FAQ

  1. Why is RemoteBox restricted to certain versions of VirtualBox?
    VirtualBox versions are generally of the form Major.Minor.Micro (e.g. 4.2.8). VirtualBox only guarantees API compatibility between versions if it is the Micro suffix which has changed. For example 4.2.8 is compatible with 4.2.0, but 4.2.1 is not compatible with 4.0.0. RemoteBox only targets the latest version of the API at the time of release. RemoteBox will warn you, if you use an incompatible version.
  2. I use an older version of VirtualBox, what version of RemoteBox do I need?
    You can download older versions of RemoteBox, but they are not supported. Bug fixes and updates are applied only to the latest version. You can also see which versions of VirtualBox are supported by looking at the 'About Menu' in RemoteBox.
    RemoteBox Version Required VirtualBox Version
    v2.8 (Gtk2) / v3.0 (Gtk3) v6.1.x
    v2.6 v6.0.x
    v2.5 v5.2.x
    v2.3 v5.1.x
    v2.1 v5.0.x
    v1.9 v4.3.x
    v1.5 v4.2.x
    v1.3 v4.1.x
    v0.9 v4.0.x
    v0.5 v3.2.x
    None v3.1.x and earlier
  3. I have an older version of Gtk installed, what version of RemoteBox do I need?
    You can download older versions of RemoteBox, but they are not supported. Bug fixes and updates are applied only to the latest version.
    RemoteBox Version Required Gtk Version
    v3.0 and newer v3.22
    v1.6 and newer v2.24
    v1.5 v2.22
    v1.1 v2.16
  4. Can the RemoteBox client machine and the server use different operating systems?
    Yes, absolutely. For example RemoteBox can be installed on Linux, connecting to VirtualBox on a server running Windows and any combination thereof.
  5. Which operating systems does RemoteBox work on?
    Not every version of RemoteBox works on all operating systems but it's known to have ran on Linux, Solaris, MacOS, Windows, NetBSD, FreeBSD, OpenBSD, DragonFly BSD and others. It should run on any modern flavour of UNIX providing the required dependencies are installed.
  6. Which server operating systems running VirtualBox, does RemoteBox support?
    RemoteBox supports connecting to servers running Linux, Windows, MacOS, Solaris and FreeBSD.
  7. Does RemoteBox support Teleport?
    No, not at this time. It is unlikely RemoteBox will ever support this feature.
  8. Does RemoteBox support iSCSI LUNs?
    RemoteBox does not support connecting to iSCSI LUNs directly from its Virtual Media Manager. However you can use vboxmanage on the server to attach an iSCSI LUN, which will then be visible as a hard disk in RemoteBox.
  9. How do I install the VirtualBox Guest Additions?
    Ensure the guest has a virtual optical drive and attach the VboxGuestAdditions.iso to it. Run the appropriate installer inside the guest operating system. By default, RemoteBox automatically adds the VboxGuestAdditions.iso to the Virtual Media Manager (VMM) on login, so it's always available for the guests.
  10. Can I convert a hard disk image to another format?
    Yes. Open the VMM and ensure the 'Hard Disk' tab is selected. Choose the hard disk to want to copy and convert. Select the 'Copy & Convert' option and select the format you require. You will be prompted where you would like to save the new image. This operation will not alter the source image.
  11. What does compaction do?
    It attempts to shrink the actual disk image by reclaiming unused blocks where possible. It is not always effective because it cannot always tell what blocks are in use by the guest or not. It is also worth noting that compaction may convert disks of fixed sizes into dynamic disks
  12. Can I resize disk images?
    Yes you can. It's accessible from the Modify & Resize option in the Virtual Media Manager. There are however several caveats to note. Only dynamic format disk images can be resized and only certain formats. Currently this is VDI, VHD and QED. Shrink is not supported. You should also be aware that even once the disk has been resized, you will still need to resize the filesystem from within the guest and how that is achieve is completely operating system and file system specific.
  13. What is the default port that the VirtualBox web service runs on?
    Port 18083 (tcp)
  14. Can I use RemoteBox to connect to VirtualBox on the same physical machine?
    Yes. Just ensure the VirtualBox web service is running on the same machine and by default connect to http://localhost:18083 with RemoteBox.
  15. What protocols are supported when using the Remote Guest Display?
    Starting with RemoteBox v2.5, both RDP and VNC are supported. Earlier versions of RemoteBox only had direct support for RDP although it's still possible to configure earlier versions to use VNC. Which protocol gets used depends on the extension pack installed on the server.
  16. Is it safe to close to the Remote Guest Display window while the guest is running?
    Yes, the guest will continue to run uninterrupted. The display can be reopened at any time by pressing 'Guest Display' on the toolbar.
  17. Can I use clipboard sharing (cut 'n paste) with the Remote Guest Display (RDP)?
    Yes you can.
    • In the guest's settings, set 'General -> Advanced -> Shared Clipboard' to 'Bidirectional'
    • VirtualBox Guest Additions must be installed and working in the guest
    • Your RDP client must have support for clipboard sharing and the option must be enabled.
    • For FreeRDP the option is '--plugin cliprdr'
    • For rdesktop the option is '-r clipboard:PRIMARYCLIPBOARD'
  18. Is sound supported when using the Remote Guest Display (RDP)?
    Yes.
    • In the guest's settings, set 'Audio -> Enable Audio' to enabled
    • Set 'Audio -> Host Audio Driver' to 'Dummy Audio Driver'
    • Set 'Audio -> Enable Audio Output' to enabled.
    • Set 'Audio -> Audio Controller' to a sound card which is supported by the guest operating system
    • The guest operating system must be correctly configured for audio, including the installation of drivers if necessary
    • Your RDP client must have support for playing audio and the audio option enabled
    • For FreeRDP the option is '--plugin rdpsnd'
    • For rdesktop the option is '-r sound:local'
  19. I get an error message saying 'Failed to Launch Remote Desktop Extension Server'
    You do not have the Oracle VirtualBox Extension Pack or the VNC Extension Pack installed on the server.
  20. Why are the mouse pointers are out of sync when using the Remote Guest Display?
    First ensure that the VirtualBox Guest Additions are installed and running within the guest. If the guest OS does not havd VirtualBox Guest Additions available for it, then changing the mouse type to 'USB Tablet' should aid synchronization. If that does not work, then it's not possible to sync the pointers.
  21. Can I use Remmina as my Remote Guest Display RDP/VNC client?
    No. Remmina does not support the required command line parameters to integrate with RemoteBox.
  22. Does RemoteBox support multiple virtual monitors for a guest?
    No, even though you can configure more than one monitor. If a guest is configured to have more than one virtual monitor, RemoteBox will only interact with the first display.
  23. I see SOAP version errors such as:
                    Wrong SOAP version specified. Supported versions:
                    1.1 (http://schemas.xmlsoap.org/soap/envelope/)
                    1.2 (http://www.w3.org/2003/05/soap-envelope)
                    
    You're affected by a bug introduced in RemoteBox v1.8. Upgrading to at least RemoteBox v1.8.1 should resolve the problem.
  24. I'm unable to login to the VirtualBox server, even though I know my credentials are correct. It occasionally works but mostly doesn't.
    This is a compatibility issue introduced in Perl v5.18 and fixed in RemoteBox v1.8.1. It's recommended that you upgrade to at least RemoteBox v1.8.1 or alternatively downgrade your Perl installation to v5.16. To discover your Perl version, you can use 'perl -v' from the command line.
  25. Why is nothing displayed when I try to open the manual in RemoteBox?
    RemoteBox requires at least one PDF viewer to be installed. Secondly on UNIX & Linux systems, ensure xdg-open is installed. This is usually part of the xdg-utils package.
  26. I'm unable to take a screenshot of the guest or set a screenshot as an icon.
    Unfortunately this appears to be a bug with VirtualBox, which mainly manifests itself with older operating systems.
  27. When connecting via RDP, the screen doesn't update on some Linux guests. Why?
    This appears to be a compatibility issue with VirtualBox 6.0.0 and Wayland. If you downgrade the guest additions to an earlier version this resolves the issue. Alternatively, ensure you're NOT using a Wayland based desktop, only an X based desktop. Lastly, even some display managers like GDM will still use Wayland even when the desktop itself isn't. This can be disabled by editing the file /etc/gdm/custom.conf OR /etc/gdm3/custom.conf OR /etc/gdm3/daemon.conf (depending your distro) and making sure the following exists:
    
                    [daemon]
                    # Uncoment the line below to force the login screen to use Xorg
                    WaylandEnable=false
                    
RemoteBox is © Ian Chapman 2010-2023 and published under the terms of the GPL v2 or later. RemoteBox is not affiliated in any way with Oracle or its subsidiaries.