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2 Installation
make install
The VirtualBox kernel module needs a device node to operate. The above make
command will tell you how to create the device node, depending on your Linux system.
The procedure is slightly different for a classical Linux setup with a /dev directory, a
system with the now deprecated devfs and a modern Linux system with udev.
On certain Linux distributions, you might experience difficulties building the mod-
ule. You will have to analyze the error messages from the build system to diagnose the
cause of the problems. In general, make sure that the correct Linux kernel sources are
used for the build process.
Note that the user who is going to run VirtualBox needs read and write permission
on the VirtualBox kernel module device node /dev/vboxdrv. You can either define
a vboxusers group by entering
groupadd vboxusers
chgrp vboxusers /dev/vboxdrv
chmod 660 /dev/vboxdrv
or, alternatively, simply give all users access (insecure, not recommended!)
chmod 666 /dev/vboxdrv
You should also add any users who will be allowed to use host USB devices in
VirtualBox guests to the appropriate USB users group for your distribution. This group
is often called usb or usbusers.
Next, you will have to install the system initialization script for the kernel module:
cp /opt/VirtualBox/vboxdrv.sh /etc/init.d/vboxdrv
(assuming you installed VirtualBox to the /opt/VirtualBox directory) and activate
the initialization script using the right method for your distribution. You should create
VirtualBox’s configuration file:
mkdir /etc/vbox
echo INSTALL_DIR=/opt/VirtualBox > /etc/vbox/vbox.cfg
and, for convenience, create the following symbolic links:
ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VirtualBox
ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxSVC
ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxManage
ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxHeadless
ln -sf /opt/VirtualBox/VBox.sh /usr/bin/VBoxSDL
2.3.4.4 Updating and uninstalling VirtualBox
Before updating or uninstalling VirtualBox, you must terminate any virtual machines
which are currently running and exit the VirtualBox or VBoxSVC applications. To
update VirtualBox, simply run the installer of the updated version. To uninstall
VirtualBox, invoke the installer like this:
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