Cannot Install Slackware in VirtualBox

[PremiumG]

Here is what I got:

drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Desktop
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Documents
drwxrwxr-x 3 brian brian     4096 Sep 10 21:06 Downloads
drwxrwx--- 6 brian brian     4096 Sep 11 12:44 Dropbox
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Music
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Pictures
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Public
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Templates
-rwxrwxr-x 1 brian brian 36336614 Dec 16  2010 veetle-0.9.17-linux-install.sh
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Videos
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:17 VirtualBox
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:18 VirtualBox VMs
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:17 VMs

Oh, and I did read your link muteXe, but I am VERY new to linux and that kind of stuff I do not understand how to use correctly.

[coffeecat]

First thing - I've added code tags around your terminal output. It makes it easier to read and it preserves formatting which is lost in bare text in posts. You might find this useful:

http://ubuntuforums.org/showpost.php...47&postcount=8

Second thing:

I am VERY new to linux

I mean this kindly, but installing and maintaining Slackware is far from easy for newcomers to Linux. It's not a beginners' distro. Installing it in a virtual machine adds another layer of complexity. Your unfamiliarity with a Unix-like environment is causing you to make mistakes (no criticism intended - we all had to learn this), which just makes things more difficult for you. I'm not trying to put you off - just warning you that you are jumping into the deep end before you've learnt to swim fluently. But good luck anyway.

To your problem:

drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Desktop
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Documents
drwxrwxr-x 3 brian brian     4096 Sep 10 21:06 Downloads
drwxrwx--- 6 brian brian     4096 Sep 11 12:44 Dropbox
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Music
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Pictures
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Public
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Templates
-rwxrwxr-x 1 brian brian 36336614 Dec 16  2010 veetle-0.9.17-linux-install.sh
drwxrwxr-x 2 brian brian     4096 Sep  6 13:46 Videos
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:17 VirtualBox
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:18 VirtualBox VMs
drwxr-xr-x 2 root  root      4096 Sep 10 10:17 VMs

The reason you have separate VirtualBox and VMs folders is that you would have run something like "sudo mkdir VirtualBox Vms" without escaping the space. What was needed was "sudo mkdir VirtualBox\ VMs", but that's not needed now and, as I said, using sudo with mkdir in your home folder is a recipe for trouble - you make root owned folders.

Open a terminal and delete the two unnecessary folders with this:

sudo rmdir /home/brian/VirtualBox
sudo rmdir /home/brian/VMs

Now you need to change ownership of the Virtualbox Vms folder with:

sudo chown brian:brian /home/brian/Virtualbox\ Vms

Yes, you do need sudo with those commands because you are working on root-owned folders.

Now you should be able to do whatever it was you were referring to at the beginning of your first post when you got the "cannot create..." message.

[Habitual]

Cannot create the machine folder Slackware 64-13.37...

Try naming it something else, say without the - and . ?

[PremiumG]

Thank you for the assistance and advice. I know Slackware isn't easy, but I require minimalism. Even Lubuntu comes with too much unnecessary programs and packages. I want to get my hands dirty and learn how it works so I can create my own, minimalistic distro, for personal use of course.

As for my directory issue, it is solved! Thank you for the help. Since I am new, I will utilize the internets to hold my hand through learning Slackware as well. VirtualBox will be easier than just installing it on a new partition.

[muteXe]

Thank you for the assistance and advice. I know Slackware isn't easy, but I require minimalism. Even Lubuntu comes with too much unnecessary programs and packages. I want to get my hands dirty and learn how it works so I can create my own, minimalistic distro, for personal use of course.

Well, you're certainly doing the right thing by experimenting with it all in a VM. Slackware is my main distro nowadays, so I guess I'll see you on the forums over there

[Bas Roufs]

Now you need to change ownership of the Virtualbox Vms folder with:

sudo chown brian:brian /home/brian/Virtualbox\ Vms

Yes, you do need sudo with those commands because you are working on root-owned folders.

Now you should be able to do whatever it was you were referring to at the beginning of your first post when you got the "cannot create..." message.

When trying to install a Win7 guest OS, I had the same permission problem along with the same "Cannot create..." message. The message cited above clarified for me how to solve the problem. Thanks!
I managed to solve the problem as follows:
I opened a terminal and gave in the command "sudo -i".
As root, I gave in the command "mc" with a view to starting "Midnight Commander". From there, I selected the file "/home/bas/VirtualBox VMs".
Then I used the menu option FILE > chown. Both "owner" and "group" I changed from "root" to "bas". After this, I started again VirtualBox. From that moment onwards, everything worked flawlessly.
Respectfully yours,
Bas Roufs.