Virtualbox/VMware Kernel Update Pow-wow

For the last couple of months I have been under the impression that the DKMS package that was developed by Dell and included with Ubuntu 8.10 was going to take care of all our worries regarding Linux Kernel header modules.  One of the biggest annoyances I’ve had to put up with ever since I started using virtualzation software (like VMware Server and Sun Virtualbox) is the fact that after a new Linux Kernel came down the wire, I would have no choice but to open a terminal window and run a command to manually recompile Kernel headers.  I’ve been telling people for weeks, “Yeah, 8.10 does it all for you automatically.  No need to mess with the terminal anymore.”  To my surprise yesterday I downloaded the latest updates including a new Kernel, and yet I still had to recompile my Virtualbox kernel headers.  (By the way, this kernel update patched a security vulnerability that was found the day before, but now it’s fixed.  24 hours to fix a hole = lots of envy from Windows users).  I’m waiting for someone to reply to a post I put up in Ubuntu forums about this to find out what’s going on, but in the mean time here’s what you need to do to fix your VM software:

Virtualbox:

Open a terminal window and paste in the following text:

  • sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup
You’ll be asked to enter your admin password and that’s about it.

After about 30 seconds or so it should be finished and your Virtualbox should be back to normal. Whew!

VMware Server:

Open a terminal window and paste in the following text:

  • sudo vmware-config.pl -default
If all goes well, VMware Server should be up and running as it was before the updates.  If it’s not, you might want to reinstall VMware.  The best way to do that is to uninstall it with this command:
  • sudo vmware-uninstall.pl
And then follow this guide to reinstall (This guide is for versions 1.0.7 and 1.0.8).

This entry was posted on Saturday, November 29th, 2008 at 4:32 pm and is filed under HOWTO: Ubuntu, Ubuntu. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.

2 Responses to “Virtualbox/VMware Kernel Update Pow-wow”

  1. Jim Deakin Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 9:58 am

    I just checked the vboxdrv file in my Ubuntu 8.10 box, and they’ve removed the ‘setup’ option!

    Thought you should know so you could update.

    Cheers

  2. Jim Deakin Says:
    February 2nd, 2009 at 10:05 am

    Apologies. It’s been removed in the -ose version, but is still there if you get the latest version from Sun rather than Ubuntu reositories.

    Jim

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