Ubuntu – VirtualBox, Ubuntu and screen resolution

Ubuntuvirtualbox

The host system is an iMAC:

macOS Mojave
Version 10.14.5
iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2015)
Processor 4 GHz Intel Core i7
Memory 16 GB 1867 MHz DDR3
Graphics AMD Radeon R9 M395X 4 GB

VirtualBox:

Version: 6.08 r130520 (Qt5.6.3)
VirtualBox 6.0.8 Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack

The virtual machine is Ubuntu 14.04. In the virtual machine I have installed the guest additions:

sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms

I restarted the VM after installing this. The problem is that in the System Settings / Screen Display I still only see a resolution of 640 x 480 (4:3) with no option to select a higher resolution.

What haven't I done?

Best Answer

After searching the other posts I found a solution that works:

  • In the Ubuntu VM, open a terminal and type:

    sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-utils
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-x11

  • With the VM running, use the Devices menu option which is available in the host operating system.

  • Select the option "Insert Guest Additions CD Image..."

  • Back in the Ubuntu VM, open a terminal and type:

    cd /media/<username>/VBox_GAs_6.0.8
sudo ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

Once this has been done, shutdown and restart the VM.

Now everything is great!

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