Virtualbox Download Linux

Posted on  by

This is the part 2 of our trilogy of posts about VirtualBox! You are going to see how to install it on Linux. I focused on the most popular distributions, but if you don’t use any of them, in the end you will find generic instructions, which should work on most Linux systems.

First Thing’s First: Install VirtualBox. Windows (v6.1.16) Mac; Linux; If you prefer using the terminal, simply type the following commands for the successful installation of the latest VirtualBox. First, Add Oracle VirtualBox Keys To Your System. Both VirtualBox and VMware support OVA & OVF image formats which means you can use VirtualBox image on VMware and vice versa. However, sometime you may face network issues due to interface naming, especially in Red Hat Enterprise Linux derivatives.

  • Download Ubuntu Vmware (VMDK, VHD) and VirtualBox (VDI) ready-to-use images for free. Run Ubuntu as secondary OS on your primary operating system.
  • Oracle VM VirtualBox (formerly Sun VirtualBox, innotek VirtualBox and Sun xVM VirtualBox) is a free and cross-platform virtualization application that provides a family of powerful x86 virtualization tools designed for desktop, server and embedded use. VirtualBox can be used on Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X and Microsoft Windows platforms to run.

In part 1, you’ve seen what virtualization is, what VirtualBox is, how to install VirtualBox on Windows, how to create a virtual machine and how to use it to try Linux.

If you fell into this page, start reading the first part:

Now let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Linux.

Usually I write about the openSUSE distribution (which is equivalent to writing about the recently released openSUSE-based Linux Kamarada). But this sequence of posts aims to show you how you can try Linux without leaving your current operating system, which can be a Linux distribution other than openSUSE. So, today, we are going to talk about openSUSE, but also about some other Linux distributions as well.

Maybe you are reading about Linux Kamarada, thinking of giving it a try… who knows?

VirtualBox on Ubuntu and derivatives

Let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Ubuntu and its derivatives, among which we can highlight: Linux Mint, elementary OS and Zorin OS.

The easiest way for Ubuntu users to install VirtualBox is to retrieve it from the official multiverse repository, which always provides the latest version of VirtualBox (or a version close to the latest).

Start by enabling the multiverse repository. The easiest way to do this is by opening the Software & Updates app and checking the Software restricted by copyright or legal issues (multiverse) option on the Ubuntu Software tab:

Click Close. As you changed the repository configuration, the system suggests refreshing the list of available packages. On the dialog that appears, click Reload:

If you prefer to use the terminal, you can achieve the same result with these commands:

With the multiverse repository enabled and the package list updated, to install VirtualBox using the graphical interface, open the Ubuntu Software app, search for virtualbox, click the only item that appears and then click Install:

Download and installation begins, the system notifies you when the app is ready to be used:

If you prefer to install VirtualBox using the terminal, run:

With VirtualBox installed, to start it, open the Activities menu, by the upper-left corner of the screen, type virtualbox and click its icon:

The VirtualBox start screen appears, so far without any virtual machine:

Now you can create a virtual machine and run Linux on it following the same how-to presented in part 1.

VirtualBox on Debian and derivatives

Let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Debian and its derivatives, among which we can highlight: MX Linux, deepin and KNOPPIX.

Debian does not provide VirtualBox on its official repositories. Debian users must add the repository maintained by VirtualBox, which can be done running the following command:

(if you use another Debian release, replace buster by its codename, for instance: stretch)

Also, download and import the Oracle public key, so that VirtualBox packages can be validated:

Refresh the list of available packages:

Linux Operating System Download 64 Bit

And install VirtualBox:

If everything went well, now you can start VirtualBox and use it (see instructions in part 1).

Virtualbox Guest Additions Download Linux

That repository always provides the latest version of VirtualBox.

In case your installation does not have the add-apt-repository command, try this alternative:

Or open the /etc/apt/sources.list file using you favorite text editor (e.g. nano):

Add the following line and save:

VirtualBox on openSUSE and derivatives

Let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Linux Kamarada, which is based on openSUSE. The following instructions should also work on SUSE Linux Enterprise.

The easiest way for openSUSE users to install VirtualBox is to retrieve it from the official OSS repository, which always provides the latest version of VirtualBox (or a version close to the latest).

To install VirtualBox using the graphical interface, open the Activities menu, by the upper-left corner of the screen, type software and click Software Management:

Wait for the list of available packages to be refreshed:

Fill in the text field with virtualbox, click the Search button (or just hit Enter), mark the virtualbox package for installation and click Accept:

The system informs you that additional required packages are going to be installed, click Continue:

Wait while packages are downloaded and installed:

When the installation is finished, click Finish:

If you prefer to install VirtualBox using the terminal, run:

With VirtualBox installed, to start it, open the Activities menu, type virtualbox and click its icon:

If your user account does not belong to the vboxusers user group, the following error message appears, click OK to close it:

Using the Activities menu, open the User and Group Management.

Select your user account from the list and click Edit:

Switch to the Details tab. Under Additional Groups, select the vboxusers group and click OK:

Click OK once again to quit the User and Group Management.

Log out and log in again for the system to notice your new user group.

Start VirtualBox again. This time, it asks you whether to enable USB passthrough, this message appears only the first time you use VirtualBox:

Unless you are a “security paranoid”, I think there is no reason to worry. Click Enable to proceed.

Finally, we’ve got to the VirtualBox start screen, so far without any virtual machine:

Now you can create a virtual machine and run Linux on it following the same how-to presented in part 1. And don’t forget: have a lot of fun!

VirtualBox on Fedora and related

Let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Fedora. The following instructions should also work on related distributions, such as Red Hat Enterprise Linux and CentOS.

Fedora does not provide VirtualBox on its official repositories. Fedora users must add the repository maintained by VirtualBox, which can be done running the following command:

Refresh the list of available packages:

After downloading the VirtualBox repository package list, the system asks whether to import the Oracle public key:

Type y (meaning “yes”) and hit Enter:

Install some packages that VirtualBox needs to compile kernel modules on Fedora:

And finally, install VirtualBox itself:

If everything went well, now you can start VirtualBox and use it (see instructions in part 1).

That repository always provides the latest version of VirtualBox.

VirtualBox on Arch Linux and Manjaro

Virtualbox

Let’s see how to install VirtualBox on Arch Linux and its derivative Manjaro.

The easiest way for Arch users to install VirtualBox is to retrieve it from the official repository of the distribution. Due to its rolling release nature, that repository always provides the latest version of VirtualBox.

To install VirtualBox on Arch or Manjaro, just run:

If everything went well, now you can start VirtualBox and use it (see instructions in part 1).

VirtualBox on other distributions

Just as the VirtualBox website provides a Windows installer, it also provides packages for the most popular Linux distributions and a generic installer which can be used to install VirtualBox on any Linux system.

Go to the official VirtualBox website at:

Click the Download VirtualBox 6.0 banner.

On the next page, under VirtualBox binaries, click Linux distributions.

On this page, click the link corresponding to the distribution you use (note that it may not be on the list, but it may be based on one of those):

Once you have downloaded the package, use your distribution appropriate tool to install it.

Alternatively, you can download the generic installer by right-clicking All distributions (the last link) and using Save link as.

Once you have downloaded the generic installer, run it using the terminal:

If you are in doubt, search your distribution documentation for instructions on how to install VirtualBox.

There is more to come…

Now, Windows and Linux users are all on the same page: we already know how to install VirtualBox on the operating systems we use and we are able to create virtual machines.

In part 3, we are going to see how to create a virtual hard disk and install Linux on the virtual machine, as well as tips for using VirtualBox daily.

Update (Nov 01, 2019):

References

Arch Linux Virtualbox Download

For future reference, here I used the following software versions:

Oracle Virtualbox Download Linux

  • Ubuntu 19.10 (Eoan Ermine) with VirtualBox 6.0.14
  • Debian 10.1.0 (Buster) with VirtualBox 6.0.14
  • Linux Kamarada 15.1 Beta Build 16.1 with VirtualBox 6.0.12
  • Fedora Workstation 30 with VirtualBox 6.0.14
  • Manjaro GNOME 18.1.1 with VirtualBox 6.0.12

Virtualbox Download Linux

All of them are the latest versions at the time of writing.

To write this post, I consulted: