How to Install VirtualBox 7.1 on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS

VirtualBox is absolutely mandatory (or some other type of virtualization software) when you are doing training, certifications studying…

Photo by Alex Kulikov on Unsplash

VirtualBox just released 7.1 and it has a brand new interface and an updated website!

VirtualBox is absolutely mandatory (or some other type of virtualization software) when you are doing training, certifications studying, simulations or just learning new things on your primary Operating System. You can test and destroy and blow stuff up and start again. The thing that matters to me is that the UI (i.e. User Interface) is easy to use if it is not command line (i.e. CLI) based. I don’t want clunky crap to use something. My days of tinkering are long gone. I just want stuff that works. If I have to fix it to use it, it’s an unnecessary headache.

Ubuntu recently released version 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat). It’s latest LTS (Long Term Support) edition. Since I never install minor editions for stability reasons, I have clean installed Ubuntu 24.04 LTS and now we’re getting back up and running.

Tip to save you a lot of headache and time. VirtualBox 7.1.0 is the latest release as of this writing on September 24 @ 1730 (US EST/New York) Time.

ChangeLog: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Changelog-7.1 Oracle Branding is now more prominent in it’s branding of VirtualBox now that it owns the platform.

Dependencies are the bane of your existence on any Linux distribution. It’s the primary headache of Linux at times. While MacOS and sometimes Windows have issues, they are not as headache causing as Linux at times. I ran into the same problem on Rocky Linux 9 and Ubuntu 24.04LTS with SecureBoot enabled. You have to sign keys and it’s a real headache to get configured. Save yourself the headache and turn SecureBoot off in the BIOS. This is a security risk so as soon as your done and everything is working. Shutdown, reboot into the BIOS and turn SecureBoot back on. I highly recommend not leaving SecureBoot off, but that’s on you to decide.

Pre-Requisites:

sudo apt-get update && sudo apt-get upgrade -y
sudo apt-get install dkms libsdl-ttf2.0-0 build-essential dpkg-dev gcc -y
cd Downloads
wget https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/7.1.0/virtualbox-7.1_7.1.0-164728~Ubuntu~noble_amd64.deb

Note: I received an error message on a dependency on “libsdl-ttf2.0–0” when trying to install previous versions via this command (which will show you the dependencies). FYI. This was after I downloaded the package locally to my Downloads folder from https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads

sudo chmod u+x vir*
sudo dpkg -i virtualbox-7.1*

After that is done. Change Directories into the Downloads folder and wget the package for the Oracle VirtualBox Extension Pack (Security common sense…don’t download from a 3rd party people…seriously). The extension pack now requires confirmation with a PUEL License. Read it before daring using in a work environment. Do not play with Oracle. You will loose.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

Import the extension pack under Tools in the navigation bar:

Launch Virtualbox from the CLI (command line interface)

virtualbox

Optionally, go to the “super” menu with the Ubuntu icon and search for “virtual”

Rocky Linux 9 on VirtualBox 7.0.16 running on Ubuntu 24.04 LTS (Noble Numbat)

After all of that is done. Power off any virtual machines and Quit. Shutdown the machine. Reboot into the BIOS (F2 Key on Lenovo) and Turn SecureBoot back on. FYI. init 0 will immediately drop the OS and shutdown fast (it’s like holding down the power button.

The logo has been updated and looks great!

sudo init 0

If you get an error on reboot. Just run the following commands

Error message ‘modprobe vboxdrv’ (unsigned drivers)

You will need to sign the modules to enable the virtual machines to be able to launch and run.

sudo apt reinstall virtualbox-dkms -y
sudo /usr/sbin/dkms autoinstall -m virtualbox --module-name vboxdrv
sudo /usr/sbin/dkms autoinstall -m virtualbox --module-name vboxnetflt
sudo /usr/sbin/dkms autoinstall -m virtualbox --module-name vboxnetadp
sudo /usr/sbin/dkms autoinstall -m virtualbox --module-name vboxpci
sudo update-initramfs -u -k all && sudo init 0

NOTE: sudo init 0 will shutdown your system (Linux Only…not Windows)