Manjaro guest on VirtualBox not able to get the full resolution

Question

What I have

1. Host: Windows 10 Version 1803
2. Guest: 4.19.20-1-MANJARO
3. VirtualBox Version 6.0.4r128413

What I have tried:

1. using the VirtualBox geustaddition iso

   1.1. from toolbar Devices > Insert guestaddition image ...

   1.2. cd /run/media/foobar/VBox_GAs-6.0.4

   1.3. sudo sh autorun.sh or simply by sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions.run leading to the error:

This system is currently not set up to build kernel modules. Please install the Linux kernel "header" files matching the current kernel for adding new hardware support to the system. VirtualBox Guest Additions: modprobe vboxsf failed

1.4. So I tried solving the problem by installing the Linux kernel header files as mentioned here:

1.4.1 find the Linux kernel by mhwd-kernel -li which in my case is linux419

1.4.2. Then sudo pacman -S linux419-kernel

1.4.3. then following the step one in original post and reboot. This solves the resolution problem but every time I reboot I have to wait for 5-6 minutes showing the message:

A stop job is running for vboxadd.service …

1.4.4. Tried the sudo systemctl stop vboxadd and sudo systemctl disable vboxadd from here but then it reverts the resolution back.

1.4.5. tried uninstalling the guest additions by sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions.run uninstall and then following step 2 whish was also not successful!

2. using the Manjaro repository as suggested on their wiki:

   2.1. sudo pacman -Syu virtualbox-guest-utils leading to

There are 11 providers available for VIRTUALBOX-HOST-MODULES:

:: Repository extra

1. linux316-virtualbox-guest-modules

…

:: Repository community

linux-rt-lts-manjaro-virtualbox-guest-modules

2.2. from here running mhwd-kernel -li indicates that should go for linux419, or use sudo pacman -S linux419-virtualbox-guest-modules instead. but then I get the error:

error failed to commit transaction (conflicting files)

virtualbox guest utils exists in filesystem vboxclient

2.3. as suggested here I tried sudo pacman -S --force and finished the installation and rebooted. But nothing changes except that I get this notification:

Answer 1

To get Auto-Resize Guest Display working you have to use 'VBoxSVGA'

1. Stop VM if installed and running
2. Choose in VM Setting: Display > Screen > Graphics Controller > 'VBoxSVGA'
3. Save
4. Start VM with Manjaro - Screen goes black.
5. hit CTRL+ALT+F2 to enter tty2
6. logon
7. sudo mhwd -r pci video-vmware
8. reboot

Resizing works like a charm.

Tested on Linux, Mac OS and Windows 10

(In older versions of Virtual Box, the controller was VBoxVGA, but this is deprecated since version 6.0 and no longer available in 6.1.)

Answer 2

I recently faced the same issue, and after some research I came up with the solution that doesn't require to use VBoxVGA adapter and reinstall Manjaro. The TL;DR version is, you needed to install linux419-headers, not linux419-kernel.

System specs

Host: Windows 10 1809 Pro 64 bit
Guest: Manjaro KDE 18.0.4 64 bit with 4.19.34-1-MANJARO kernel
Virtualization: VirtualBox 6.0.6 r130049 (Qt5.6.2)

Steps

1. Do full system update:
   sudo pacman -Syyu

2. Install gcc, make and Linux kernel "header" files for the current kernel version (which can be found via uname -r command, e.g. linux419-headers – I tried to provide a uniform command using sed and grep functionality):
   sudo pacman -S gcc make linux$(uname -r|sed 's/\W//g'|cut -c1-2)-headers

3. Reboot:
   sudo reboot

4. Mount the ISO via Devices → Guest Additions CD Image… and open the terminal there.

5. Run
   sudo sh VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

6. Reboot:
   sudo reboot

At this point Manjaro should work fine with the new VMSVGA controller adjusting screen resolution on the fly (make sure you allocated enough video memory (128 Mb) and enabled acceleration in VM settings beforehand), seamlessly share buffer and allow drag-and-drop.

Update

Recent kernel update from 4.19.34-1-MANJARO to 5.0.9-2-MANJARO didn't affect functionality of Guest Additions and no additional tweaking was required:

Answer 3

The last post in the forum which meepmeep linked in his answer did the trick for me:

1. installing the correct driver and uninstalling the incorrect one

   mhwd -i pci video-virtualbox
   mhwd -r pci video-vmware
   

2. shutdown and change the VM graphics controller to VboxVGA

Answer 4

One thing you can try is making sure your VB session is NOT running. Got to its settings and click on Display > Screen > and under 'Graphics Controller' pull down the menu and select 'VBoxVGA'. Save and exit, and restart your VB session.

Answer 5

I've been having the same problem, and have failed to resolve this in similar steps. The issue seems to be with the graphics controller option introduced in Virtualbox 6.0.

I found that if you create a fresh installation using the 'VBoxVGA' controller from the very beginning, then everything works correctly, but if you install using the default 'VMSVGA' controller then it doesn't seem to be possible to revert/fix any of the issues through any obvious means.

See more info here also with a possible suggestion on fixing an existing installation (though only setting the option at installation worked for me): https://forum.manjaro.org/t/cant-auto-resize-guest-display-in-virtualbox/78030/9