Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

|
Last Updated:
|
|

Follow through this tutorial to learn how you can easily install VirtualBox guest additions on Linux Mint 21. VirtualBox guest additions consist of device drivers and system applications that optimize the guest operating system for better performance and usability.

Installing VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

Guest Additions Features

VirtualBox guest additions enhances the performance and usability of the virtual machine in various ways;

  • Mouse pointer integration.
  • Shared folders.
  • Better video support.
  • Seamless windows mapping on the host’s desktop
  • Generic host/guest communication channels for controlling and monitoring guest execution.
  • Time synchronization.
  • Shared clipboard.
  • Automated logins/credentials passing.

Install Kernel Headers and Required Build Tools

To begin with, install required build tools, the Linux kernel headers and the support modules, if not already installed.

Run the command below to verify if these requirements have already been installed.

sudo dpkg -l | grep -E "dkms|linux-headers-$(uname -r)|build-essential"

ii  dkms                                       2.8.7-2ubuntu2mint2                        all          Dynamic Kernel Module Support Framework
ii  linux-headers-5.15.0-56-generic            5.15.0-56.62                               amd64        Linux kernel headers for version 5.15.0 on 64 bit x86 SMP

The ii means that the package is installed. As you can see from the output, dkms is not installed. If none if these packages is installed, you can simply use the APT package manager to install them.

sudo apt update -y
sudo apt upgrade
sudo apt install dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r) build-essential

Mount and Install Guest Additions ISO file on the Virtual Machine

To proceed, you need to have the Guest Additions ISO file mounted on the virtual machine.

Guest Addition ISO file can be inserted into the VM in two ways;

  1. Insert Guest Additions ISO File Manually from Virtual Machine menu
  2. Install Guest Additions ISO from Linux Mint Repositories

Insert Guest Additions ISO File Manually

Before you can insert Guest additions ISO file, ensure that your VM has an empty optical drive attached. You can check this from the storage settings, Controller:IDE.

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

Next, navigate to Menu bar on your VM and click Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image.

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

When you insert the Guest additions ISO file, a dialog box is launched which prompts you to run or cancel the Guest Additions installer.

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

Click Run to launch the installation of Guest additions on Linux Mint 21. You will be prompted to enter your password to authenticate the installation.

Upon successful authentication, the Guest Additions installation will now run.

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

Press Enter to close the installation screen.

Restart your virtual machine to reload the Kernel modules.

sudo systemctl reboot -i

You can also install the Guest Additions from the terminal. When the Guest Addition ISO file is inserted, it is mounted on /media/$USER/VBox_GAs_x.x.x. Where x.x.x is the build version of VirtualBox.

Therefore press cancel when the installer dialog box opens up.

Then navigate to the mount point of the guest additions and run the command below replacing the version number accordingly;

cd /media/$USER/VBox_GAs_7.0.6
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

or simply run;

sudo /media/$USER/VBox_GAs_7.0.6/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

Installing Guest Additions ISO from APT Repositories

It is also possible to install the Guest Additions ISO file from APT repos. Guest Additions ISO file is provided by the virtualbox-guest-additions-iso package.

sudo apt-cache policy virtualbox-guest-additions-iso

The available version maybe a bit dated!

See sample output of the command above as of this writing;


virtualbox-guest-additions-iso:
  Installed: (none)
  Candidate: 6.1.38-1~ubuntu1.22.04.1
  Version table:
     6.1.38-1~ubuntu1.22.04.1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy-updates/multiverse amd64 Packages
     6.1.34-1 500
        500 http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu jammy/multiverse amd64 Packages

As you can see, we have guest additions for VirtualBox 6.1.38 while we are running VirtualBox 7.0.6;

If the right version is available, simply run the command below to install it.

sudo apt install virtualbox-guest-additions-iso

Otherwise, if it is a must that you use this method of installing Guest additions, then download the DEB binary from Debian SID repos;

wget http://ftp.de.debian.org/debian/pool/non-free/v/virtualbox-guest-additions-iso/virtualbox-guest-additions-iso_7.0.6-1_all.deb -P /tmp

The install the Guest additions ISO;

sudo apt install /tmp/virtualbox-guest-additions-iso_7.0.6-1_all.deb

When installed, the VirtualBox Guest Additions ISO is now available as /usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso.

To install it, you need to mount it.

sudo mount -o loop /usr/share/virtualbox/VBoxGuestAdditions.iso /media/

Next, run the installation.

sudo /media/VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

Verifying archive integrity...  100%   MD5 checksums are OK. All good.
Uncompressing VirtualBox 7.0.6 Guest Additions for Linux  100%  
VirtualBox Guest Additions installer
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Starting.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Setting up modules
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the VirtualBox Guest Additions kernel 
modules.  This may take a while.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: To build modules for other installed kernels, run
VirtualBox Guest Additions:   /sbin/rcvboxadd quicksetup <version>
VirtualBox Guest Additions: or
VirtualBox Guest Additions:   /sbin/rcvboxadd quicksetup all
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Building the modules for kernel 5.15.0-56-generic.
update-initramfs: Generating /boot/initrd.img-5.15.0-56-generic
I: The initramfs will attempt to resume from /dev/dm-1
I: (/dev/mapper/vgmint-swap_1)
I: Set the RESUME variable to override this.
VirtualBox Guest Additions: Running kernel modules will not be replaced until 
the system is restarted

Once the installation is done, restart your system to reload kernel modules;

sudo systemctl reboot -i

You should now be able to utilize the features brought about by the Guest additions on your virtual machine.

For example, you should now be on full screen and can be able to enable shared clipboard, shared folders, drag and drop…

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21

For full screen feature, if your VM doesn’t resize after reboot, then under view menu, click Auto-resize guest display, to disable and re-enable.

That is all on our guide on how to install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Linux Mint 21.

Other Tutorials

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on AlmaLinux

Install VirtualBox Guest Additions on Oracle Linux 9

SUPPORT US VIA A VIRTUAL CUP OF COFFEE

We're passionate about sharing our knowledge and experiences with you through our blog. If you appreciate our efforts, consider buying us a virtual coffee. Your support keeps us motivated and enables us to continually improve, ensuring that we can provide you with the best content possible. Thank you for being a coffee-fueled champion of our work!

Photo of author
Kifarunix
Linux Certified Engineer, with a passion for open-source technology and a strong understanding of Linux systems. With experience in system administration, troubleshooting, and automation, I am skilled in maintaining and optimizing Linux infrastructure.

Leave a Comment