Shared folders, Ubuntu guest Windows host

Discussions about using Linux guests in VirtualBox.
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Shared folders, Ubuntu guest Windows host

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

HI guys, I am working with Ubuntu on VB in a Windows Vista host.
I don't think the operating systems are a problem, I just need to know how to mount the shared folder. I already have the guest editions installed but I never manage to use the Linux shell to mount the folder decently. Can some one please help me ?

I used to type" mountshares" in the command line, but now it gives "protocol error" so I decided to do all from start again ... any help please ?
vkov_tinsky
Volunteer
Posts: 218
Joined: 5. Apr 2008, 20:18

Post by vkov_tinsky »

Hi,

Have you read Section 4.5 (Folder Sharing) in the manual? See also this posting.

Regards,
VT
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

Thx for your reply. I dind't found the 4.5 thing on the manual (it leaded me to chapter 13 for known bugs !?)...

I also tried this approach:
Read section 4.5. "Folder sharing" in the manual. Smile

Assuming your share is called "ROOT" you could do something like:
Code:
sudo mkdir /mnt/mac_root
sudo mount -t vboxsf ROOT /mnt/mac_root

If you want the share to be permanent you can then add an entry to /etc/fstab, something like:
Code:
ROOT /mnt/mac_root vboxsf none 0 0

Regards,
VT
However, and the end of the second command line I got the error "Protocol error" ... what is this supposed to mean !? What am I doing wrong ?
vkov_tinsky
Volunteer
Posts: 218
Joined: 5. Apr 2008, 20:18

Post by vkov_tinsky »

In that case please supply more information (host, guest and vbox versions, etc - see The Posting guide) including the exact command you issued. Also if you're using VirtualBox v1.5.6 see this. Are you sure you're using the right share name when calling mount because that will result in the protocol error message too.

Regards,
VT
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

In that case please supply more information (host, guest and vbox versions, etc - see The Posting guide) including the exact command you issued. Also if you're using VirtualBox v1.5.6 see this. Are you sure you're using the right share name when calling mount because that will result in the protocol error message too.
I am using vBox 2.0.something it is the most recent version as far as I know.
About the commands, these are the exact commands I worte:

1 - sudo mkdir /mnt/shared_vista
2 - I typed the password
3 - sudo mount -t vboxsf VISTA /mnt/shared_vista
4 - mount failed with protocol error

Any suggestions please?
vkov_tinsky
Volunteer
Posts: 218
Joined: 5. Apr 2008, 20:18

Post by vkov_tinsky »

  1. Make sure you've got VirtualBox v2.0.2 installed.
  2. If you upgraded VirtualBox recently install up-to-date guest additions.
  3. Try sharing just a folder, not the whole drive.
  4. What does the syslog show? (You can do tail -f /var/log/syslog in a 2nd terminal window and watch the output when you try to mount.)
  5. Look through possible solutions by searching the forums. (These are the search results for site:forums.virtualbox.org "protocol error".)
Since I've never had this problem myself I don't have any further suggestions unfortunately.

Regards,
VT
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Post by Sasquatch »

Also make sure that you type the name exactly as you created the shared folder. If you called it "vista", don't use "VISTA" as name, it's case sensitive.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

Hi again sry for reviving but now I changed and now I am using Kubuntu (mainly the same thing).

After trying the following commands I got the following error. Why is the happening ?

$ sudo mkdir /mnt/vista_shared
$ sudo mount -t vboxsf SHARED /mnt/vista_shared
/sbin/mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: No such device

So, the name of my shared folder is vista_shared and I really don't get why I get the error ...

EDIT EDIT EDIT


I also tested:
$ sudo mount -t vboxsf Kubuntu /home/pedro/Desktop/shared

where Kubuntu is the name of the VM and /home/pedro/Desktop/shared the place where I have my created folder ...
I got the same error.

I read the 4.6 chapter of the manual but I don't get what I should place in the "sharename" place ...

Any help please ?
vkov_tinsky
Volunteer
Posts: 218
Joined: 5. Apr 2008, 20:18

Post by vkov_tinsky »

what I should place in the "sharename" place
The exact name you gave the share when creating it in VirtualBox (i.e. the "Folder Name" field in the "Add share" dialog, like so).

Regards,
VT
Tanktalus
Posts: 1
Joined: 31. Oct 2008, 21:23

Post by Tanktalus »

Check your dmesg for vbox:

sudo dmesg | grep vbox

I bet it'll give you an error with vboxvfs, like I'm getting (Ubuntu 8.10 guest, Gentoo host, VBox 2.0.4). I think this is an error with the VBox kernel drivers.
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

Ok guys, here are the results ... nothing works I really start thinking this is a vBox problem that just got worse with Ubuntu 8.10

$ sudo dmesg | grep vbox
$
$ sudo mount -t vboxsf shared /home/pedro/Desktop/shared
/sbin/mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: No such device
$ sudo mkdir /mnt/shared
$ sudo mount -t vboxsf shared /mnt/shared
/sbin/mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: No such device
$ ls -l /mnt
total 4
drwxr-xr-x 2 root root 4096 2008-10-31 19:47 shared
$ sudo rmdir /mnt/shared
$ ls -l /mnt
total 0
$ sudo dmesg|grep vbox
$

The "$" with nothing written means nothing happened ... Any answers why this may be happening ?
ElQuia
Posts: 155
Joined: 30. May 2008, 23:31

The same problem here

Post by ElQuia »

Hi Guys, till yesterday I had Ubuntu 8.04.1 installed VBox 2.0.4 on Vista x64 host. Shared folders worked OK. Today I installed Ubuntu 8.10 & THEY DONT WORK

I keep getting:
/sbin/mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: No such device

Shared folder are working OK on:
Linux Mint x32 5.0
Linux Mint x64 5.0
Open Solaris

Please any ideas anyone ???
Flame_Phoenix
Posts: 12
Joined: 19. Apr 2008, 16:00

Post by Flame_Phoenix »

Please any ideas anyone ???
It seems many people have the same problem .... We could always spam VBox creators to find a solution asap ... but I am not sure if this would be a good idea.
ElQuia
Posts: 155
Joined: 30. May 2008, 23:31

Post by ElQuia »

It seems many people have the same problem ....

NOT ONLY THE SHARED FOLDERS. Since I upgraded 2.0.2 to 2.0.4 Snapshots are NOT working.
I´m not going back to 2.0.2 because it had a SERIOUS memory leak problem on vista x64 (my main OS and Host).

Cant install PC-BSD either (bah, can install, no way it will run x)

But I´m seriously thinking in spending some bucks and buying VMWARE :!:

This is a SUN product, Open Solaris also, Do you know the work it gave me to get additions runing in Solaris???????
Sasquatch
Volunteer
Posts: 17798
Joined: 17. Mar 2008, 13:41
Primary OS: Debian other
VBox Version: PUEL
Guest OSses: Windows XP, Windows 7, Linux
Location: /dev/random

Post by Sasquatch »

It seems that people don't understand that the GA use kernel modules and when you install a new kernel, those are no longer available. Install the GA again on the new kernel to get them working again.


As for mounting shared folders, the manual really is clear enough, but I will note an example.
Shared folder name set to "test" (without the quotes). Now to mount it, use the next line in a terminal in the Guest:

Code: Select all

sudo mount -t vboxsf test /path/to/mount/point
Replace /path/to/mount/point to anything you want to mount the SF on, like ~/shared, if the folder exists.
Read the Forum Posting Guide before opening a topic.
VirtualBox FAQ: Check this before asking questions.
Online User Manual: A must read if you want to know what we're talking about.
Howto: Install Linux Guest Additions
Howto: Use Shared Folders on Linux Guest
See the Tutorials and FAQ section at the top of the Forum for more guides.
Try searching the forums first with Google and add the site filter for this forum.
E.g. install guest additions site:forums.virtualbox.org

Retired from this Forum since OSSO introduction.
Post Reply