VBox: Kernel driver not installed (rc=-1908)

[lads]

You can check /etc/apt/sources.list

I have a feeling it's the version from the repos, as the virtualbox.org version just got updated to 4.1.18 yesterday or the day before.

It seems so:

$ cat /etc/apt/sources.list | grep box
# Virtualbox SUN repository
# deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian precise non-free # disabled on upgrade to natty disabled on upgrade to precise

The version I have installed is 4.1.12_Ubuntu.

Best.

[CharlesA]

Yeah, it's a version from the Ubuntu repos.

I wonder if that is why it pulled in those other packages.

The virtualbox repo hasn't used non-free since 3.x, With 4.0 they moved to contrib.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

According to https://launchpad.net/ubuntu/+source/virtualbox the version you have matches the version from the repos for Precise.

EDIT:

Yep, the version of virtualbox from the repos pulls in those extra packages:

charles@Tardis:~$ dpkg -l | grep virtual
ii  virtualbox                         4.1.12-dfsg-2ubuntu0.1     x86 virtualization solution - base binaries
ii  virtualbox-dkms                    4.1.12-dfsg-2ubuntu0.1     x86 virtualization solution - kernel module sources for dkms
ii  virtualbox-qt                      4.1.12-dfsg-2ubuntu0.1     x86 virtualization solution - Qt based user interface

The package from virtualbox.org reads as this:

charles@Thor:~$ dpkg -l | grep virtual
ii  virtualbox-4.1                       4.1.18-78361~Ubuntu~precise         Oracle VM VirtualBox

[deepakhw]

Thanks, this is the correct solution!

[lads]

Today I got a new kernel version: 3.2.0-29-generic. Guess what happened

[jcllings]

Fix works for me but since my machine rarely ever gets turned off, the module eventually unloads. How can I load it automagically or not unload it. Some kind of conf in /etc having to do with dkms or modprobe, right?

jcllings

[CharlesA]

The module shouldn't automatically unload. Check your logs to see what is causing it to unload.

[desch]

Today I got a new kernel version: 3.2.0-29-generic. Guess what happened

I just tried to install virtualbox on a 12.04 with kernel 3.2.0-29 for the first time. Installing from the ubuntu repos gives an error installing modules eventually causing the rc=-1908 error. Downloading and installing the DEB-file from the virtualbox website doesn't work either for me. It will try to compile the modules but without success.

Can you tell me what the exact way should be to install virtualbox?

the virtualbox-dkms remove/install sequence does not work in my case.

Many thanks in advance.

Cheers.

[phord2]

And here we are again; it is becoming like some sort of occult ritual. Let's hope this issue gets dealt with in Pangolin.

I haven't had this problem before in spite of using VirtualBox and Ubuntu for several years now. But today it appeared on my system after
1. I updated to 3.2.0-31 last weekend (Saturday 2012-09-22), and
2. I rebooted my laptop this weekend (Saturday 2012-09-29).

Up until the 2nd event (the reboot) I was able to use VirtualBox just fine. I think that means the kernel update caused the problem, but the symptom was hidden until after the next reboot. Anyway, the prescribed ritual did indeed fix the problem.

I went to investigate the dkms package a bit more so I could explain the problem correctly when I file a bug report. I see there is a way to get dkms to show the current status for any supported modules. Since I did the reinstall dance, though, my dkms-supported modules are all up-to-date.

So, if you have this problem and you have not corrected it yet, please try this command first and post the results here to help diagnose the issue:

$ dkms status

Also, you might try this update method before you try the apt-get remove/install dance. If this triggers a rebuild of the virtualbox drivers for you, then maybe the problem lies in the dkms config somewhere.

$ sudo dkms autoinstall

Here's what the status command shows for me now that my virtualbox has been corrected:

$ dkms status
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-27-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-29-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-27-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-29-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox, 4.1.12, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed

It seems that my nvidia drivers have successfully updated across several versions since my OS reinstall in July. I think I lost the VirtualBox history when I removed the dkms-virtualbox package.

I was able to build the virtualbox drivers for an older kernel with this command:

$ sudo dkms autoinstall -k 3.2.0-30-generic

One more note: I may have run out of disk space on /usr during one of the recent updates. I freed up space and reattempted the update. I didn't appear to have any problems after that. Not sure if it's related. Did this also happen to anyone else here?

[lads]

Hi phord, thank you for your advice. Personally this issue hasn't haunted me since late August, which is the longest span of time since it came; I imagine the new release is keeping a lot of people busy at the time. Nevertheless, others have reported the issue in the meantime and this thread now counts over 22 k visits, half of which in the past 2 months alone.

If you happen to open a bug report please post the link here. Thanks.

[crayor]

I do have the problems described for VirtualBox and re-installation did not work for me.

Any idea?

jr@jr-ThinkCentre-A57:~$ dkms status
nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-31-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-32-generic, i686: installedError! Could not locate dkms.conf file.
File: does not exist.

nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-32-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-26-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-31-generic, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-32-generic, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-32-generic-pae, i686: installed
jr@jr-ThinkCentre-A57:~$ dkms status
nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-31-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-32-generic, i686: installed
nvidia-173, 173.14.35, 3.2.0-32-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-26-generic-pae, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-31-generic, i686: installedError! Could not locate dkms.conf file.
File: does not exist.

nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-32-generic, i686: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-32-generic-pae, i686: installed
jr@jr-ThinkCentre-A57:~$ sudo dkms autoinstall
Error! Could not locate dkms.conf file.
File: does not exist.
jr@jr-ThinkCentre-A57:~$

I haven't had this problem before in spite of using VirtualBox and Ubuntu for several years now. But today it appeared on my system after
1. I updated to 3.2.0-31 last weekend (Saturday 2012-09-22), and
2. I rebooted my laptop this weekend (Saturday 2012-09-29).

Up until the 2nd event (the reboot) I was able to use VirtualBox just fine. I think that means the kernel update caused the problem, but the symptom was hidden until after the next reboot. Anyway, the prescribed ritual did indeed fix the problem.

I went to investigate the dkms package a bit more so I could explain the problem correctly when I file a bug report. I see there is a way to get dkms to show the current status for any supported modules. Since I did the reinstall dance, though, my dkms-supported modules are all up-to-date.

So, if you have this problem and you have not corrected it yet, please try this command first and post the results here to help diagnose the issue:

$ dkms status

Also, you might try this update method before you try the apt-get remove/install dance. If this triggers a rebuild of the virtualbox drivers for you, then maybe the problem lies in the dkms config somewhere.

$ sudo dkms autoinstall

Here's what the status command shows for me now that my virtualbox has been corrected:

$ dkms status
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-27-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-29-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current, 295.40, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-27-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-29-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-30-generic, x86_64: installed
nvidia-current-updates, 295.49, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed
virtualbox, 4.1.12, 3.2.0-31-generic, x86_64: installed

It seems that my nvidia drivers have successfully updated across several versions since my OS reinstall in July. I think I lost the VirtualBox history when I removed the dkms-virtualbox package.

I was able to build the virtualbox drivers for an older kernel with this command:

$ sudo dkms autoinstall -k 3.2.0-30-generic

One more note: I may have run out of disk space on /usr during one of the recent updates. I freed up space and reattempted the update. I didn't appear to have any problems after that. Not sure if it's related. Did this also happen to anyone else here?