Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
mpack
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by mpack »

andro wrote: How do we go about getting developer attention focused on this issue? This combination of latest Virtualbox and latest Ubuntu is completely unusable.
A good start would be posting in an appropriate topic, such as the 5.2.0 feedback topic.

Other than that, the way to get developers to support you it to buy a support contract and hence become an Oracle customer. Currently you are just some guy who downloaded a free file, you can expect no direct influence on development priorities.
tux.gone.wild
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Joined: 6. Nov 2017, 21:18

Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by tux.gone.wild »

mpack wrote:
andro wrote: How do we go about getting developer attention focused on this issue? This combination of latest Virtualbox and latest Ubuntu is completely unusable.
A good start would be posting in an appropriate topic, such as the 5.2.0 feedback topic.
Other than that, the way to get developers to support you it to buy a support contract and hence become an Oracle customer. Currently you are just some guy who downloaded a free file, you can expect no direct influence on development priorities.
You think that "Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error" isn't an appropriate topic when that is the exact issue being reported?!? There is no easy way to tell what version of GA is being installed, all I know is that I'm using the most recent version of VirtualBox for Windows and whatever version of GA it deigns to install.

I expect that getting GA working with some of the most popular Linux distributions is a development priority, so that part doesn't worry me. I will say that your hostile attitude towards people who've taken the time to upload log files so your defective software can be fixed is, um, non-optimal.

If this isn't addressed in a reasonable time I'll vote with my wallet and pick up VMware Workstation. That seems like a much better use of funds than buying Oracle support, since Workstation performs better, is a more solid product, and has stellar support.
mpack
Site Moderator
Posts: 39156
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Primary OS: MS Windows 10
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by mpack »

tux.gone.wild wrote: You think that "Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error" isn't an appropriate topic when that is the exact issue being reported?!?
I'm saying that if you want to get feedback to the devs then posting in an official feedback topic set up by the devs.... seems like a good idea to me. But maybe that's just me.

As opposed to posting in a user chat topic, whatever the title is.

Voting with your wallet? In what sense was your wallet ever involved? You'd better explain how this threat works, i.e. what we'd lose if you went to VMWare, because frankly this is escaping me.
Perryg
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by Perryg »

Hummm,

I got the install to work so it is doable. The issue is not just VirtualBox it is also Ubuntu and the way they are dealing with their own proprietary Guest Additions. I pointed this out in the beginning of this thread. There will be and has always been a conflict if one tries to install the official guest additions over the distros fork of the GAs, and this works both ways. You simply must remove one before installing the other. If you forget you must manually remove all and then decide which you want to use. Why does this happen with VirtualBox and not any of the other hypervisors? Because the distros do not install any other hypervisors guest additions by default, simple as that. They have been asked repeatedly to not do this but it is the distros decision. So you have two choices the way I see it. Either use their proprietary basic additions ( without all features ) or go through the process of removing theirs and installing the ones from VirtualBox.

Another note here:
Ubuntu and Fedora are using Wayland by default and this can cause issues. In Ubuntu you can select to run Xorg and get a better result but AFAIK not Fedora. This usually effects 3D acceleration and it producing a black screen after login, but you can disable 3D in the guest setting to work around this issue. Before you complain about this too, the issue is again both Wayland and the VirtualBox. Wayland has issues still and VirtualBox has not found the right balance of code to make both Xorg and Wayland work ( multi-platform ) yet.

And lastly:
I have not found a packaged way to remove the pre-installed kernel modules but provided a way to get them to stop loading at boot. If this is not what you want you need to contact Ubuntu and ask them for the approved way to remove these modules ( preferably by un-installing ).
sbradabang
Posts: 5
Joined: 8. Nov 2017, 18:42

Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by sbradabang »

Perryg wrote:Hummm,

I got the install to work so it is doable.
I think you missed some steps while describing what you did. I followed your procedure, still I get a black screen and an unusable distro.
Perryg
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by Perryg »

How could I have missed steps if it is working? Did you also see about changing the login to Xorg instead of Wayland? Have you tried disabling 3D acceleration in the guest settings? I have both working but that does not mean it will work on Wayland for all. It is still too new and it does have issues.

Anyway that's all I have to offer unless you can provide anything other than it does not work for me. I would need to see diagnostic information and proof that the steps I posted were actually followed.
sbradabang
Posts: 5
Joined: 8. Nov 2017, 18:42

Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by sbradabang »

I'm not the only one who followed that procedure unsuccessfully. I already provided Virtualbox logs some posts ago - and I followed the very same procedure back then; I'll upload a video when I have time, if this will make you believe me. All I can do now is wait for a new release of the Guest Additions and hope it works.
Thanks anyway.
Perryg
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by Perryg »

Run the following in the guests terminal and post the results here:

Code: Select all

find /lib/modules/`uname -r` -type f -name "*.ko" | grep vbox
As well as the following posting the following:

Code: Select all

echo $DESKTOP_SESSION
Oh and your log file you posted was not from what we call a clean state. It was from a saved state. You need to power the guest down and then start it, observe any issues and then power down again before posting the next log file.
piggyz
Posts: 70
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by piggyz »

Good old brother Perryg, everytime developers realease something major or so, we are here fighting with buga than shouldn't be here in the first.

You always say us to pay for support, then - brother - you would agree with me it has no sense. Even if this software is free, it is not a reason to release something so buggy even in beta 5.2.1 (this just fixed the network bridge mode).

Before release something, they should test it!

Said this, I have two solutions for the really nasty Guest Additions buggy package under ubuntu (and, I didn't had to test it for now, I think even with other distributions).

First, to avoid the inevitable black screen under Ubuntu 17.10 (yes, brother perryg, this nasty bug is present also if you boot Xorg), I suggest to change the login manager from gdm3 to lightdm. Then, this is not enough to have a working OS: if you do use the ultra buggy GUest Additions from Oracle you also have to load UNITY instead of the new Ubuntu environment derived from Gnome3. You will still have some warning, then the system could be used.

Second (and IMHO better) option is to avoid the super suoer buggy Guest Additions from Oracle and load the Guest Additions from Ubuntu Package Manager. In this case your system is at 5.1 level, then you got a working system.

Even if we do not pay, brother perryg, a big company like Oracle should be worried to not release buggy software, really very buggy software for no reason. It is not Oracle, it is not big company,

That's all. Hope to be usefull.

PS: No pun intended brother perryg, just please stop to say us to purchase support contract from Oracle. It makes no sense and it sound like you bullshit us, good brother. Be nice. Have fun.
Perryg
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by Perryg »

Well brother piggyz I don't recall saying anything about paying for anything, perhaps you meant someone else? But you do what ever makes your heart fell good. I am only here to give assistance and tell you what I do to make this stuff work. I don't really need to but I do and like to think that some people get a benefit from it. I like to believe I know a little more about VirtualBox and Linux than most since I have been designing, building, and maintaining it for many years, but I guess it might be possible that I just have reached my limit and should simply do things that make me money instead of giving all this free advice. Hey I finally mentioned money, go figure.
michael
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by michael »

piggyz wrote:First, to avoid the inevitable black screen under Ubuntu 17.10 [...] I suggest to change the login manager from gdm3 to lightdm. Then, [...] you also have to load UNITY instead of the new Ubuntu environment derived from Gnome3. You will still have some warning, then the system could be used.

Second (and IMHO better) option is to [...] load the Guest Additions from Ubuntu Package Manager. In this case your system is at 5.1 level, then you got a working system.
Thank you for taking the time to investigate this. I assume you checked the latest Additions from the Downloads page[1]? There are a number of fixes there which were not in the release. The Additions image was updated several times since the release.

[1] https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
piggyz
Posts: 70
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by piggyz »

Hello Michael and thank you for your reply. If the Tools are the same at Novembre 3 level, like written in the download page, they don't do anything for the Ubuntu 17.10 )in my case 64 bit edition) I do test.

Latest version tested by me:

VirtualBox-5.2.1-118918-Win

Regards
michael
Oracle Corporation
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by michael »

I am currently trying to work out what is different with my Ubuntu 17.10 guest compared to others. I have not seen this problem (or it would probably be fixed by now). Can you reproduce it with a freshly installed guest? I am wondering whether updating the guest via apt-get is the problem (I rarely do that since I install so many guests to test and it saves time; perhaps I should).
michael
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by michael »

@piggyz What happens if you install the Additions and run update-initramfs straight after? Thank you Perry for your investigation.

@piggz Could you please provide me with the simplest possible reproduction scenario starting with installing a fresh guest?
sbradabang
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Re: Ubuntu 17.10 - Guest Additions Installation Error

Post by sbradabang »

mod.PNG
mod.PNG (31.23 KiB) Viewed 6060 times
(N.B.: I can't get my Ubuntu to switch to xorg; that small gear never appears in the logon screen - am I missing something?). Ignore that. After many reboots it appeared. Now $DESKTOP_SESSION is ubuntu-xorg.

And there are new logs. I started collecting them after renaming the folder /lib/modules/4.13.0-16-generic/kernel/ubuntu/vbox to vbox.old and rebooting, and I saved them after installing the Guest Additions r118918 and getting that pesky black screen.
Attachments
Logs.zip
(78.01 KiB) Downloaded 18 times
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