VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-26 05:46

Hello to the group,
I am back here after a couple of years... I still have an old computer running Q4OS 1.8 without fuss. And I rather like it.

Today, I am trying to build a minimal Linux virtual machine to run some Linux-only software in a Windows host machine. So the project is to have a VM that uses the least possible RAM and has the smallest possible image file (footprint) so that it doesn't take too much resources from the host computer to run. The software I want to run is Rapid Photo Downloader. Since I have discovered this program with my Linux machine, I have to have it also on my Windows machine! It is like a photographer's dream come true.

I am trying to use Q4OS 2.7 in 32 bits as I figure this is what would give me the smallest VM to run the intended software. However, I discovered that the automatic installation of the VirtualBox Guest Additions doesn't work in the 32 bits edition. Hence I need to use the virtual CD that is provided with VirtualBox.
I would also like to use the "pure" profile, as I don't need all the packages that are provided with the "base" profile for this minimal VM. It is quite significative to note the installation of the "base" profile does add about 1.8 Gig to the VM footprint - this is not negligible. The freshly installed VM in "pure" profile uses 1.4 Gig on the host HD, while it goes up to 3.25 Gig with the "base" profile.

The problem I have is that the Guest Additions do not install in the "pure" profile, and that I need to have the "base" profile and then the additions install fine.

Could anybody help me find exactly which packages I would need to install in the "pure" profile in order to be able to install the VirtualBox Guest Additions from the virtual CD? So that I can install only those packages that I really need...

And I was also wondering if there is a list of the packages that are installed with the "base" profile. If such a list existed, it would probably make it easier to find the packages I need.

Thanks,
Claude

Dai_trying · 2019-07-26 09:56

You could always use QEMU-KVM for virtual machines, I have been using it for a while now and everything seems to be working great with my vm's feeling snappier than when running on VirtualBox.

If you are set on staying with VirtualBox you could check the apt log in the virtual machine that you successfully installed the guest additions and see exactly what packages were installed, then install them on your minimum installation individually until you hit a snag and then (if using command line) you should see which packages are causing the failure, and check the dependency list to see if you can install something to get it working.

If you need some help figuring out what you need to install post the apt log (from successful installation on bloated system) and I will try and help you.

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-26 13:54

Thanks Dai,
I do wish to stay with VirtualBox - I have many VMs already with this system and it suits me.

When in the "base" profile in 32 bits, the installation of VirtualBox Guest Additions consist in:

1- to make sure the basic tools are there
sudo apt install build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)

and 2- run the installation itself from the virtual CD:
sudo sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

Now, in the "pure" profile I can't even go through the first step.
I get an error message from apt:
E: Unable to locate package builb-essential
and same for the 2 others.

Seems to me like if the repos were not registered with the system.
Claude

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-26 14:42

Additional information.
I just succeeded by first installing Synaptic, and then I have been able to execute the commands to install the Guest Additions.
Looks to me as if the installation if Synaptic did in effect register the repos.

Would there be a way without installing Synaptic?

Dai_trying · 2019-07-26 14:50

cjoliprsf wrote:

Would there be a way without installing Synaptic?

I am sure there is.

First can I ask a few questions...
1. Which version of VirtualBox are you using? (5.2? 6.0?)
2. Which version of Q4OS are you using? (q4os-3.8-i386-instcd-r3.iso?)

Once I have these answers I will setup on my machine and let you know the exact steps I need to take to get it working.

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-26 14:59

VirtualBox 5.1.18 - but the issue is not with VirtualBox.
Q4OS 2.7_32 (q4os-2.7-i386-instcd.r5.iso)

Dai_trying · 2019-07-26 15:14

I do not think Virtualbox is at fault either I just wanted to get as close to your setup as possible to eliminate possible differences. be back soon...

Dai_trying · 2019-07-26 16:59

I'm guessing that after installation you probably did not update apt (sudo apt update) and that would be the reason it could not install any packages... My result was success.

Here's my process :-

install Bare system
insall language pack
select pure profile
run "sudo apt update"
run "sudo apt upgrade"
reboot
run "sudo apt install build-essential dkms linux-headers-$(uname -r)"
insert (and mount) Additions Virtual CdRom
change to the CdRom directory (cd /media/cdrom)
run "sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions"

NOTE 1: At the end of installation you will likely get an error message "loadkeys is missing. Please install the 'kbd' package", this can be ignored as the installation should have been successful, change the screen size and you should notice it get filled to prove this point (no reboot required).

NOTE 2: During the installation of both the desktop and full profile packages are needed and apt is updated before installing the packages, but with the pure profile this stage is not required and therefore must be done manually.

NOTE 3: I hereby note installation in VirtualBox was painfully slower than using QEMU-KVM! it was not a pleasant experience after having used QEMU for a while.

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-26 17:33

You are right, I hadn't done the apt update and the apt upgrade. I didn't think these were necessary because this VM will not have access to the Internet and security would not be an issue.
Probably also that installing Synaptic automatically updated apt, which explains why I was successful after that installation.
Thanks - I will now build this VM and report back.

P.S. I am surprised by your note 3... Installing the system with the option "no questions asked" is blazing fast - in about 3 minutes I have the system up and running.

Dai_trying · 2019-07-26 20:27

I rebooted and tried again, and still really slow! I think it must be something to do with the version of VirtuaBox (6.0.10) I was using, I noticed from the apt info that it was aimed an Ubuntu (bionic) so I removed it and qemu runs everything just fine, back to normal speed.

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-27 02:52

OK, my VM is now up and running.
Thank you very much Dai for your help. The solution was so simple, I am really angry at myself not to have thought about it!

The process I followed is almost the same as yours except I didn't do the apt upgrade. The apt update in fact was sufficient to permit the installation of the Guest Additions.
After that it is necessary to add the username to the group vboxsf in order to have the shared folders available.

Result are as follows, for a minimal VM with the guest additions installed:
Q4OS 2.7 32 bits/Trinity: footprint on disk 2.0 Gigs, Htop reports 100 to 110 Megs of ram used by system at idle
Q4OS 2.7 64 bits/Trinity: footprint on disk 2.2 Gigs, Htop reports 160 to 180 Megs of ram used by system at idle
Manjaro/XFCE 18.0.3 minimal 64 bits: footprint on disk 4.4 Gigs, Htop reports 425 Megs of ram used by system at idle. However with this OS, I didn't have the choice and had to do a system upgrade which doubled the footprint!
A trial with an old iso of Mint 17/mate 32 bits, htop reported 270 Megs of RAM used at idle and a much larger footprint, which is understandable as Mint installs a lot of software by default,
with Mint 18.3/mate 64 bits we are at 340 Megs of RAM,
and an old installation of Lubuntu 14.04 32 bits runs at 137 Megs.

So clearly, Q4OS is the best that I have tested for building the smallest possible VM that will run Linux programs in a Windows machine.
If the programs that are to be used can run in a 32 bit environment, great, this is the smallest for footprint as well as for the RAM usage. However 64 bits Q4OS is almost as good, and so much better than other 64 bits alternatives.

I had heard good things about Manjaro, and decided to give it a try for this. Clearly Manjaro is not a good choice for a minimal VM in Linux because it needs so much RAM and its footpring is huge even if this was the minimal iso with the least applications installed by default. However it is very neat and pleasant to use. For a powerful computer that has plenty of RAM and a big hard drive, it may be a nice OS to have. (However I still have to test Q4OS with KDE!!!)

Now for the question of speed and performance of VirtualBox that was raised, I did get my chronometer out in order to get the right numbers.
It should be said this computer is not a bomb. It is a 7 year old machine with a dual core AMD CPU that runs at 3.4 Ghz. There are 8 Gigs of RAM, and I have installed a small SSD drive for the system partition, which helps a lot.

In reality it took 6 minutes to run the installation up to the first reboot, and another 3 minutes for the login and installation of the French language pack.
Then about 5 minutes for the apt update up to completion of the installation of the Guest Additions.
So, all taken, about 15 minutes to complete the installation.

The VM boots in exactly 18 seconds - which I think is quite good.

Claude

Dai_trying · 2019-07-27 05:37

You are very welcome, and the reason I performed the upgrade was for the kernel update which I think would be important from both a security standpoint (although not your biggest concern with this particular setup) and also it may have fixed bugs that could affect you, but quite irrelevant for just testing I guess.

And although the 64 bit version comes in with a higher ram footprint I would still use that myself, I'm sure the extra ram would be worth it (IMO).

There is an interesting post in the Debian User Forum titled something like desktop/window manager RAM showdown which I found interesting, some users there have some pretty slim desktops although I cannot see a full desktop that beats Q4OS on ram usage while maintaining the full usable desktop environment, most of the slim setups are using base installation with just window managers to keep memory usage down, but I could not imagine they have the ease of use/convenience that a full DE has.

cjoliprsf · 2019-07-27 18:06

I agree this is interesting discussion.
And it conforts me as I had considered using just a windows manager instead of a distro with a desktop manager.
What I see there is the gain in RAM would have been marginal by using openbox:
" Bare-metal Debian 9.8 32bit netinstall, openbox v 3.6.1-4, memory at bootup = 85mbs-ram according to the free -m "
This is probably the closest system to Q4OS 2.7_32
My VM is running idle at 105 mb RAM according to free -m, so the overhead of the Trinity desktop would be just 20 megs. IMO this is a quite acceptable compromise considering having Trinity does make things easier to setup.

Q4OS Forum

#1 2019-07-26 05:46

VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#2 2019-07-26 09:56

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#3 2019-07-26 13:54

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#4 2019-07-26 14:42

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#5 2019-07-26 14:50

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#6 2019-07-26 14:59

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#7 2019-07-26 15:14

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#8 2019-07-26 16:59

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#9 2019-07-26 17:33

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#10 2019-07-26 20:27

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#11 2019-07-27 02:52

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#12 2019-07-27 05:37

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

#13 2019-07-27 18:06

Re: VirtualBox Guest Additions in Q4OS 32 bits

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