3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

zenix · 2007-11-15 08:52:55

Look and Feel of Virtualbox
I've installed both Virtualbox PUEL and OSE and both have their Qt dialog open, but the window is definitely X11/Motif not Qt. (not even menu expand on mouse hover!) I asked about this on IRC (irc.freenode.net #archlinux) and was told to use qtconfig (style configuration). I did so, yet the window changed in no way at all! I also see posts about the GTK interface on Innotek's webpage yet others are telling me it doesn't exist! If that is true, why do they make a reference to it and, if it's not, how do I use it or change the Qt interface?

Using a physical drive
I have seen ways to use a physical drive instead of a custom Virtual HardDrive Image in VMWare. I wanted to use VirtualBox because reviewers said that it was incredibly easy to setup a virtual machine with a physical drive using VB. Yet, I can not find any easy method of doing this, as well as the hampering interface which doesn't make the entire process any easier. Is there a tutorial out there already which details how to do this? I don't mind it being using a different Linux Distribtution, most of the time the commands don't even need to be modified to work on another distro.

Errors in bridging local network (eth0)
I do have a "normal" Windows XP Pro installation via virtual hd but I can't access the internet. Reasearching in the ArchWiki gave me the VirtualBox page which detailed how to bridge the network. I'm missing VBoxAddIf.sh, but I found (on these forums) that I need to install the PUEL version of VirtualBox to get it, not the OSE. Odd decsion, but I have no gripes about installing PUEL over OSE version. These are the commands I run:

brctl addbr br0
ifconfig eth0 dynamic promisc 
brctl addif br0 eth0
dhclient br0
VBoxAddIF vbox0 vboxuser br0 # Doesn't work, I have OSE installed right now

After running dhclient, br0 is configured properly but ALL internet connections using eth0 fail or hang. Why? Do I need to reconfigure the default device to use br0 instead of eth0? I can remedey the problem by calling

brctrl dellif br0 eth0

and all connections just pop! and work again. I use DHCP to configure my network on a broadband internet connection.

External Links for Reference:
Virtualbox Homepage
Freenode homepage - channel #archlinux

Note: After reviewing my notes on the GTK interface, the homepage just says "...you could make one [a GTK interface] using the SDL..." and posts a couple of GTK app pictures. So, no GTK interface out-of-the-box. The Qt pics definitetly don't look like X11/Motif to me, though, so that is still a problem.

Dheart · 2007-11-15 20:55:53

First: After recent update the qtconfig command runs the qtconfig for the qt4 package. If you want to run qtconfig for the qt packages (qt 3 that is) (And also that is the version VirtualBox uses) you need to run:

/opt/qt/bin/qtconfig

Which is the qtconfig for the qt that VirtualBox uses.
Second: About a physical drive function... I think you need to use Vbox PUEL.
Third: If I remember correct the vboxaddif and vboxdelif were located some other place then /usr/sbin
Refer to the wiki for more information.

P.P. I haven't put in the wiki how to use a physical drive with existing installation as source since I didn't need it and didn't know it existed (when I first needed Vbox), but I'm going to put it there soon (I'm a little busy this weekend) If you have time, please edit the wiki and add the missing info.

zenix · 2007-11-15 22:22:08

Thanks for the reply Dheart

Q3 qtconfig? Ok, didn't realize that Vbox used Q3 over Q4.
Vbox PUEL I was thinking about using anyways, seems to have the features I need.
vboxaddif/vboxdelif are in /opt/VirtualBox/bin and only comes with PUEL. That isn't the problem though, ALL network connections (no matter the application) fail, and I haven't got the slightest clue as to why.

If I ever do figure out the physical drive & Vbox before you update the wiki, I'll do it. You may want to modify my words to fit the rest

Dheart · 2007-11-16 18:45:02

Hmm search the wiki for bridge network connections, I also think the problem isn't Vbox Related.
About the wiki... The update will be comming next weekend... (I hope) (If anyone doesn't do it before me.)

Xilon · 2007-11-17 08:52:25

The only reference to a GTK interface I could find on their site is

So, as an example, if you don't like the fact that the GUI is a Qt application, you can easily write a different frontend (say, using GTK).

Which implies that one does not yet exist, or they are still developing it and this documentation it outdated.

zenix · 2007-11-17 16:10:32

Xilon, yes, I was wrong!

Note: Qt3's qtconfig did fix the problem I had with VirutalBox's gui!

harry · 2007-11-25 20:59:57

hey guys,

i've encountered the same problem here.
i just installed virtual box and it looks pretty ugly to me...

i've run /opt/qt/bin/qtconfig but it is still looking ugly.it doesn't matter whether i switch to the "windows gui style"
what can i do to make my virtualbox look good

thanks

Last edited by harry (2007-11-25 21:01:25)

zenix · 2007-11-26 11:15:48

@harry

You can go online and get a style, wish I knew where. Until then, you'll just have to live with the ugly-ness. Also, the Windows Style is an emulation of the 95/98/2000 "classic" look, not the look featured in Windows XP... just saying.

harry · 2007-11-28 12:52:50

hi!

please look at my two screenshots which i uploaded(qtconfig and virtualbox) i still don't think that thats "normal" how they look like.

http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?imag … kvimg8.png

http://img511.imageshack.us/my.php?imag … iguaf1.png

any help appreciated

zenix · 2007-11-28 23:41:45

All I can say is, it's an emulation. A perfect copy could get the creator into trouble... Personally, it's better than the default color scheme, IMO. (I have it set to that as well)

Arch Linux

#1 2007-11-15 08:52:55

3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#2 2007-11-15 20:55:53

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#3 2007-11-15 22:22:08

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#4 2007-11-16 18:45:02

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#5 2007-11-17 08:52:25

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#6 2007-11-17 16:10:32

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#7 2007-11-25 20:59:57

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#8 2007-11-26 11:15:48

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#9 2007-11-28 12:52:50

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

#10 2007-11-28 23:41:45

Re: 3 VirtualBox Questions - Look, Physical drives, and Bridging network

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