Install Fedora 19 on VirtualBox with Guest Additions

Update: For users looking for installation procedure of Fedora 20. Please refer to Install Fedora 20 on VirtualBox with Guest Additions

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The following installation guide demonstrate the procedure for installing Fedora 19 on VirtualBox. This procedure was tested on VirtualBox installed in a Mac Mini host.

For installation of Fedora 19 on a computer, please refer to Installation Guide for Fedora 19. For Compiz fan, there is a Mate Compiz spin, please refer to the post Install Fedora 19 Mate Compiz Spin. For netinstall, refer to the post Install Fedora 19 using Netinstall.

This installation guide consist of 3 parts: Configuration of Virtual Machine, Installing Fedora 19 and Install VirtualBox Linux Guest Additions.

Configuration of Virtual Machine

On the VirtualBox Manager, click New.


Enter the name of virtual machine, select Linux as type and select Fedora.


Enter the allocation of system memory to the virtual machine. The minimum is 1024. You can allocate more depending on your system resource. Click Continue.


Select Create a virtual hard disk now. Click Create.


Leave the hard disk file type as default. You can choose other file type so that it can be ported to other virtual system.


Use default.


Enter the hard disk name and click Create.

Highlight the virtual machine. Select Machine >> Settings. Select the Display tab and increase the video memory as shown:


Click OK.

Installing Fedora 19
Start the virtual machine. On first boot you are given a dialog box to choose the disk image you want to use.


Select the appropriate disk image and click Start


Once Fedora 19 is loaded, you can install the system into hard disk by clicking install to Hard Drive. The first screen of installation wizard is shown below.


Select the language and make sure you check Set keyboard to default layout for selected language.


On the installation summary, you'll notice that there is a warning sign on installation destination. You need to confirm the installation target drive. Click on INSTALLATION DESTINATION.


As you can see the only hard disk was already checked. Do not click the hard disk again as it will uncheck the target drive. If you have more than 1 disk, make sure the correct disk is checked. Click Done on the top left.


This dialog box allows you to configure the partition manually. I usually let the system configure it automatically, however, I would change the partition scheme to standard partition. Leave as LVM mode if you think you might run out of disk space. LVM mode is useful as it can layer a single partition on two hard disk. Click Continue.


Revire the summary page and change any setting such as time zone or keyboard. Click Begin Installation.


Once the installation starts, in the meantime, you can set the root password and add user. Click ROOT PASSWORD.


Enter the root password and click Done when ready. Click USER CREATION.


Enter the user name and set the user password. Make sure you check Make this user administrator. Click Done when ready. 


Wait for the installation to complete.


Click Quit on the lower right corner when installation is complete. Shutdown the system first. Remove the boot disk from the storage by selecting Machine >> Settings. Select the storage tab, highlight on the disc image on the left panel and then click on the disc image on the right panel and select Remove disc from virtual drive


Click OK when done and start the virtual machine again. You will be shown the login screen.


The desktop is shown as below:


The following dialog box will be shown for the first time:


Select English and click Next.


This allows you to add different input sources. Click Next.


This dialog box allows you to configure online accounts. Click Next.


Click Start using GNOME 3. This completes the installation.

Updating the System
Click Activities and type in Terminal on the search box. Launch the terminal.

Use the following command to update the system

sudo yum update

Once the update is complete, restart the virtual machine. Usually there is no need to restart the machine after the update. However, you need to restart the system if you've just update a new kernel.

Configuring VirtualBox Linux Guest Additions

VirtualBox guest additions allows you to control the screen size of the virtual machine, in addition, you can share folders between Fedora and the host system.

Open a terminal, and install the following software in order to configure the guest additions:

sudo yum install gcc dkms kernel-devel

Once the installation is complete. On the menu of the virtual machine select Devices >> Install Guest Additions...

A dialog box asking to if you want to run the disc just mounted. Click Run.

The installation proceed as follows:


You need to restart the virtual machine

If for some reason you could not run the disc image. You can navigate to the folder of the mounted disc and launch the program from there.

Please be reminded that the mount CD drive in Fedora is located at /run/media/<username>/

If you navigate to
cd /run/media/technozeal

You will notice a folder named VBOXADDITIONS.....
Navigate to the folder and run the program
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run




After you have installed Fedora 19 on the virtual machine and you've also installed the guest additions, you may need to install additional software and plugins. 



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Comments

  1. Thanks much for the how-to. It doesn't get any simpler than that.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Excellent tutorial. Thank you.

    ReplyDelete
  3. thanks 4 tutorial it really helped

    ReplyDelete
  4. +1 to above comments.

    ReplyDelete
  5. I don't get the Guest Additions mounted when I do Devices >> Install Guest Additions. How do I mount them?

    Thanks for the help,

    C

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is an unusual problem.

      First make sure your vm is running. Then select Devices >> CD/DVD Devices >>choose a virtual CD/DVD disc file. Navigate to the location of the iso file for Guest Additions and select it.

      The location of the Guest Addition iso file is different depending on your host operating system. For windows system, check under C:/Program Files/Oracle/VritualBox. For Linux it is usually under /opt/virtualbox. For Mac, use the finder to display applications, right click VirtualBox and select Show Package Contents. Under Contents >> MacOS, you can find the iso file. You might need to extract it to other folder.

      I hope the solution helps. Good Luck.

      Delete
    2. Also had to sudo sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

      Delete
    3. When after clicking "Install guest additions" the desktop (Gnome, ...) asks what to do with the cd/dvd, select open with Nautilus, Dolphin, ... so it get's mounted. Wait a bit and navigate to /run/media/username/VBox...

      Delete
  6. would you mind to post a link where can I download fedora 19 image for virtualbox ?
    thanks

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. VirtualBox did prepared images for Fedora 19. Please remember to rename the password. Please also note that guest additions is not installed.

      The url is http://virtualboxes.org/images/fedora/#fedora19

      Delete
  7. I see that you use a Mac. I have had trouble with Fedora 19 (both 32-bit and 64-bit) running in a stable fashion in Virtualbox 4.2.16, and with the newer 4.2.18. It crashes very often when doing even simple things. I initially started with the release candidate and thought that was the issue. But the experience is the same with the release version of F19. What has been your (or anyone's) experience as far as stability goes?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Yes! F19 sometimes crashes in vbox with a Mac host. The only version of F19 that is stable is text based minimum install. I guess it must be the Gnome.

      F19 in vbox with a Windows 7 hosts fair much better.

      I've also installed F19 on an external hard disk with a Windows laptop (AMD processor and 4GB RAM). It turns out to be quite stable as it is install locally.

      Good Luck!

      Delete
    2. The problem I have, on Win7 as host, is the shared files. The Windows side seems fine but only root can enter the directories and a simple ls hangs, no crash just hangs. ^C exits fine,

      The ls -g for the dir is:

      drwxrwx---. 1 vboxsf 0 Sep 24 13:10 sf_vbox

      root can do nothing with this directory.

      Have you seen anything like this?

      Delete
    3. No, I did not encounter such problem. How do you mount your share folders? I use mount -t vboxsf -rw ShareFolderName /mountpoint.

      Delete
    4. Now I experienced the same problem. After creating shared folder, it hangs when using ls. When I start installing F19, I did create a temporary share folder and it works fine.

      Delete
    5. After some brief research on the net, I learned that this is a known problem and it affects many types of distro. It seems it got to do with the kernel. I don'know if fixes should be done in vbox or Fedora. We just need to wait for bug fix.

      Delete
    6. I've been banging my head for hours today just to find out this was a bug. Apparently it's a bug in VB, and has been fixed. The fix is included in the 4.3.0 BETA3 release, but there's still no new version of 4.2.x that has the fix.

      Delete
  8. i have a problem with loading fedora 19 itself, before installation.
    After choosing the iso, I get a screen saying :
    " Fedora Live

    Start Fedora Live
    Troubleshooter"

    However, when i select the start fedora live option, the VM screen goes blank.
    Same thing happens when i chose any option from the troubleshooter
    Do i need to change any display settings?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. This is very strange as VM uses standard display configuration. Try other distro or older version of Fedora such as Fedora 18. You need to rule out if it is the media problem or VM itself. For media problem please perform checksum to ensure that the iso is not corrupted, there are instruction in Fedora web site on how to use checksum.

      I assume you are using VBox. I have no problem running Fedora or Ubuntu on VBox, however, I encounter problem running puppy linux on VBox. I've also encounter problem running Linux Mint on VBox with Windows 7, however, I manage to run Linux Mint on VBox with Mac OS X.

      There are a lot of factors affecting VM such as your hardware capabilities. Try to load a text based Linux on your VBox. If you encounter problem running different distro, then you might need to reinstall the VBox.

      Good Luck to you!

      Delete
    2. I am having the exact same problem. Vbox version 4.3.2 and Fedora 19-1. Odd

      Delete
  9. i have a lenovo z500
    then which linux is better for my laptop

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If you are using a brand new or less than 6 months old laptop, you might encounter driver problem. If your laptop is old then your chances for success is higher.

      Please stick to more popular Linux such as Ubuntu or Fedora as their drivers development are more updated compared to other less well known Linux distro.

      Delete
  10. how to get full screen, plzzz help me.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. First you need to install VirtualBox Linux Guest Additions. You can find the instruction at the last part of this document "Configuring VirtualBox Linux Guest Additions". Reboot your vm and select View >> Switch to Full Screen Mode. Be sure to know how to undo full screen. The default is to toggle with Host + F.

      Delete
  11. If you get an error (when installing the guest additions) like:

    Warning: unknown version of the X Window System installed. Not installing
    X Window System drivers.

    There is a solution at: http://forums.fedoraforum.org/showthread.php?t=290289

    ReplyDelete
  12. HI, I am Raj,

    I am was trying to install Fedora 19 in virtual box, After the installation complete, It is asking for a reboot, when I re boot, it is going to installation step again... I tried 3 times and I cant figure out the problem, Can you please help me.

    Thanks,

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Please remember to eject the boot disc after rebooting. On the lower right corner of the vm, click on the disc icon, you can eject the disc image from there.

      Delete
  13. Thanks for an excellent step by step tutorial. I have installed on a Win7 host using VB 4.3.2 and have one comment and one question:

    1. In the early steps, when selecting the image, VB defaults to Version: Fedora. For a first time user this may be a caveat since I need to go to the dropdown and select the 64 bit version.

    2. I installed the guest addition as described above. After rebooting and resizing the window, Fedora crashes when I click Activities. Is there a solution to this?

    Thanks in advance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi, Make sure that you have installed the guest additions and allocate enough video memory and RAM in your VBox.

      If you have done all this and the system still crashes, you might want to revert to older version of Fedora.

      I don't know where the problem lies. It could be Fedora or it could be VBox. When I installed Fedora on VBox, the system crashes quite often. When I installed Fedora natively, the system works fine.

      Initially I thought it was VBox problem as VBox has been quite unstable lately. However, when I installed the latest Ubuntu, I never experience any crashes.

      Please note that Fedora is an advance operating system that always experiment with the latest technology. At times, it can be quite unstable compare to other distro.

      Delete
  14. the only issue I am having is the network connection. it appears that fedora 19 is not recognizing my network card, as the only network connection I am getting is lo. anyone else or any assistance.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi,

      If you are using VBox, it should recognize the network as long as your host network is running properly. Please check your virtual machine configuration especially the network section.

      If you are installing Fedora natively, then it is likely the driver issue. You need to find the make of your network card and install Linux drivers.

      Good Luck.

      Delete
  15. i followed the first step, but i had a black screen when i doing "Select the appropriate disk image and click Start".
    help me please


    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It could be a number of problem. It could be a video problem. First, ensure that you allocate all 128MB video memory in the vm. Another problem could be system memory, the vm may response slowly if you are using 4GB of RAM and allocate only 2GB for the vm. It is preferably to have 8GB in your system and you can allocate at least 4GB to the vm.

      Delete
  16. i can't choose in my vb fedora 64bits i have only 32 bits, i have windows seven and vaio sony pc
    the problem still when i doing host+R

    ReplyDelete

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