vboxdrv Kernel Module not loaded while running Virtualbox

gabytf · 05-15-2013, 09:37 AM

This is the message i got while i run virtualbox in my slackware current 32bit in my DELL Inspiron Laptop.
I couldn't understand how to recompile the kernel module and it not run when i run the vnoxdrv setup, it says "command not found".

Please kindly help. Thank you.

Quote:

bash-4.2# virtualbox
WARNING: The vboxdrv kernel module is not loaded. Either there is no module
available for the current kernel (3.8.13) or it failed to
load. Please recompile the kernel module and install it by

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

You will not be able to start VMs until this problem is fixed.

Quote:

bash-4.2# cat /proc/cpuinfo
processor : 0
vendor_id : GenuineIntel
cpu family : 6
model : 13
model name : Intel(R) Pentium(R) M processor 1.70GHz
stepping : 6
microcode : 0x17
cpu MHz : 600.000
cache size : 2048 KB
fdiv_bug : no
hlt_bug : no
f00f_bug : no
coma_bug : no
fpu : yes
fpu_exception : yes
cpuid level : 2
wp : yes
flags : fpu vme de pse tsc msr mce cx8 sep mtrr pge mca cmov clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 ss tm pbe bts est tm2
bogomips : 1196.04
clflush size : 64
cache_alignment : 64
address sizes : 32 bits physical, 32 bits virtual
power management:

bash-4.2#

camorri · 05-15-2013, 10:33 AM

Some questions.

How did you install vbox? From the slackbuild or by downloading from Oracle? The reason I ask, is the install methods are different, and the location of the files is different.

The message 'command not found' simply indicates there is no path to the command you typed.

Next, what command, exactly, did you type?

Quote:

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

From the message posted, if this is what you typed, have you got the sudo package installed? If not, then this explains the 'command not found'. For the command to work, you would have to have edited the sudoers file, and have allowed your user to execute the command.

What you can try, is su to root. Then try 'vboxdrv setup' ( without the quotes ). If that fails to run, copy and paste the error messages here.

Z038 · 05-15-2013, 10:57 AM

I had some odd problems when I first installed virtualbox that all turned out to be related to file permissions. The errors I was getting really gave no clue that it was related to permissions.

Did you install from the slackbuilds on slackbuilds.org? Did you install the virtualbox-kernel package? If so, vboxdrv.ko should be found in /lib/modules/<kernel-version>/misc/. On my 13.37 system, it's in /lib/modules/2.6.37.6-smp/misc.

Issue command "lsmod | grep -i vbox" and see if it's loaded. If not, try "modprobe vboxdrv" and check for errors. It should get loaded when you run "/etc/rc.d/rc.vboxdrv start".

Did you set up the vboxusers group and connect your normal user account to it?

Check permissions and ownership of virtualbox files and directories. /etc/vbox/vbox.cfg should be owned by root with vboxusers as the group, and at least read permissions for owner and group.

I'm not sure if required, but I chowned all the files in /usr/lib/virtualbox and subdirectories to root:vboxusers also.

gabytf · 05-15-2013, 11:40 AM

Quote:

How did you install vbox? From the slackbuild or by downloading from Oracle?

I downloaded from Oracle(https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads) for my Linux hosts.

While run the command under root:

Quote:

root@darkstar:~# vboxdrv setup
-su: vboxdrv: command not found
root@darkstar:~#

Quote:

If so, vboxdrv.ko should be found in /lib/modules/<kernel-version>/misc/. On my 13.37 system, it's in /lib/modules/2.6.37.6-smp/misc.

Yes, the vboxdrv.ko is found.

but,

Nothing happened when:

Quote:

root@darkstar:~# lsmod | grep -i vbox
root@darkstar:~#

For

Quote:

If not, try "modprobe vboxdrv" and check for errors.

output is

Quote:

modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'vboxdrv': Exec format error
root@darkstar:~#

gabytf · 05-15-2013, 11:51 AM

i got the answer from the user manual, but i still don't know how.

Quote:

https://www.virtualbox.org/manual/ch...-fails-to-load

Quote:

Linux kernel module refuses to load

If the VirtualBox kernel module (vboxdrv) refuses to load, i.e. you get an "Error inserting vboxdrv: Invalid argument", check (as root) the output of the dmesg command to find out why the load failed. Most probably the kernel disagrees with the version of the gcc used to compile the module. Make sure that you use the same compiler as used to build the kernel.

The last two line of the dmesg command:

Quote:

[ 5411.564505] vboxdrv: version magic '3.8.13-smp SMP mod_unload PENTIUMIII ' should be '3.8.13 mod_unload 486 '
[ 5659.706647] vboxdrv: version magic '3.8.13-smp SMP mod_unload PENTIUMIII ' should be '3.8.13 mod_unload 486 '
root@darkstar:~#

How to fix it?

and

Quote:

[ 0.000000] Linux version 3.8.13 (root@hive) (gcc version 4.8.0 (GCC) ) #2 Sun May 12 20:55:13 CDT 2013

Z038 · 05-15-2013, 11:59 AM

Maybe you are picking up an old version of vboxdrv, or one compiled for a different kernel version.

Try "modprobe --verbose vboxdrv". If it encounters an error, it should tell you what module it was trying to load.

gabytf · 05-15-2013, 12:13 PM

Quote:

bash-4.2# modprobe --verbose vboxdrv
insmod /lib/modules/3.8.13/misc/vboxdrv.ko
modprobe: ERROR: could not insert 'vboxdrv': Exec format error
bash-4.2#

Quote:

Maybe you are picking up an old version of vboxdrv, or one compiled for a different kernel version

i installed VirtualBox 4.2.12 for Linux -All distributions i386
and my slackware kernel is 3.8.13, how do i know which kernel version my installed virtualbox compiled with?

Z038 · 05-15-2013, 02:07 PM

You can check the output from the build and see if the vboxdrv make referenced the right module and source libraries for 3.8.13, e.g., something like /lib/modules/3.8.13/build and /usr/src/linux-3.8.13.

To confirm, you built this on a 32 bit system? If building on a 64-bit system, you should use the AMD64 package from the virtualbox download site. The error messages you got make me wonder if you got a mismatch between the package and your architecture.

I didn't build from the downloads on the virtualbox site. I used the Slackbuild scripts from Slackbuilds.org. That might be something for you to consider if building for Slackware.

EDDY1 · 05-16-2013, 01:43 PM

You can also check virtualbog log under /var/log/