Here are my notes for getting VirtualBox up and going on my Ubuntu 13.10 installation.
Downloading
The version of VirtualBox in the repository is 4.2.16, and the latest version on Oracle’s website is 4.3.4. In addition, I learned that if you install Oracle’s version, you can get the Extras package that allows you to use your USB devices in the virtual machines.
So for that reason, I download the version from Oracle Website: Download VirtualBox. I downloaded the Ubuntu 13.04 AMD64 package first (virtualbox-4.3_4.3.4-91027~Ubuntu~raring_amd64.deb) from the Linux downloads page. Next, I downloaded the Extensions Pack (Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-4.3.4-91027.vbox-extpack)
Installing
I just double clicked on the deb file and let the Software Center install it:
After that was installed, I double clicked on the extensions pack file. It opens the VirtualBox Manager and offers to install:
VBoxUsers Group
On previous installations, I would receive this message when I opened the settings.
I didn’t see it on this installation, but I decided to go ahead and add myself to that group just in case. So, I used this command to add my user to the vboxusers group:
sudo usermod -a -G vboxusers `whoami`
NAT
In earlier versions, I had troubles with the NAT working. I had to do an extra step to every machine that tried to use a NAT connection. I tested it on this install, and I had no troubles.
Here’s a new Ubuntu 13.04 virtual machine using a NAT interface. It could ping Google with no problem:
For some reason, I can’t access the machine from my laptop though. So, I can SSH into it through the NAT interface. I am pretty that I used to be able to, but it definitely doesn’t work any more.