James Bannan16 December 2008, 10:00 PM
Want to virtualize Ubuntu on top of Windows Vista for free? Check out our step-by-step tutorial!
Page 5 - Install Guest Additions
Step 5 - Install Guest Additions
Most virtualization solutions offer a software package which can be installed on guest machines which provides better access to the host hardware and other resources like shared folders, clipboard, file copying and so on.
Once the Ubuntu VM has been installed and has rebooted, log in to GNOME. Then, press the host key to release the cursor, then select the Devices menu and then "Install Guest Additions". This mounts the additions image into the VM.
Click back into Ubuntu and open a terminal - Applications, Accessories, Terminal. Type in the following command:
"sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run" and press Enter (assuming you've installed a 32-bit Ubuntu system). This will start the Guest Additions installation script.
Once complete, reboot the system for the additions to take effect. The shortcut to reboot from the terminal is:
"sudo shutdown -r 0"
Once the system restarts there will be some obvious improvements - the keyboard and mouse cursor input are automatically captured and released without having to use the host key, and there's an overall improvement in performance.