virtualbox.org

I want to install the Guest Additions. So I downloaded VBosGuestAdditions.ISO and mounted that as D using Power ISO. Then I selected Devices but the selection says "Insert Guest CD ..." but that should be accessing drive D. What am I missing?

I'm afraid you've gone in the completely wrong way...

• First of all, you don't need to download the Guest Additions (GAs) ISO separately, it is bundled with VirtualBox.
• Second, you don't need it on your host, you need it on your guest, so there's no need to mount it on your host.
• Third, there are instructions in the User Manual on how to install the GAs. You should have a searchable PDF version of the User Manual with your installation, take advantage of that fact. You'll find ch. 4.2. Installing and Maintaining Guest Additions.

You didn't specify your guest, but the idea is that with the VM window having the focus, you go to the host's menu "Insert GAs CD image..." and after that (it depends on your guest) you run the appropriate "package", for example, VBoxDarwinAdditions.pkg for OSX, VBoxLinuxAdditions.run for Linux and VBoxWindowsAdditions.exe for Windows.

I went to that doc but it doesn't work. Nothing happens when I click on Devices->Insert Guest Additions. So I tried their manual procedure but that is wrong too because there is no such thing as "Mount CD..." in Devices. So I selected Optical Drives->Choose Disk Image and found VBoxGuestAdditions.iso but that doesn't do anything either.

Note that File Manager does show all of the host drives.

Can you please give me steps that are accurate and work?

Depending on your guest OS and the way you have it configured using the "Devices -> Insert Guest Additions CD Image..." may do nothing more than inserting the virtual CD into the virtual optical drive. If you have autorun disabled in a Windows guest then you have to go to the CD-ROM drive in Explorer and the manually run the .exe file. Likewise, in a Linux guest you may have to manually mount the image and then execute the .run file as root.

It would make things much easier if you could post the VBox.log file from the guest (zipped) so we know what we are dealing with.

-Andy.

The steps that I gave you, are 1) accurate, 2) they work. Can't understand where your problem is, and why? And the "it doesn't work" isn't explanatory enough to help me visualize what you're (not) seeing...

You should not be expecting a miracle if you insert a CD in a computer, unless you have the "autorun" feature enabled. If you don't I told you to navigate to the guest's CD and install the appropriate package.

I am using FreeDOS. Would that make a difference?

By "it doesn't work" I mean nothing happens. The document says "A Windows guest should then automatically start the Guest Additions installer" but I don't wee an installer come up.

This is for FreeDOS. Would that make a difference?

eddyq wrote:I am using FreeDOS. Would that make a difference?

Absolutely!!!
There are NO GAs for FreeDOS. Please read the manual next time. It's not even a FAQ, it's right there in the User Manual, in the link that I gave you! You didn't even bother to read it, did you?

It's the first freaking sentence for the love of bytes!!!

Guest Additions are available for virtual machines running Windows, Linux, Oracle Solaris, or OS/2. The following sections describe the specifics of each variant in detail.

You don't see DOS, do you?

Please don't be arrogant. I'm just trying to get information. I read the link you gave me. I even searched the document for "FreeDOS" and it is not mentioned. I just noticed that the link says "windows vm's" so I guess I'm screwed.

I found this: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Sharing_files_with_DOS

Does it look like it will work? I downloaded dsk3-1.exe onto my Windows 10 but don't see how I can get onto my FreeDOS VM.

eddyq wrote:Please don't be arrogant. I'm just trying to get information.

Not arrogant, more like frustrated. In fact you were the one displaying arrogance when you started questioning what Andy, myself and the manual clearly stated as working.

I gave you a link to read (which in all fairness you should have already read), and we go back and forth for 2 days, when the only thing you could have done is to actually read the link for the information. And no, searching for your specific OS is not the way to read something, sorry...

And if you want to get information, next time that you ask for it, read the Minimum information needed for assistance. It could have saved us a lot of trouble if you had just mentioned the guest type...

Or pick a better thread title. Your problem is not installing the GAs, your problem is sharing files with a DOS guest...

I appologize ... I didn't mean to sound arrogant. I simply missed the fact that the doc was saying the listed systems were VM's and thought they were talking about the host.

What would the host have to do with the guest additions? Guest additions are additions to the OS which is running in the guest to help the OS run better in a vm (because the OS is written to run on a physical machine). There is not much they could do for DOS!

I don't know. I am new at this.

I got something to work for FreeDOS that gives me what I need. This method allows Windows to access the DOS file system but it has to be done while the DOS system is shut down:

-Make the system a VHD
-Shut down the DOS system
-Use the Windows Disk Manager and click on the CD-ROM
-click on the Actions menu.
-Select Attach VHD and navigate to the installation then select VHD file
-That will open a File Explorer window which will allow you to copy back and forth to the DOS file system
-After you have transferred your files then you must re-boot Windows or bringing up the VM will give errors