Virtualbox 7.x wrong Guest Additions info at Runtime Information

[nippur]

[quote="scottgus1"
@nippur, Please note the log quotes in my post above, and Mpack's earlier, that clearly show 6.0.0 GAs present in the VM. You did install 7.0.6 apparently, but you didn't uninstall 6.0.0.

OTOH EP matches now, which is good.[/quote]

Again: 6.0.0 was never on my system so tell me Scott, how can i uninstall them

[scottgus1]

I'm not patronizing or calling you stupid. But the latest evidence I had to go on when I posted did not prove your assertions.

If you want to get your VM going again, listen to the advice given and don't be so trigger-warning'd quick to take offense. If you're going to take offense instead of listen, begone.

6.0.0 came in the VM OS. Linux distros 'helpfully' like to pre-install GAs on the off chance the OS will be used in a Virtualbox VM. They are there, the log does not lie.

[nippur]

I'm not sure if it is new for 7, but it's something I picked up from fth0, and I may of course be interpreting it incorrectly. I beleive fth0 said it happens when new or official GAs are installed over the top of old forked GAs without uninstalling the old GAs first.

@nippur, Please note the log quotes in my post above, and Mpack's earlier, that clearly show 6.0.0 GAs present in the VM. You did install 7.0.6 apparently, but you didn't uninstall 6.0.0.
.

Again, Guest additions 6.0.0 were never on my system, so how can i uninstall them. This was a fresh F37 guest install on 4th of february 2023 - Fedora iso januari this year. Why would that install Guest addiditions without my knowledge (it isnt installed automagically) and even so, why a GA 6.0.0 dated 2018 while VB 7.0 is running on my host and GA 7.x are freely available? Fedora freshes every half year. Again NO GA 6.0.0 ON THIS GUEST and never been. That is why i don't understand the Machine Information.

[scottgus1]

Why would that install Guest addiditions without my knowledge (it isnt installed automagically)

Oh yes it very much well is!!

We cannot help anymore if you do not read what we posted. I explained why 6.0.0 is present in the VM above. And I explained that the log says 6.0.0 is present, regardless of what you may believe.

Take a last chance to calm down, or I'm locking this.

[nippur]

If you want to get your VM going again, listen to the advice given and don't be so trigger-warning'd quick to take offense. If you're going to take offense instead of listen, begone.

The machine runs fine (as you can see in screenshot) and it reports that GA 7.0.6 is running (see screenshot). That was never an issue. It is just the faulty info in the session pane.

[scottgus1]

OK, very good. The reason for the odd information is above. To fix that oddity if you want to, you'll have to adjust as recommended above. Note that a mix of fork and official or old and new GAs will cause trouble eventually somewhere.

[nippur]

I explained why 6.0.0 is present in the VM above

so what files should i look for then for to remove. There isn't a file i can find what i can tie to GA 6.0.0. It is not that i am reluctant to follow the instructions, it is only that it is impossible to follow them.

[scottgus1]

On that subject I can't help. I am no Linux guru by any means. You'll have to web-search how to uninstall an app and its files in Linux. I thin there's an "apt-get purge" involved somewhere, based on reading in the forum, but that may be a wrong distro.

You might try a new topic "How can I completely uninstall Guest Additions?" and note in the new topic that there is a mix of old & new or forked and official GAs installed now. A Linux guru may be able to help.

Also, ask on your VM Linux OS distro's forums. You're apparently running their fork, they may be able to guide better on the uninstall/purge.

[nippur]

Well i use linux as a sysadmin since 1996 on a near daily basis and i can't find any 'residu 6.0.0' when i uninstall GA 7.0.6. so I can safely say there are no files recognizible as such. Where does that log probes it's data for reporting the version? All i know is what my guest machine reports and what Session Info says, see screenshot. There is no indication what so ever that mixed GAs are causing problems: no functionality when removed GA 7.0.6, full functionality when installed and no GA 6.0.0 part running.

I will try i fresh install tomorrow to see if GA are added automagically indeed and if so, what the output of

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/usr/sbin/VBoxService --version

will be then. Let you know.

[nippur]

I owe you an appologize, scottgus1, as soon as the Fedora installer Anaconda kicks in, GA 6.0.0 kicks in, that is Session Info sees a GA 6.0.0 although screen isn't resizable; so even before any install on hard drive the live-install-dvd makes 6.0.0 start. I ll contact the devs of Anaconda (the Fedora installer) about this. Will finish install to see how they implemented that and what files to look on installed guest and how to uninstall. Again, excuses, you were right.

[nippur]

Maybe it is wrapped in Anaconda itself even

[nippur]

I owe you an appologize, scottgus1.....Again, excuses, you were right.

Wel not exactly right. Turns out that Fedoras installer is automagically using GS 6.0.0 for the installation window -so here you were right- but installs 6.1.38 to hard drive (09 feb 2023). So when the installation was finished, there were no 6.0.0. files on the system to find. Only Session Information is stuck on 6.0.0 due to an apparently faulty upgrade process during installation, non-detectable anymore for the user.
Further more, good practice demands to update the machine after install. Virtualbox-guest-additions is due to be updated from 6.x to 7.x after a fresh install atm, probably causing even more trouble.
------------------------------------
For the interested:
check if virtualbox-guest-additions is on system:

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dnf list virtualbox-guest-additions

remove any 6.x version if so:

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dnf remove virtualbox-guest-additions*

reboot
check Session Information Runtime
You will still see GA 6.0.0. is stil starting even if you have removed the virtualbox-guest-additions from the start.

====edit===
Appears the vboxguest module is still there

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lsmod | grep vbox

Blacklisting in /etc/modprope.d/[whatever].conf "blacklist vboxguest" prevents module from loading and results in no detection of GA. However installing virtualbox-guest-additions 7.0.6 after that resulted in.........detection of 6.0.0
Which proves it is *not* a mixed GAs (because there is only one vboxguest module active and that is the 7.0.6 one and without that one there is no detection at all)), but a faulty detection.

So back to the 60.000 dollar question: Where does that log probes it's data for reporting the version?

[nippur]

Final:
* Uninstall the virtualbox-guest-addition from Fedora update repo;
* Use the virtualbox-guest-addition.iso from virtualbox.org
* Make modules in guest
* Reboot
Runetime Information will report the right version.
Still not clear why.

[fth0]

You cannot even spend a week on vacation here.

To explain a few details apparently missing in this thread:

1) The VirtualBox Guest Additions (GA) for Linux consist of kernel modules (e.g. vboxguest.ko, vboxsf.ko) and applications (e.g. VBoxService, VBoxClient). While the applications are delivered and installed as binaries, the kernel modules are delivered as sources and get build during the GA installation. The necessary prerequisites are documented in Guest Additions for Linux, and a text console window displays success and error messages during the GA installation. In the case of errors, the Linux system admin often ends up with a partial GA installation (GA applications only).

2) Many Linux distributions pre-install an older version (e.g. 6.0.0) of the VirtualBox kernel modules (e.g. vboxguest.ko) as part of their Linux kernel module packages (e.g. linux-modules-extra-*), as a default fallback. This can also be considered a partial GA installation (GA kernel modules only).

3) If the Linux system admin ignores the error messages in 1) above, they end up with the combination of the correct GA applications from 1) and the obsolete GA kernel modules from 2). A log message reporting vboxguest in version 6.0.0 is a telltale sign of such a mixed installation of the GA.

4) It's not necessary to get rid of the obsolete GA kernel modules from 2), because they are automatically overridden by correctly installed current versions. If the Linux system admin wants to do that nonetheless, they cannot simply uninstall the whole Linux kernel module package (because it contains lots of different kernel modules), but only by selectively blacklisting the VirtualBox-related ones.

Does this help you to answer the 60.000 dollar question? Feel free to ask otherwise.

[scottgus1]

week on vacation

Ah, so that's where you've been? Hope you had fun! We've missed you.

To clarify my understanding of mixed GAs installs in Linux VMs, I gather that #4 above says a mix of Linux-distro-preinstalled GAs and official ISO-based Virtualbox GAs isn't a problem, because the ISO's files override the preinstalled files. The mixup will show in the log and in "guestproperty" and "--version" outputs, but does not interfere with GAs operation.

Am I missing something? (I seem to remember some topics where folks had the mix-up and were having trouble, and a purge/reinstall from the ISO fixed things.)