Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Discussions related to using VirtualBox on Linux hosts.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

Tested in: Fedora 35, Gnome 41, Wndows system protocol: Wayland (served by Mutter); VirtualBox GUI v. 6.1.32_rpmfusion r149290 (Qt5.15.2); Installed packages on host:

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$ dnf list installed '*virtualbox*' | sed 1d
VirtualBox.x86_64                              6.1.32-2.fc35 @rpmfusion-free-updates-testing
VirtualBox-kmodsrc.noarch                      6.1.32-2.fc35 @rpmfusion-free-updates-testing
VirtualBox-server.x86_64                       6.1.32-2.fc35 @rpmfusion-free-updates-testing
akmod-VirtualBox.x86_64                        6.1.32-1.fc35 @rpmfusion-free-updates-testing
kmod-VirtualBox-5.15.16-200.fc35.x86_64.x86_64 6.1.32-1.fc35 @@commandline                  
virtualbox-guest-additions.x86_64              6.1.32-1.fc35 @updates
Hello. Despite component virtualbox-guest-additions is installed in host, in that same host at Virtualbox manager,'s Tools | Preferences | Extensions that component is not listed.
mpack
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by mpack »

Why would you want to install GUEST additions on the HOST?

The GAs are a bundle of drivers that you install inside a guest OS to make them work smoother with a hypervisor. As to not being detected, GAs serve no purpose on the host hence nothing looks for them there.

The menu item in Tools|Preferences|Extensions lists installed Extension Packs. The latter are plugins for the VirtualBox software itself running on the host.
Ricky Tigg
Posts: 10
Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

I notice late that Component Guest additions installed on host as part of title, is at least confusing. Nevertheless the context of my report indicated explicitly that it should be solely interpreted as Guest additions as RPM package installed on host.
mpack
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by mpack »

Well, one of us is missing the point, because that doesn't seem to have taken notice of anything I said in my previous post. You don't install Guest Additions on the host, period, it doesn't matter what package manager you used.
fth0
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by fth0 »

Well, I think both of you are missing a (different) point:

Most Linux distributions deliver their own VirtualBox version (*) as several packages, and the Guest Additions ISO image is in a separate package installed on the host OS. It is correct that this is not shown in the VirtualBox Manager settings under Preferences... > Extensions, because it is not an Extension Pack. In the menu of a running VM's window, select Devices > Install Guest Additions CD image... to provide the ISO image to the guest OS.

(*) This is different from the Oracle distribution package, which includes the ISO image.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

That's an illustration of frustrated behaviour if any. Although persisting misinterpreting goes over my understanding and iI shall not waste time in this regard. Even source repositories of Virtualbox were dully shown to prevent any confusion.
scottgus1
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by scottgus1 »

Ricky, I think this is what you're wondering about:
Ricky Tigg wrote: Despite component virtualbox-guest-additions is installed in host, in that same host at Virtualbox manager,'s Tools | Preferences | Extensions that component is not listed.
fth0 wrote:Guest Additions ... not shown in the VirtualBox Manager settings under Preferences... > Extensions, because it is not an Extension Pack.
Some Linux distros distribute Linux based on the idea that the OS might get installed either as a Virtualbox host or as a Virtualbox guest. So the OS will have the Linux fork of Virtualbox preinstalled so it can host Virtualbox guests. And it can be installed inside a Virtualbox guest, so it will have the Linux fork of Guest Additions preinstalled too.

But the Guest Additions fork preinstalled on the Linux OS will not appear under Extensions because it is not an Extension Pack. The EP is a separate closed-source non-FOSS-license download, which is not legally pre-installable, so the EP is not provided with the Linux distro. Once you download and install the EP, it will show in Extensions.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

Having managed to figure out that Wayland served by Mutter was cause on Gnome of an issue, still active, but not present under X.org., once switched to a session with that last, all options from virtualbox guest toolbar are at last permanently accessible and responsive. Despite component Guest additions is installed as RPM package on host, it is still not detected by Virtualbox.as the message resulting from invocation Devices | Insert Guest Additions CD-image does demonstrate it: Could not find the VirtualBox Guest Additions disk image file. (..). What could motive the presence of that RPM package in Fedora repository since it is not detected?
scottgus1
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by scottgus1 »

Ricky Tigg wrote:it is still not detected by Virtualbox.as the message resulting from invocation Devices | Insert Guest Additions CD-image does demonstrate it: Could not find the VirtualBox Guest Additions disk image file. (..)
It appears that the Linux distro you're using has preinstalled Guest Additions in it. However, "Insert Guest Additions CD-image" is looking for a Guest Additions ISO CD image file, which apparently is not in the location Virtualbox expects to find it.

The ISO file Virtualbox wants is not the preinstalled Guest Additions files in your host OS.

Your host OS's fork of Virtualbox may not have provided the ISO file, or the ISO file may have been manually deleted by mistake at some point.

Go to https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/, find the version of Virtualbox you're running, and download the Guest Additions ISO. Then put the ISO in the VM's CD drive. Then you should be able to install Guest Additions.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

I had to inspect once more the description of the package to verify if i had left unread a sentence that would have been pertinent in regard to prevent user from installing on host that package. Here with relevant outputs

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$ dnf info virtualbox-guest-additions
Summary      : VirtualBox Guest Additions
Description  : VirtualBox is a powerful x86 and AMD64/Intel64 virtualization product for enterprise as well as home use. This package contains the VirtualBox Guest Additions which support better integration of VirtualBox guests with the Host, including file sharing, clipboard sharing and Seamless mode.
Here then was the very cause; both summary and description are silent in regard to the context of use. Partial or incomplete description has for immediate consequence to significantly lower the overall value of this information. Here is a model of what should have been present from the beginning as part of this description:

Note: this package is not meant to be installed on non-guest system, when the physical machine acts as host system neither on a guest system when that last is also a virtual host system within a nested nationalization environment.
fth0
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by fth0 »

Making suggestions for the package descriptions is a good idea. But note (again) that those packages and their description are not provided by Oracle, but by the Linux distribution you chose. So make sure to suggest the changes to them.

FWIW, the description of the Linux Mint packages clearly state that virtualbox-guest-additions-iso is meant to be installed on the host, and the other virtualbox-guest-* packages are meant to be installed in the guest.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

Freedom; that's Linux. I did not expect such a variety of implementations of Virtualbox in distributions, as Mint and Fedora for instance illustrate it. Perhaps Oracle Linux too has a partial or incomplete description similar to the one i mentioned.
fth0
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by fth0 »

Possibly. But Oracle Linux is off-topic here as well (strictly speaking). ;)
scottgus1
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Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by scottgus1 »

Also, It is quite likely that the pre-installed Guest Additions in that Linux OS wouldn't start if that OS is installed as a host OS on a physical PC. Sort of like how several kinds of drivers are sitting available in a Windows OS, but won't get implemented until that driver's hardware is inserted into the computer.
Ricky Tigg wrote:neither on a guest system when that last is also a virtual host system within a nested nationalization environment.
I would anticipate that installing Guest Additions on the middle level of nested Virtualbox virtualization would be a good thing, as it may help the middle level work better.

GAs should not run on a host OS. Do you have any indication that the GAs are running on your host OS? Or only that they are there ready to run if the correct trigger is provided?

And finally, please remember that what the Linux distro decides to install in its OS is the distro's decision, not Virtualbox's, and they'd be the ones to ask about why they did that, not Virtualbox.
Ricky Tigg
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Joined: 28. Jan 2022, 12:21

Re: Component Guest additions installed on host not detected by Virtualbox

Post by Ricky Tigg »

Installed services:

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$ rpm -ql virtualbox-guest-additions | grep -E '^/usr/sbin|.service$'
/usr/lib/systemd/system/vboxclient.service
/usr/lib/systemd/system/vboxservice.service
/usr/sbin/VBoxService
Considering those outputs, services associated to GA are not running.

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$ systemctl status vboxclient
○ vboxclient.service - VirtualBox guest VMSVGA resize client
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/vboxclient.service; static)
     Active: inactive (dead)
$ systemctl status vboxservice
* vboxservice.service - VirtualBox guest services
     Loaded: loaded (/usr/lib/systemd/system/vboxservice.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
     Active: inactive (dead)
Feb 02 09:23:13 fedora systemd[1]: Condition check resulted in VirtualBox guest services being skipped
Manual invocation of VBoxService:

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$ VBoxService
VBoxService: error: VbglR3Init failed with rc=VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND
Invoking manually the start of those services by 'systemctl --now enable vboxclient && systemctl --now enable vboxservice'' would be useless as it won't take effect as 'systemctl status' would indicate it.
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