The latest Ubuntu Studio is amazing and comes with all the software I need to make graphics for my 2D games. However, every time I execute the "Software Updater" (the one with the orange sync icon), Ubuntu Studio seems to to "break" and become a pain to use.

I am using Virtual Box to run the Guest OS, and the problem seems to happen for Lubuntu in my other laptop which is the Alienware M11x. I am currently using Ubuntu Studio 64-bit installed on my Virtual Box which is installed on my Asus G73JH-A1 laptop.

Everytime the software updater notifies me of an update, I would accept the installation, but there are always side effects which will be listed next:

  1. Virtual Box / Ubuntu Studio does not scale intelligently in "scaled window mode". I understand the meaning of "scaled" but with Guest Additions, the OS usually fixes the screen so that the screen is not stretched (rather pixels are added to fill up the unused pixels). I like this feature because I don't have to use xrandr which I can never (no matter how many help threads I read) get to become permanent because it would break my OS and I would have to reinstall the OS which takes at least 2 hours or make OS backups every time.

  2. What is wrong with vertical window scrolling? Every time I use the software updater and restart the system, the page scrolling breaks. No matter what windows has the keyboard/input focus, the mouse scroll would scroll through the desktop screens instead of the in focus folder-manager or web browser, or any other in-focus application.

  3. I also lose host-to-guest drag and drop which I use a lot, and I'm pretty sure I lose all the other features that require Guest Additions to work.

  4. So every time I install software updates through the GUI app, the Guest Additions break. I have to reinstall the Guest Addition every time to get these fixes back. I have a feeling I am going in circles.

  5. Why does the Guest Additions fix these annoyances? Why doesn't the standard OS fix the scroll bug? It doesn't make sense because a bug fix should not be an add-on.

Honestly, why is it so hard to get things to be permanent. xrandr requires writing a dangerous config file to make the resolution permanent. Guest additions also don't seem to permanent either.

I use these instructions to install the guest additions and they work every time.


You need the dkms package installed in the guest and the host or every time there is a kernel update it will break the guest additions and virtual box will not load and you will have to run:

sudo /etc/init.d/vboxdrv setup  

The VirtualBox kernel module is automatically installed on your system when you install VirtualBox. To maintain it with future kernel updates, for those Linux distributions which provide it -- most current ones -- we recommend installing Dynamic Kernel Module Support (DKMS). This framework helps with building and upgrading kernel modules.


If DKMS is not already installed, execute the following:

sudo apt-get install dkms


  • Can you tell me more about the dkms package or provide a link that does? I am unsure whether or not you are saying a reinstall is always necessary or that the dkms package automates the reinstall for me. Edit: google search brought me this, ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=1150414 Would that help me? – poetryrocksalot Jul 24 '14 at 3:13
  • I read the edit, this might help. I'll try it, but I can't say it's fixed until then and a couple of days of testing. – poetryrocksalot Jul 24 '14 at 3:17
  • If it does not then there is a bug in the kernel. – Wild Man Jul 24 '14 at 3:20
  • Well before I installed the module, I installed the Guest Additions. I'm not sure what will happen after I execute another update, but I installed dkms right after the guest additions. – poetryrocksalot Jul 24 '14 at 3:25
  • DKMS has to be installed first so you will most likely have to install guest additions one more time. There was a bug for a while where DKMS did not work with virtualbox but it is working for me now. – Wild Man Jul 24 '14 at 3:33

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