How to Install VirtualBox in Fedora 11

Fedora 11, the most recent release of the Fedora Linux distribution, includes built-in virtualization capabilities.  Virtualization allows you to install an operating system from within another operating system, which can be a great way to test out a new version of Windows.

Since Fedora’s included virtualization is mainly geared towards developers, many users prefer a different virtualization platform such as VirtualBox which can be used in both Linux and Windows.

Installing VirtualBox in Fedora 11

1. As root, install the necessary dependencies with yum.

yum install -y qt qt-x11 xine-lib kernel-devel gcc

2. When the above dependencies have been installed, download the VirtualBox RPM from http://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads (At the time of writing I downloaded Version 3.0.4)
3. Install the VirtualBox RPM you downloaded, replacing the text in the < > with the name of the file you downloaded.

rpm -ivh <VirtualBox-FileVersion>.rpm

4. After the installation completes, add your account as a member of the vboxusers group.  To do this, navigate to System > Administration > Users and Groups, select your account and click Properties.  Click the Groups tab and check the box for vboxusers to add your account to the group.
5. Consult /var/log/vbox-install.log if you receive any error messages or experience any problems during the installation.
6. If there are any errors in the above log, correct them and run the setup script as root by entering
   

   /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup

7. Start VirtualBox by typing “VirtualBox” in the terminal or navigating to Applications > System Tools > Sun VirtualBox in the Gnome desktop.
8. Agree to the License.

Once the above steps are complete, you will have VirtualBox installed on Fedora 11.