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Virtualbox 5.1 Released, How to Install in Ubuntu 16.04

Last updated: July 13, 2016

Oracle Virtualbox has just reached a new major 5.1 release. Here’s how to install it in Ubuntu 16.04.

Virtualbox 5.1 ports its UI to Qt5, brings better Python 3 support, HDA (High Definition Audio) support for newer Linux guests, various VMM and other improvements and fixes.

Virtualbox release highlights:

VMM: new APIC and I/O APIC implementations that result in significantly improved performance in certain situations
VMM: added support for Hyper-V paravirtualized debugging of Windows guests
VMM: emulate even more MMIO and shadow pagetable exits without going back to user mode
GUI: overall migration to Qt5
GUI: passive API event listener improving the VM GUI performance and response time
Audio: added HDA (High Definition Audio) support for newer Linux guests
Audio: added on-demand timers which should improve the overall performance and reduce the CPU consumption
Audio: more fine-grained volume control for the AC’97 emulation, which now also takes the master volume control into account
better support for Python 3
For more details, see the ChangeLog.

How to install Virtualbox 5.1 in Ubuntu:

1. The 5.1 release conflicts with the old 5.0 or 4.x releases, so first open terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T) and run command to remove the previous VBox installation:

sudo apt remove virtualbox virtualbox-5.0 virtualbox-4.*

2. Download Virtualbox 5.1 for your OS (i386=32bit, amd64=64bit):

Download Virtualbox for Linux

Then click install via Ubuntu Software.

3. For those who want to install VBox 5.1 from official Linux repository and receive future updates via Software Updater. Run the commands below one by one in terminal:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian xenial contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox_2016.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

sudo apt update

sudo apt install virtualbox-5.1

According to your Ubuntu codename, replace xenial with wily, trusty, or precise.

In Howtos, News Virtualbox

Oracle Virtualbox 5.0.22 Released with Various Fixes

Last updated: June 17, 2016

A new maintenance release for Virtualbox 5.0 series was announced a few days ago with various fixes and improvements.

Virtualbox 5.0.22 fixes build failure on Linux Kernel 4.7, mouse pointer offset in Linux client fullscreen mode, a potential Linux guest panic on AMD hosts, a potential hang with 32-bit EFI guests on Intel CPUs.

It also adds X.org 1.18 support for Solaris additions, brings fixes for certain Intel Atom hosts and certain 32-bit guest, adds a new I/O-APIC implementation fixing several bugs and improving the performance under certain conditions. For more details, go to the changelog page.

Download & install Virtualbox 5.0.22 in Ubuntu:

1. Download the pre-compiled package for your Ubuntu release from (i386 for 32-bit, amd64 for 64bit):

Virtualbox Linux Downloads

2. If you installed the stock version of VBOX from official Ubuntu repository, you have to remove it first via Ubuntu Software, or by running the command below in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt remove virtualbox virutalbox-*

3. Finally install the new version by opening the package via Ubuntu Software, or run the dpkg command in terminal:

sudo dpkg -i ~/Downloads/virtualbox-5.0_5.0.22-*.deb

4. (Optional) For those who’d like to receive future updates of VBox along with other software updates via Software Updater utility, paste the 2 commands below and run one by one in terminal to add Virtualbox Linux repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

You can manage the PPA later via System Settings -> Software & Updates -> Other Software.

In News Virtualbox, Virtualbox 5.0

How to Install VirtualBox 5.0 Stable in Ubuntu 15.04, 14.04, 12.04

Last updated: April 2, 2024

Oracle finally announced the stable release of Virtualbox 5.0, which provides increased security with encryption and improved performance.

According to the press release, the 5.0 release supports the latest guest or host operating systems including: Mac OS X Yosemite, Windows 10, Oracle Linux, Oracle Solaris, other Linux operating systems, and legacy operating systems. Oracle Virtualbox 5.0 also features:

Paravirtualization Support for Windows and Linux Guests
Improved CPU Utilization
Guest os can directly recognize USB 3.0 devices and operate at full 3.0 speeds
On all host platforms, Windows, Linux and Oracle Solaris guests now support “drag and drop” of content between the host and the guest.
Disk Image Encryption, using the industry standard AES algorithm with up to 256 bit data encryption keys (DEK).

There are also numerous of other changes and bug fixes, including:

New User Interface settings page for customizing status-bar, menu-bar and guest-content scaling
VMs can be started in separate mode.
VM guest-content scaling support (including 3D acceleration)
Hotplugging support for SATA disks
support for Linux distributions using systemd without sysv emulation
upgraded to rdesktop-vrdp 1.8.3

To see the full list of changes, go to the wiki page.

How to Install Virtualbox 5.0 in Ubuntu:

1. Before installing the new release, you may first remove the previous release on your system via Synaptic Package Manager, Software Center, or by running below command in terminal (Ctrl+Alt+T):

sudo apt-get remove virtualbox virtualbox-4.* virtualbox-5.0

2. Download Virtualbox 5.0 from the official links below:

Download Virtualbox 5.0

select i386 for 32-bit, or amd64 for 64bit system. Ubuntu 15.04, Ubuntu 14.10, Ubuntu 14.04, and Ubuntu 12.04 are supported so far.

3. After downloaded the package, click to open with Software Center/Gdebi and finally install the Virtualbox 5.0

Addition, to receive future updates and fixes for VBox 5 through Software Updater or your Package Manager, you may add the official Virtualbox repository for Linux

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

The command creates a separate source file for VBox and writes the repository address into it. $(lsb_release -cs) automatically detects your release name, Linux Mint and Elementary OS users have to replace it (e.g., trusty for Mint 17.x and Freya, precise for Mint 13 and Luna).

Also download and insert the keyring so that Ubuntu trusts the package from that repository:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

Finally you can upgrade VirtualBox as a part of system updates through Software Updater/Package Manager when a new release is out.

In Howtos Virtualbox, Virtualbox 5.0

VirtualBox 4.3.22 Fixed Kernel 3.19 issue for Linux Guests

Last updated: February 13, 2015

Oracle has released a new maintenance release for VirtualBox 4.3 series. For Linux Guests, X.Org server 1.17 now is supported, guest additions do not build with 3.19 kernel issue is fixed.

Full changes in VirtualBox 4.3.22:

VMM: refined measurement of TSC frequency on the host, improves timekeeping for guests
VMM: decreased CPU load resulting from guest MMIO writes to the virtual APIC
VMM: fixed interception of debug exceptions, observed while using the dbx debugger on Solaris guests (VT-x only)
GUI: 3D overlay window positioning code improved, fixed potential misplacement of 3D accelerated guest graphics content
GUI: fixed accident SSL authentication failures during update check on Windows hosts
GUI: never send the “ACPI power” keyboard scancode to the guest, we have the ACPI power button for that
GUI: was unable to properly restore seamless mode VM from snapshot/saved-state under some circumstances
VBoxHeadless: don’t crash if 3D is enabled in the VM settings
ATA: fixed several passthrough issues
Audio: fixed DirectSound failure when the the host has no audio input device
SB16: fixed compatibility issue
Storage: fixed broken CD/DVD passthrough when using the IDE controller
NAT: new ping proxy for Windows hosts
NAT: Properly report outbound connect(2) failures to guest with TCP RST or ICMP
NAT Network: no need for frequent wakeups in VBoxNetDHCP and VBoxNetNAT
Host-only adapter: prevent Windows from creating an “Unidentified network”
Bridged Networking: don’t leak host-to-guest traffic to the wireless network when bridging to a wireless interface
Main: fixed a possible race when changing the medium leading to a deadlock under rare conditions
VBoxManage: fixed return code if starting a VM failed
API: fixed 2 deadlock opportunities related to medium handling
API: fixed bug in XPCOM which created too few worker threads, sporadically resulting in a deadlock
SDK: fixed a garbage collection leak in the Python VirtualBox webservice API binding
Linux hosts: fixes for activated SMAP (Broadwell and later)
X11 guests: prevent unwanted hiding of guest screens on multi-monitor guests
X11 guests: added support for X.Org Server 1.17
X11 Additions: fixed a memory leak in VBoxService if libdbus is available but dbus-daemon isn’t running
Windows Additions: prevent VBox WDDM driver from loading if host reports weak OpenGL capabilities. 3D content now can be shown over Remote Desktop connection.
Winodws Additions: some fixes for recent Windows 10 Previews
Linux Additions: fixed a compatibility issue with 64-bit Linux 2.4 kernels
Linux Additions: fixed a potential use-after-free when unloading the VBoxGuest module
Linux Additions: Linux 3.19 fixes

Download / Install VirtualBox in Ubuntu:

For Linux, you can either download the .deb installer (click install .deb package via Software Center) from:

VBox For Linux Download Page

or install VBox and receive future updates from its official repository:

1. Open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T. When it opens, run command to add VBox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -cs) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Run command to download and install the keyring:

wget -q https://www.virtualbox.org/download/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Finally upgrade VBox 4.3 via Software Updater, or install it for the first time via below 2 commands:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

In Howtos Virtualbox, virtualbox 4.3

VirtualBox 4.2.28 Released With Kernel 3.19 & X11 Fixes

Last updated: January 22, 2015

Still using the VirtualBox 4.2 series? Oracle has recently released an update, VirtualBox 4.2.28, with various Linux related bug fixes, including Linux Kernel 3.19 fixes, Gnome Session crashes, etc.

Below is the full list of changes:

VMM: fixed a potential misbehavior after restoring the A20 state from a saved state
VRDP: fixed a rare crash when using remote audio input
Floppy: fixed read errors and guest memory corruption when running under control of QEMM
Storage: fixed data corruption when resizing VHD images under certain circumstances
NAT: fixed handling of the RFC 1533 DHCP PAD option
X11 hosts: Made the extra key on Brazilian Thinkpads work (bug #8745)
X11 hosts: fixed a problem of input focus cycles and immediately released key presses in full screen mode (bug #13238)
Linux guests: fix a crash in gnome-session (bug #13335)
Linux Additions: fixed a potential use-after-free when unloading the VBoxGuest module
Linux Additions: Linux 3.19 fixes (#13741)
X11 Additions: support X.Org Server 1.15 (bug #12623)
X11 guests: Add support for X.Org Server 1.16 (bug #13207)
X11 guests: fixed a wrong parameter in the video driver which caused problems with full-screen X11 clients (bug #2748)
X11 guests: fix a bug handling video driver display properties w

To install Virtualbox 4.2.28, download the installer from the link below (for Windows, Mac OS X, and Linux systems):

Download VBox 4.2.28

For Debian/Ubuntu based system, you can also install/upgrade Vbox from its official repository. To do so:

1. Open terminal from the Dash or by pressing Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, run command to add vbox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Then install the keyring:

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Finally update package cache and install or upgrade vbox 4.2.x:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.2

Support for Ubuntu 8.04, Ubuntu 10.04, Ubuntu 11.04, …, up to Ubuntu 14.10.

In Howtos Virtualbox, virtualbox 4.2

Official Virtualbox Repository Added Ubuntu 14.10 Support

Last updated: November 25, 2014

Oracle finally made the Virtualbox binary packages for Ubuntu 14.10 Utopic available in its official Linux repository. Which means running regular system updates via Software Updater will keep your Virtualbox release always up-to-date.

While Ubuntu 14.10 repositories provide the Virtualbox 4.3.18, the latest has reached the version 4.3.20. For the changelog, see the web page.

How to Add Virtualbox Repository in Ubuntu:

Open terminal from the Unity Dash or just press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard. When it opens, paste the command below into terminal and run to get the key:

wget -q -O - http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc | sudo apt-key add -

Type in your user password when it asks. Then run command to add the vbox repository for Ubuntu 14.10:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian utopic non-free contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.org.list'

Now install Vbox 4.3 via your package manager after checking for updates. Or just run commands below one by one:

sudo apt-get update

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

Finally keep your system up-to-date by running regular system updates, which also keep your Virutalbox 4.3 series up-to-date.

In Howtos Ubuntu 14.10, Virtualbox, virtualbox 4.3

Virtualbox 4.3.4 released, Install / Upgrade in Ubuntu Linux Mint

Last updated: November 30, 2013

The latest Virtualbox 4.3.4 was released recently. Now it works with Linux Kernel 3.13. This tutorial shows you what’s new and how to install or upgrade to Virtualbox 4.3.4 in Ubuntu 13.10, Ubuntu 13.04, Ubuntu 12.04, Linux Mint.

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.4:

VMM: fix for a bug in the Local APIC emulation causing a BSOD when booting certain guests (4.3.0 regression;)

VMM: fixed loading of saved states if VT-x/AMD-V was disabled (4.3.2 regression;)

VMM: fixed single-stepping inside the guest for certain instructions (VT-x only;)

VMM: fixed a performance issue involving APIC accesses after rebooting a VM (4.3.0 regression; VT-x only;)

VMM: fixed TPR patching to be enabled for 32-bit guests even when the chosen guest type is 64-bit (4.3.0 regression; AMD-V only)

VMM: fixed occasional VINF_EM_TRIPLE_FAULT errors on hosts without the unrestricted guest execution feature

GUI: don’t bother the user with the BPP warning if no Guest Additions are installed

GUI: fixed machine-window paint artifacts on VM reboot / guest-screen resize

GUI: make sure the assigned license and description are attached to the exported appliance

GUI: fixed bugs in close VM action restrictions handling

GUI: fixed incorrect wizards text colors for some unusual look and feel styles

GUI: should restore seamless mode as soon as possible after VM reboot or shutdown

GUI: fixes for medium enumeration

GUI: the OS X hot corners were not accessible while a VirtualBox VM is running (Mac OS X hosts only;)

GUI: fixed an old bug which bared the host from cleanly shutdown / reboot if the VM selector window is open (Mac OS X hosts only;)

Host-only Networking: fixed creating of host-only network interfaces (4.3.0 regression;)

NAT: don’t run into an infinite loop in case the host cannot access any DNS server (4.3.0 regression;)

NAT: don’t re-connect the cable if the DNS information changes and the cable was disconnected before (4.3.0 regression;)

NAT: fixed several issues with automatically starting / terminating of NAT networks on VM start / stop and configuration changes

VBoxNetDHCP: don’t block prevent VBoxSVC from terminating

2D Video acceleration: fix crashes on presentation mode switches

BusLogic: allow to run VMs with more than one BusLogic SCSI controller enabled

Keyboard: fixed a VM crash if a VM was resumed from a saved state where at least one key was pressed

VBoxSVC: fixed a heap corruption under certain conditions (4.3.0 regression)

VBoxSVC: fixed a race leading to a hang during initialization

OVF: fixed import logic for OVF appliances containing multiple VMs

OVF: improved logic for finding an appropriate image format during OVF import

API: block the removal of the current snapshot if it has child snapshots (only relevant for VMs without snapshottable hard disks, their presence always prevented removal), which resulted in VM configuration corruption

API: mark VM configurations with snapshots but without current snapshot as inaccessible, as this combination is nonsense

API: fixed information for some automatically generated events (only with XPCOM, Windows host was not affected), which caused errors when getting some of the attributes over the webservice

SDK: extended the functionality coverage for the C bindings

Guest Control: various bug fixes and improved VBoxManage help

Windows hosts: another attempt to fix the massive DPC latency

Mac OS X hosts: properly sign the kernel extensions for Mavericks hosts

Mac OS X hosts: fixed a bug where the VirtualBox dock icon was not properly removed from the dock after a VM terminated preventing Mavericks hosts from shutting down

Mac OS X hosts: fixed minor installer issue

Linux hosts / guests: Linux 3.13 compile fixes

Linux guests: build the vboxvideo kernel module correctly on OL/RHEL 6.1 guests

Linux guests: make 3D work on Slackware 14.1

Guest Additions/3D: fixed an occasional dead-lock

Windows Additions/3D: fixed possible memory leaking

Windows Additions/XPDM: use separate tables containing valid video modes for each virtual monitor

Windows Additions: fixed automatic logins for Vista and newer Windows guests

Download & Install Virtualbox 4.3.4:

You can either download the DEB from Linux download page, or install it from official repository:

(Hate Linux commands? Well, go to this page for graphical way)

1. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below to add VBox repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

2. Get the key:

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

3. Update & install:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

In Howtos Virtualbox, virtualbox 4.3

Virtualbox 4.3.2 released, How to Upgrade in Ubuntu Linux Mint

Last updated: November 3, 2013

Virtualbox 4.3.2, the first maintenance release of virtualbox 4.3 was released with lots of bugfixes. Here’s how to upgrade it in Ubuntu 13.10 Saucy, Ubuntu 13.04 Raring, Ubuntu 12.04 Precise, Ubuntu 12.10 Quantal and Linux Mint.

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.2:

VMM: fixed restoring of the auxiliary TSC MSR in VT-x that caused host BSODs on Windows 8.1 hosts and unpredictable behavior on other hosts
VMM: provide fake values for a couple of MSRs to make more guests happy on certain hosts
VMM: fixed detection of VT-x on certain machines where the BIOS would not set the VMX LOCK feature bit, which affected the VM settings in the GUI
VMM: fixed TPR threshold which caused BSODs on Windows XP guests that use the I/O APIC (VT-x only;
VMM: fixed PATM saved state incompatibility for software virtualized VMs
VMM: don’t fail if AMD-V isn’t available if the VM is configured to use software virtualization
GUI: fixed guest resize breakage on visual representation mode change (when switching from normal to fullscreen etc)
GUI: make sure the guest screen is resized after restoring a VM from a saved state if the host screen size changed
GUI: disabled SCROLL LED sync from HID LEDs synchronization (Mac OS X hosts only)
Webcam passthrough improvements including GUI support (see the manual for more information)
Guest Control: implemented more IGuestSession methods
Guest Control: added support for deleting and renaming guest files + directories in VBoxManage
Guest Control: various bugfixes
API: incorrect handling of hardware UUID default value, resulting in an all zero DMI/SMBIOS UUID, which leads to Windows requesting re-activation
3D support: fixed crash on shutdown if 2D video acceleration is enabled (Mac OS X hosts only)
3D support: miscellaneous fixes
Storage: fixed detection of CD/DVD media when switching from an empty to a host drive with passthrough enabled
Storage: fixed hang of the VM process when the disk is full under certain circumstances
NAT: listen for changes of NAT Network setting at runtime
NAT: NAT Network DHCP server now saves leases to a persistent storage
Main: monitor changes in host DNS configuration
Mac OS X host: reworked a mechanism of adding a VM desktop alias from the VM selector
Mac OS X installer: remove old kernel extensions during upgrade
Linux Additions: correctly set umask before installing
X11 Additions/3D: fix freezes starting 3D desktop
X11 Additions/3D: fix depth buffer support
X11 Additions/3D: fix Age Of Empires 3 rendering
Windows Additions/3D: fix Google Earth plugin rendering
Windows Additions/WDDM: autoresize fixes

Install or Upgrade Virtualbox 4.3.2:

You can easily get this version from Virtualbox for Linux official download page.

Or install it from Virtualbox repository for Linux. Press Ctrl+Alt+T on your keyboard to open terminal. When it opens, run commands below one by one to add the repository:

sudo sh -c 'echo "deb http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian $(lsb_release -sc) contrib" >> /etc/apt/sources.list.d/virtualbox.list'

wget -q http://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/debian/oracle_vbox.asc -O- | sudo apt-key add -

In the code, change $(lsb_release -sc) to:

raring for Ubuntu 13.10, Linux 15 & 16.
quantal for Linux Mint 14
precise for Linux Mint 13 & Elementary OS Luna.

After that, update packages list and install Virtuablox via:

sudo apt-get update; sudo apt-get install virtualbox-4.3

virtualbox 4.3.2 in ubuntu 13.10

In Howtos Virtualbox, virtualbox 4.3

Archives For Virtualbox

How to Add Virtualbox Repository in Ubuntu:

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.4:

Download & Install Virtualbox 4.3.4:

What’s New in Virtualbox 4.3.2:

Install or Upgrade Virtualbox 4.3.2:

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