Additions update 4.3.30 -> 5.1.22 fails due to missing symlink /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11

[famod]

Hi everybody!

Guest additions update from 4.3.30 to 5.1.22 fails on a CentOS 6.5 guest (Win7 host) with VBoxGuestAdditions.log containing:

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chcon: can't apply partial context to unlabeled file `/usr/lib64/VBoxGuestAdditions/mount.vboxsf'
vboxadd.sh: failed: modprobe vboxsf failed.
/opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-5.1.22/init/vboxadd: line 237: /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11: No such file or directory
vboxadd.sh: failed: modprobe vboxsf failed.
/etc/init.d/vboxadd: line 237: /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11: No such file or directory

Console output of VBoxLinuxAdditions.run:

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Verifying archive integrity... All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 5.1.22 Guest Additions for Linux...........
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
Removing installed version 4.3.30 of VirtualBox Guest Additions...
Copying additional installer modules ...
Installing additional modules ...
vboxadd.sh: Starting the VirtualBox Guest Additions.

It is very irritating that the link does exists after the script has terminated with errorcode 2, so maybe it is some kind of timing problem?

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ls -la /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 47 Jun  7 10:09 /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11 -> /opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-5.1.22/init/vboxadd-x11

There is no problem updating from 4.3.30 to 5.1.14!

So I compared VBoxLinuxAdditions.run 5.1.22 with 5.1.14 and indeed there was a change regarding symlinks:
5.1.14 contains this on line 789:

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ln -sf "$lib_path/$PACKAGE/vboxadd-x11" /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11

5.1.22 does not contain this line anymore.

I found a similar problem here in the forum but as a new user I am not yet allowed to post URLs.
But that problem was about a live cd and I don't use one...

Any thoughts on this? Seems like a bug to me.

[Perryg]

IIRC the reason is due to having a previous symlink and the new installer does not require it. A simple removal of the old additions first should resolve this. Is it a bug? maybe in the installer but the reason could be due to having a mix of guest additions ( repo version instead of official version ) and upgrading to the official version.

[famod]

IIRC the reason is due to having a previous symlink and the new installer does not require it.

Hm, there is no symlink /sbin/rcvboxadd-x11 before the update. Or did you mean another symlink?

A simple removal of the old additions first should resolve this.

Running uninstall.sh first doesn't help. Even rebooting after that (before the actual update) doesn't help.
The only difference is that the installer prints:

You appear to have a version of the VirtualBox Guest Additions
on your system which was installed from a different source or using a
different type of installer. If you installed it from a package from your
Linux distribution or if it is a default part of the system then we strongly
recommend that you cancel this installation and remove it properly before
installing this version. If this is simply an older or a damaged
installation you may safely proceed.

the reason could be due to having a mix of guest additions ( repo version instead of official version ) and upgrading to the official version.

As far as I can see there is no mixup of guest additions.

[Perryg]

You appear to have a version of the VirtualBox Guest Additions
on your system which was installed from a different source or using a
different type of installer. If you installed it from a package from your
Linux distribution or if it is a default part of the system then we strongly
recommend that you cancel this installation and remove it properly before
installing this version. If this is simply an older or a damaged
installation you may safely proceed.

That's the report you see that shows a different install. I don't know how or when since I didn't do the original install but the bottom line is the previous install is not the official version and it will have a conflict. It very well may have started as an original OS install the included the repo fork of the guest additions. They have all been warned about doing this but it happens anyway.

So how do you fix this? You can choose to install the repo version and wait until they decide to update, or purge the ones installed now and install the official ones. You may need to do this manually if you don't want to ask the CentOS folks how to do it, but in any case this is the only way to get it fixed properly.

[famod]

The previous version (4.3.30) was installed the same way, that is via VBoxLinuxAdditions.run.
For that to work we had to install via yum:
- dkms
- gcc
- kernel-devel-2.6.32-431.11.2.el6.x86_64
- kernel-headers-2.6.32-431.11.2.el6.x86_64

This is the "official" way, no? And why does 5.1.14 work then?

I can't even find a guest additions package via yum ("vbox", "virtualbox", "guest", nothing...).

So this still doesn't make sense to me.

PS: After a reboot, everything seems to be running just fine. So for now we just ignore this problem and hope the best as it seems that only the first addtions startup is effected.

PPS:
- first update (4.3.30 -> 5.1.22) -> no complaint about different source & fails & rcvboxadd-x11 error in log
- reboot & remove VBoxGuestAdditions.log & re-update (5.1.22 -> 5.1.22) -> complains about different source & no failure & rcvboxadd-x11 error in log
- reboot & remove VBoxGuestAdditions.log & re-update (5.1.22 -> 5.1.22) -> no complaint about different source & no failure & rcvboxadd-x11 error in log

I just don't get it.

[Perryg]

Interesting. I don't have a real answer but only speculations. I usually see this on rpm based OSes and most of the time with CentOS. I think ( and I use think only ) it may have to do with the way the OS is loading the modules. It may have to be a complete shut down to remove the old modules instead of a reboot.

[famod]

It may have to be a complete shut down to remove the old modules instead of a reboot.

Hm, Shutdown & restart after manual uninstall did not change anything.

I had a look at the script and it seems that it prints this "different source" complaint as soon as it finds another/opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-* directory.
Unsurprisingly, I do have /opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-4.3.30. It is not even removed by uninstall.sh, it is just emptied.

PS: Thanks for your time so far.

[Perryg]

Ah that would cause this as well. Remove the empty folder and see what results you have.

[socratis]

Unsurprisingly, I do have /opt/VBoxGuestAdditions-4.3.30. It is not even removed by uninstall.sh, it is just emptied.

I used to have more than 10 of those empty directories in guests, from previous GAs installations. I vaguely remember an issue with that, even a ticket (not mine), but it's been a long time. The script would just "choke" if the old directories were there, exactly the symptoms that you're describing. I thought that they took care of that. Maybe not. Perryg's suggestion sounds like the way to go...