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Thread: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

  1. #1
    Join Date
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    About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Hi all,

    Host - Ubuntu 12.04 desktop 64bit
    Virtualizer - Oracle VirtualBox
    AMD 8-core

    Please advise where can I find howto/instruction re installing VirtualBox from the package download on;
    Download VirtualBox for Linux Hosts
    https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

    NOT installed from the package, oracle_vbox.asc.

    Most of the threads found with googling are installing on oracle_vbox.asc.

    I have a box here running for several years and been upgraded many times;
    Host - Ubuntu 12.04 desktop 64bit
    Virtualizer - Oracle VirtualBox
    AMD 4-core

    I already forgot how to install VirtualBox. The Original host was Ubuntu 7.0/8.0

    Besides where can I find instruction migrating the VMs from the old host to new host (on another PC)

    TIA

    B.R.
    satimis

  2. #2
    Join Date
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    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Follow the instructions on the VirtualBox Linux downloads page for "Debian-based" distributions to add the repository and its public key. Then you can just use:

    Code:
    sudo apt-get update
    sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.2
    This method lets the OS manage updates for you as well.
    If you ask for help, do not abandon your request. Please have the courtesy to check for responses and thank the people who helped you.

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  3. #3
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    Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet

    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Hi,
    This is working for me. I too had forgotten how to ...
    Package manager figured I didn't even have Virtual box installed.
    Following the lead in SeijiSensei's post I went to synaptic and edited the repositories. There I found a whole bunch that were disabled when I last upgraded to "precise" (12.04). So I edited them one at a time, removing the comments and ensuring that the check boxes were ticked (I want them enabled).
    Then I reloaded and marked all upgrades but nothing was available!? So I went looking for virtualbox and found 4.2 was now listed. I checked it for install and selected "apply".
    Synaptic told me it was removing 4.1 and installing 4.2 together with a required library and away we go!
    It is still in progress, so I don't know whether I'll have to re-link my virtual machines. I do remember having to manually reactivate my Microsoft software (windows, office and visual studio etc.) after previous upgrades though.
    Last edited by gwm; December 12th, 2012 at 04:11 PM.
    gwm

  4. #4
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    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    All my VMs worked as expected after upgrading from 4.1 to 4.2.
    If you ask for help, do not abandon your request. Please have the courtesy to check for responses and thank the people who helped you.

    Blog · Linode System Administration Guides · Android Apps for Ubuntu Users

  5. #5
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    Ubuntu 15.04 Vivid Vervet

    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Mine seem to be working fine too.
    Be sure to install the new extension pack. If all else fails, you can download it from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
    then double click the downloaded file in the downloads directory.
    Once windows has started, find the devices menu item and upgrade the guest additions.
    Last edited by gwm; December 12th, 2012 at 05:26 PM.
    gwm

  6. #6
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    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    To move the VMs from one hard disk to another, whether on the same system or a different one, just copy the virtualbox directories and all their contents using normal Linux copy methods. My older vbox 3.x installation had just one directory, a hidden one in my home directory, that held everything. The newer 4.x installations have multiple directories, so you need to copy all of them. However there's no need to go through the detailed export-import techniques described in the vbox manuals. So long as you have the vbox program itself in place on the new system, everything will work properly after the move.
    --
    Jim Kyle in Oklahoma, USA
    Linux Counter #259718
    Howto mark thread: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnansweredPo.../SolvedThreads

  7. #7
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    Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Quote Originally Posted by SeijiSensei View Post
    All my VMs worked as expected after upgrading from 4.1 to 4.2.
    Just to add to this - all my VMs worked fine when I moved from 3.2 to 4.x.
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  8. #8
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    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Quote Originally Posted by JKyleOKC View Post
    To move the VMs from one hard disk to another, whether on the same system or a different one, just copy the virtualbox directories and all their contents using normal Linux copy methods....
    Hi,

    On my old box
    =============

    $ ls /home/satimis/VirtualBox\ VMs/
    Code:
        cloudera    deb60ser02   deb60ser05             essex4       ub1024dk00
        cloudoncd   deb60ser02a  enlightmntdk_ub1204dk  fedora1700   ub1204dk00
        deb600dk02  deb60ser02b  essex1                 fedora1701   ub1204ser00
        deb60ser00  deb60ser03   essex2                 linuxmint13  ub1204ser01
        deb60ser01  deb60ser04   essex3                 stackops01   win86400
    $ ls /home/satimis/VirtualBox\ VMs/deb600dk02/
    Code:
        deb600dk02.vbox  deb600dk02.vbox-prev  Logs

    On my new box
    =============

    I could not find following directory
    Code:
    /home/satimis/VirtualBox\ VMs/
    There is no "VirtualBox VMs" under /home/satimis/

    I download;
    virtualbox-4.2_4.2.4-81684~Ubuntu~quantal_amd64.deb

    on their site:
    https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

    and ran "dpkg -i virtualbox-4.2_4.2.4-81684~Ubuntu~quantal_amd64.deb" to install VirtualBox.

    Whether I have to create "VirtualBox VMs" directory manually?

    Can Virt-Manager find this directory automatically on starting?

    TIA

    B.R.
    satimis

  9. #9
    Join Date
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    Xubuntu 16.04 Xenial Xerus

    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Here's the drill step by step:
    1. On the old box, get the total size of your VirtualBox\ VMs folder, including all its content.
    2. Mount an external drive large enough to hold all those bytes; in my case it was more than 100 GB. Yours might be much smaller, or larger.
    3. Use the cp command with the -r option to copy the whole directory onto the external drive, using its original name.
    4. Unmount the drive, connect it to the new box, and be sure you're in the external drive.
    5. Use "cp -r VirtualBox\ VMs $HOME" to copy everything from the external drive to your home directory in the new box. This will create the vbox directory automatically as its first step. Using the HOME environment variable will take care of the destination address.
    6. If you have a ".virtualbox" hidden directory on the old box, repeat the process with it to take it to the new one.

    You may need to fill in details that I may have overlooked, but the key part of the process is to use the "-r" option with "cp" to move everything with a single command.
    --
    Jim Kyle in Oklahoma, USA
    Linux Counter #259718
    Howto mark thread: https://wiki.ubuntu.com/UnansweredPo.../SolvedThreads

  10. #10
    Join Date
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    Ubuntu 22.04 Jammy Jellyfish

    Re: About VirtualBox installation and VMs migration

    Quote Originally Posted by JKyleOKC View Post
    Here's the drill step by step:
    1. On the old box, get the total size of your VirtualBox\ VMs folder, including all its content.
    2. Mount an external drive large enough to hold all those bytes; in my case it was more than 100 GB. Yours might be much smaller, or larger.
    3. Use the cp command with the -r option to copy the whole directory onto the external drive, using its original name.
    4. Unmount the drive, connect it to the new box, and be sure you're in the external drive.
    5. Use "cp -r VirtualBox\ VMs $HOME" to copy everything from the external drive to your home directory in the new box. This will create the vbox directory automatically as its first step. Using the HOME environment variable will take care of the destination address.
    6. If you have a ".virtualbox" hidden directory on the old box, repeat the process with it to take it to the new one.

    You may need to fill in details that I may have overlooked, but the key part of the process is to use the "-r" option with "cp" to move everything with a single command.
    This will grab everything. I prefer rsync to cp, but they get the job done.

    If you want to store the VMs in a directory other than your home directory, symlinks are your best friend.
    Come to #ubuntuforums! We have cookies! | Basic Ubuntu Security Guide

    Tomorrow's an illusion and yesterday's a dream, today is a solution...

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