[Solved] Cannot delete VBoxDrv.kext and other kexts after uninstallation

[NoSpam]

I uninstalled Virtualbox using the uninstaller provided in the img file. It got rid of everything except 4 kexts in:

/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxDrv.kext
/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxNetAdp.kext
/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxNetFlt.kext
/Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Application Support/VirtualBox/VBoxUSB.kext

I cannot delete them and cannot unload them using Terminal. Message:

Kext org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv not found for unload request.
Failed to unload org.virtualbox.kext.VBoxDrv - (libkern/kext) not found.

So, how can I delete these kext files?

Screenshot 2019-12-03 at 08.17.55.png (67.93 KiB) Viewed 7378 times

[socratis]

So, how can I delete these kext files?

Simply reboot.

[NoSpam]

I did it, many times, but it does not work. Those kexts do not go away after reboot, and I cannot unload or delete them.

PS: I am on macOS 10.15.1.

[fth0]

TL;DR: Execute "sudo kextcache -prune-staging" in a terminal.

The command "sudo kextcache -prune-staging" will remove all kernel extensions from the kernel extension staging area that are no longer present in their original location. When new kernel extensions are installed, they are copied into the staging area until they are approved by the user/administrator. So if you install VirtualBox, never approve the kernel extensions, and uninstall VirtualBox again, you probably end up where you are now.

EDIT: When new kernel extensions are installed (e.g. into /Library/Extensions), they are additionally copied into the staging area (e.g. into /Library/StagedExtensions/Library/Extensions), where they are protected by the System Integrity Protection (SIP), even from (un-)installers. The approvals are kept in a separate database (/private/var/db/SystemPolicyConfiguration/KextPolicy). The command "sudo kextcache -prune-staging" will remove all kernel extensions from the kernel extension staging area that are no longer present in their original location. Educated Guess: If you install VirtualBox, and uninstall it again, you probably end up where you are now.

[NoSpam]

It worked. Thank you very much!

[socratis]

The command "sudo kextcache -prune-staging" will remove all kernel extensions from the kernel extension staging area that are no longer present in their original location.

And that's exactly the reason that I was so Spartan in my reply and just told 'NoSpam' to simply "Reboot", because everything I read about the "Staging area" was pointing exactly to what you mentioned as well, maybe I completely misunderstood what I read...

"Never instruct others to do something, unless you've done it yourself." (Socratis)

Marking as [Solved]...

[fth0]

Digging a little bit deeper, I'll have to rephrase some of my statements, but the part you quoted is (of course) correct, because it's from the kextcache man page. I'll update my previous post.