VirtualBox 5.1 doesn't start on EL 6 host

[HarryMan]

I tried upgrading to VirtualBox 5.1, which completed OK, but when I go to actually launch it (from command line), it says:

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virtualbox Qt FATAL: This application failed to start because it could not find or load the Qt platform plugin "xcb".  Available platform plugins are: xcb.  Reinstalling the application may fix this problem. Aborted

(I think it is a bit more formatted, though, in the actual rendition, iIRC.)

The host platform is EL 6 (Scientific, to be exact). Apparently, I have qt3 or so, and it looks like VBox 5.1 needs qt5? I looked around, and it seems EL6 does not have support for qt5.

Just FYI, I rolled back to 5.0, and it appears to be working OK. I've been using 5.0 for many weeks without much issue (though my Mageia no longer works, but that's a different issue).

Thank you for assistance.

[socratis]

Apparently, I have qt3 or so, and it looks like VBox 5.1 needs qt5?

That would be absolutely true. VirtualBox 5.1 and later will require QT5. Take a look at the release notes for 5.1, where they state "GUI: overall migration to Qt5 (bug #11775)".

it seems EL6 does not have support for qt5.

In that case I would stick to the 5.0.x series, until EL6 gets an update to its QT libraries.

[Perryg]

You can always install from source. https://wiki.qt.io/How_to_Install_Qt_5_ ... n_CentOS_6

[0x0000.ru]

I have exactly the same error, but I run on Ubuntu 14.04.4 LTS, which should be officially supported. Deb package comes with the built-in libraries qt5, but it works only with the following command:

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P=/usr/lib/virtualbox; sudo LD_LIBRARY_PATH=$P:$P/plugins/platforms $P/VirtualBox

I note that only runs using sudo.