modprobe vboxsf throwing Invalid argument

[ChrisN]

Hello,

I know there are about a million posts about sharing but after searching for a while I cannot find an answer that works for me.

Info:
Windows 7 x64 Host
Linux Mint Isadora x86 Guest
VirtualBox Version 3.2.8
Guest Additions have been installed (and re-installed today, followed by a restart)

The Problem:

I'm trying to mount a shared folder so that I can access code in my guest and edit it on my Windows IDE. I tried the following command in the terminal, which failed:

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sudo mount.vboxsf Share /Rails

mount.vboxsf: mounting failed with the error: No such file or directory

Now I know that /Rails is a directory in the current location, and I've set up a Shared Folder in the Devices menu of VB, but this line didn't work. I then found and tried the following line to check if there is a problem:

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modprobe vboxfs

FATAL: Module vboxfs not found.

Not sure if the advice that was given had a spelling mistake, I then tried the following:

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modprobe vboxsf

FATAL: Could not read '/lib/modules/2.6.32-21-generic/misc/vboxsf.ko': Invalid argument

I've tried multiple combinations, re-installing guest additions, restarts and the like. Since it's throwing an error with modprobe I'm assuming it has nothing to do with where the shared folder is on the Host, and possibly a corrupt file, but nothing I've read seems to prove this.

I've tried to provide as much info here as possible, but if I've missed anything just let me know. Any advice on the steps to take next would be hugely appreciated.

[Perryg]

Perhaps if you read Chapter 4.3. Shared folders in your VirtualBox users manual first all of this would not have been necessary.
Or have a look at this http://forums.virtualbox.org/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=15868 in the tutorial section.

[Sasquatch]

And getting the module right would help a lot too. Just do an 'lsmod | grep vbox'. The module is called vboxvfs.

[ChrisN]

Charming.

As I mentioned I installed GuestAdditions (it says under the info section). I must admit I didn't use the guide posted on your link, I instead used another guide online which I found easier to follow what was happening (in terms of only learning what I had to, so that I could find out more information later if I chose to).

I also got confused about the number of different commands people were using. You say the module is vboxvfs, yet the guide contains commands for vboxsf and as I said before I also came across a forum post on these forums suggesting that it was vboxfs, yet noone corrected the person. Do other people not find this a little confusing? Furthermore I'm quite new to linux and would not know what a lsmod | grep vbox would do, let alone when I should use it without being directed to.

I'm sorry if I misread the intent of your replies, if you weren't meaning to be aggressive or patronising, but usually when installing and setting up new software I immediately go to community resources, such as tutorials, rather than reading the manuals (I work with Ruby on Rails for example, and there's no way I would have even got past the first chapter of the manual, let alone stuck with it, if I hadn't instead read quick guides and books to get a feel for it first). It's just my preferred choice of how to learn as to not bombard myself too early with documents that usually contain too much information. I apologise if the guide I read was not accurate and caused these problems.

[Sasquatch]

The module is called vboxvsf, the mount system is for vboxfs, or vbox file system. It can be confusing, but if you think about it, it makes sense. You mount file systems, so it's logical to call it vboxfs. The module provides virtual shared folders, hence vboxvfs.

The command 'lsmod | grep vbox' just produces a list of loaded modules and then passes it to grep to filter the list and only show entries that contain the noted string, in this case 'vbox'. On a Linux Host, it generates this output. It's different than on the Guest as the modules are different.

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vboxnetadp              5267  0 
vboxnetflt             14966  0 
vboxdrv              1792984  2 vboxnetadp,vboxnetflt

My guide is written just so you don't have to have much knowledge. All you have to do, is read it carefully, check each output as written in the guide and continue with the next step. It's basically read it, copy it, verify it and done.