Tag Archives: VirtualBox

Software

VirtualBox USB Proxy Service on Ubuntu Gutsy Gibbon

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When accessing the settings dialog in VirtualBox on Ubuntu/Kubuntu 7.10 Gusty Gibbon, I would get the error, “Could not load the Host USB Proxy Service (VERR_FILE_NOT_FOUND). The service might be not installed on the host computer.” I found a variety of fixes from different forums and blogs so here’s a consolidated guide to resolve the issue based on my installation of VirtualBox 1.5.6 on Kubuntu 7.10.

  1. Open the file /etc/init.d/mountdevsubfs.sh with your favorite text editor (be sure to use sudo or open as root so that you have write permission).
  2. Look for the following comment:# Magic to make /proc/bus/usb work
  3. Remove the hash mark, #, from the four commands (mkdir, domount, ln, mount) following that comment. The result should look like the following:#
    # Magic to make /proc/bus/usb work
    #
    mkdir -p /dev/bus/usb/.usbfs
    domount usbfs “” /dev/bus/usb/.usbfs -obusmode=0700,devmode=0600,listmode=0644
    ln -s .usbfs/devices /dev/bus/usb/devices
    mount –rbind /dev/bus/usb /proc/bus/usb
  4. Save the file and run it with sudo (or as root) appending the parameter “start” to the end:sudo /etc/init.d/mountdevsubfs.sh start
  5. Next, create a new user group called usbusers. On Kubuntu, you can do this with the User Management tool in the KDE Control Center.
  6. Add your username, and anyone else who uses VirtualBox on the computer, to the usbusers group. Save the changes.
  7. Open the file /etc/udev/rules.d/40-permissions.rules (again, using sudo or as root). 
  8. Change the following lines:# USB devices (usbfs replacement)
    SUBSYSTEM==”usb_device”, MODE=”0664″

    to

    # USB devices (usbfs replacement)
    SUBSYSTEM==”usb_device”, GROUP=”usbusers”, MODE=”0664″

  9. Save the file.

Now it should work fine and you don’t even have to reboot.

Software

Test Live CDs via Virtualization with VirtualBox

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Last month, I posted about the free VirtualBox virtualization software and how you can use it to run various operating systems on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X (Intel CPU version) computers. Virtualization is also handy for quick and painless operating system evaluation purposes.

There are many Live CDs available today spanning a plethora of distributions of Linux, some Unices and you can even create your own Windows live CD. However, using them usually requires burning the ISO to a CD or DVD. Although media is cheap these days, it’s still a waste to burn discs just to try out things you may never continue using.

With VirtualBox, you don’t have to burn any discs to try things out. Simply follow these steps:

  1. Download the ISO file for the operating system you want to run. Verify from the description/help files/documentation that it is a bootable image (i.e. doesn’t require a boot floppy).
  2. Start VirtualBox and create a new virtual machine with enough memory for the operating system you’re going to try out.
  3. There’s no need to create a virtual hard drive for this machine if you’re using a Live CD/DVD since everything will run in memory. However, if it is an installation disc, then you will need to create a virtual hard drive large enough to install the operating system.
  4. Assign the ISO file to the virtual CD-ROM drive of the virtual machine.
  5. Start the new virtual machine.

Not only does this method reduce waste by avoiding the creation of plastic coasters (wasted CD/DVD media), it boots faster than a CD/DVD drive and your computer system is isolated from anything that may go wrong in the operating system you’re trying out.

So, now you’re all set to go play. Report back on the cool new operating systems you find.

Software

VirtualBox: Free Virtualization on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X

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Innotek released version 1.5.0 of VirtualBox, their open-source virtualization product, the other day. In addition to many fixes and improvements, this version includes seamless window virtualization when running Windows in Linux so you can have Windows applications running right beside Linux ones.

I guess you could call this the summer of virtualization with all the buzz about saving energy via server consolidation, running Windows in Mac OS X with Parallels Desktop and VMWare going public with extraordinary gusto. However, what if you want to get into the game without using closed source software or without spending a lot of money while having support for many platforms? That’s where VirtualBox comes in.

VirtualBox runs on Windows, Mac OS X and Linux and enables you to use a variety of guest operating systems in it including DOS, Windows, Unix, Linux, Solaris and OS/2. As I mentioned before, when running Windows inside VirtualBox on Linux, through seamless virtualization Windows applications will run right beside Linux ones on the Linux desktop. For other operating system combinations, the guest OS will still have its own desktop window like it did in VirtualBox 1.4.0.

If you’re currently running Linux, many distributions already have VirtualBox available for installation from their software repositories. For example, in Ubuntu, Kubuntu or Xubuntu, just run Synaptic or Aptitude and choose VirtualBox from the list of packages. Otherwise, you can get it from the VirtualBox download page.