virtualbox.org

I messed up a bit when I tried to use Synaptic Package Manager to uninstall OpenOffice.org-2.4.0 and put OpenOffice.org-3.1.0 in its place. I got it done, but I lost FireFox and one of the Applications links. I got FireFox reinstalled easily enough with the same package manager, but had no idea what to look for when it came to the menu links.

The next time I tried to boot up Ubuntu 8.04, something else was hosed up, as it got to a tan screen and just hung there. I figured a reinstall was in order, and I could have tried 8.04 again. but I had alread built my Windows 2K/Office 2K VDI, which was the main reason I had reverted, and I knew that Ubuntu 9.04 could be coached into just replacing the conflictive system files if I elected to use a manual partitioning, then pick the same drives again but forego a format of the root one. VirtualBox 2.2.2 had also allowed the VDI to remain undisturbed, but there was that low resolution/no graphics problem still, and I really wanted to stay with version 1.6.6. Especially as I hoped that if I had to rework a Windows 2000/Office 2000 VDI in the future, there would be no problem (neither would install properly with any VirtualBox 2.x version to date).

But could I get an older version of VirtualBox to compile successfully with the newest version of Ubuntu? I guessed I would have to find out. So I first upgraded to Ubuntu 9.04 again, then sought out an older build section of VirtualBox and found that 1.6.6 for Ubuntu 8.04 LTS was available. I had tried every version of VirtualBox after 1.6.6, and some fundamental change meant that none would work as I needed it to, so I went ahead and downloaded it on the change I could make it work with the latest version ofUbuntu.

First time it didn't, as some remnant of the earlier install of 1.6.6 was still present, and I was not sure how to deal with that. So I finally just removed VirtualBox and purged it (several ways of doing this, look around for details). Then I tried to do the install thing with the downloaded version of VirtualBox 1.6.6, and this time it worked with no problem. Seems to be working fine as well. I did find that the section in a .sh file for enabling USB support in Ubuntu 9.04 had been eliminated, but I searched for the necessary instructions again with the phrase "ubuntu enable usb", and just copied the cut out section into where it had appeared before in earlier versions of Ubuntu, and that fixed that.

Just an example to others that sometimes you have to try for yourself and see what works and what does not, and don't let the tags or normal associations scare you off. If you screw up, just remember enough not to make the same mistake again, and start over.

VB 1.6.6 is way too old to be run on the latest Ubuntu. If you really want to run Windows 2000 as Guest, check the manual and forum here for how to do that. You need to change a setting for the VM using the command line, so the installer works properly.

Well, that's interesting. So there is a fix, but the burden now falls on me to find it or figure what it is, right? That's without regard for the fact that others may be trying to find a similar solution, so I guess they can just go hunt and peck away too.

I thought the purpose of having forums was to search for answers, ask questions when what you want to know does not seem to be present, and then hope that one or more of the answers helps you and any others that might come after you.

I guess I was wrong. At least in your book, that is. Anyone else want to be a bit more helpful? Or is this what everyone thinks? So much for forums it that is true.

I didn't have much time, and I still don't, so if you searched a bit with Google, you should have found the answer already. In fact, it was recently asked too. See http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=8&t=17071 for that. It's the first hit I got from this Google query:
http://www.google.com/search?client=ope ... 8&oe=utf-8
Checking that, should give you enough info.

Good luck, and don't hesitate to ask anything else. But keep in mind that you might get the answer faster if you use Google with your question instead of creating a new topic. You had to wait at least a day to get a correct answer, while it would have taken only a few minutes with Google . It's the general advise found in the FPG.

I always Google first, then use the search tool at the forums second. In this case, nothing turned up I went to check out the manual, but it only covers the latest release of VirtualBox, so no help in my case with 1.6.6.

It interests me that I can go into VirtualBox and designate Windows 2000 as the client that I want to install, so you would expect that it would not only pick the right Guest Additions for me, but also take care of any piddling details about getting the host to support that implementation. That there are cases where it doesn't is a bit surprising. Sure, I could read the manual first, but I usually take the general user role, which is try to go with what seems obvious first. If that fails, then the manual might be a last ditch help, but you've already established that this is too technical for most people to cope with.

No average person can possibly read that much or retain it all. Let's see where I would have had to start: Well, a general book on Linux, get that nailed down first. Then everything that can be found on Ubuntu, particularly the release I intend to use. Then all the technical details on VirtualBox, and let's not leave out the user's guide. Then another on how to install the OS that I want to have as client. Then if I want to use USB with the client side, go read all the online posts that I can find on that subject. And when an external USB hard drive does not show up, search so deeply that you end up back in the archives of solved problems before you find a possible answer. Now even you have to admit this takes a lot of tjme and involvement, and how many feel that it is really justified? After all, if i get it done, I am the only one to benefit from it. Unless i leave detailed queries and answers where others can find them, like on the forums.

I see no assurances that any version of VirtualBox past 1.6.6 will let me install Windows 2000 Pro and Office 2000 Pro from scratch, but do instead see posts that indicate that the client side will experience issues with screen resolution and the use of graphics. Even the latest verson of Ubuntu is designed to prevent you from enabling USB support by methods reported before. Now you have to extend them by adding in code reported in other postings. My own efforts with trying to install Windows 2000 Pro and Office 2000 Pro with any version beyond 1.6.6 up to 2.2.2 is that it doesn't work. And this is all suppose to be better than 1.6.6 that I can basically work around? How? Don't bother trying to answer that. This comes down to being a personal decision sometimes.

Anyway, thanks for the links. I will follow them up today and see what magical cures others have tried and how well they did. That's one of the areas where forums beat out manuals hands down. You can ask questions, and hope for useful answers. and it gives others something to search for if they need to.