How to Enable Seamless Mode in VirtualBox on a Mac With Snow Leopard

VirtualBox is a free, open-source application for Mac, Windows and Linux that allows you to create "virtual machines" on your computer. These virtual machines can run other operating systems, so that your Windows Vista machine can, for example, have a working Linux installation, as well as a Windows XP installation. In this case, Windows Vista would be called the host OS, and Linux or Windows XP would be called a guest OS.



When a virtual machine is running, it is possible to integrate the two operating systems so that the desktop looks as if both the host and guest are running together. This is called "Seamless mode," and can be activated on a Mac running OS 10.6 (Snow Leopard) as a host, as long as Guest Additions, a suite of software packaged with VirtualBox, is installed on the guest OS. Guest Additions extends the capabilities of the guest OS.

Instructions

Windows Guest

1. Install Guest Additions in your Windows guest. Once your virtual machine is running, click the "Device" menu bar, and select "Install Guest Additions." This mounts the Guest Additions .iso file on your Windows desktop and starts the Windows Guest Installer. The .iso file is a disc image, rather like a virtual CD, that contains the Guest Additions suite and its installer.

2. Follow the on-screen instructions in the Windows Guest Installer to install Guest Additions for Windows. When the installation is complete, reboot your virtual machine.

3. Activate Seamless mode. On the Mac, Seamless mode can be initiated by pressing the host key -- the Apple key -- plus "L."

Linux Guest

1. Install dkms on your Linux guest. This varies for different Linux distributions. In an Ubuntu/Debian installation, open a terminal and type the following:

   sudo apt-get install dkms

   This will install dkms from the Linux package repository.

2. In your VirtualBox "Device" menu, select "Install Guest Additions." This mounts the .iso file to your Linux guest OS. The .iso file is a disc image, rather like a virtual CD, that contains the Guest Additions suite of software and its installer.

3. In a terminal, navigate to the location of your CD/DVD drive. Type the following:

   sudo sh ./VBoxLinuxAdditions.run

   This installs Guest Additions on your Linux guest.

4. Reboot the virtual machine.

5. Activate Seamless mode. On the Mac, Seamless mode can be initiated by pressing the host key -- the Apple key -- plus "L."

Tips & Warnings

• Seamless mode may only be enabled if your host's video card can support it.

Resources

• Virtual Box