want to run ubuntu on Windows. I'm not sure why later versions don't work - some clash with the corporate antivirus tools or something. – snark Sep 22 '17 at 15:56
  • So dont install the latest version of Virtualbox, but use the .iso that comes with your current version. If you have a "clash with the corporate antivirus tools" you should ask your IT department. – Panther Sep 22 '17 at 16:01
  • Like I said, I'm sure I've tried that before, thanks, but I can try that on Monday when I'm back in the office. That's assuming I'll be able to install guest additions when the VM won't respond to mouse or keyboard input... As for corporate IT, I wouldn't want to rely on them for quick solutions:). – snark Sep 22 '17 at 16:12
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    If you install from the VBox .iso you can try - https://forums.virtualbox.org/ but you are almost certainly going to be advised to install the latest stable version of VBox. – Panther Sep 22 '17 at 16:14
  • I expect you're right about being asked to install the latest version but that's not an option for me unfortunately. See the screenshot of the error message above. – snark Sep 25 '17 at 09:20
  • As we have McAfee antivirus software I suspect I'm a victim of https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/13697 when trying to start a VM with VirtualBox > 4.3.12 – snark Sep 25 '17 at 14:19
  • As far as I can tell you sort of have a mix of problems. First, it seems your IT department does not want you running vbox and/or antivirus is blocking. Second you are running an outdated version so support is going to be limited. And third you are not using the virtualbox.iso to install guest additions. Good luck to you, tough set of problems. – Panther Sep 25 '17 at 14:29
  • Agreed! Anyway, I've just added the error logs I get when trying to start a VM with vbox 5.1.28 to https://www.virtualbox.org/ticket/13697. So hopefully Oracle will be able to debug this. I agree they won't be interested in looking at 4.3.12. Once that's fixed hopefully I can follow the advice in https://askubuntu.com/a/792833/103266. So thanks for your suggestions. I'll just have to be patient... – snark Sep 25 '17 at 14:48

1 Answers1

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After installing xserver-xorg-core and virtualbox-guest-x11 to attempt to get shared clipboard working with virtual box, although this worked fine at first, upon rebooting I encountered this error where I could not control the machine at all.

To resolve I booted to recovery mode (hold Esc on boot) and ran:

apt-get remove virtualbox-guest-x11
apt-get remove xserver-xorg-core
apt-get install xorg

This returned me back to where I was to begin with.

Eliah Kagan
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user1048635
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