Solved VBox OSE for Windows (XP/Vista/7/8) 64-bit

Hopachi

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A way to use VirtualBox OSE (Open Source Edition) on x64 Windows with signed drivers from Oracle: (see next post)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
This isa description of how I managed to use VirtualBox OSE x64 with signed drivers on Win7 x64.

Notes:
I'm only gonna cover the 64bit flavor in this post(s) so be aware if you decide to test this out.

This works on 64bit Windows, but proceed only if you want an x64 signed Vbox OSE to run on Windows replacing the regular Oracle VirtualBox.
Apply all the steps (copying the right files is important)


Some facts:
Oracle VirtualBox was built with Visual Studio 2005.
They said they will eventually switch to VS 2010 but not yet.

The OSE build of VirtualBox is identical to the one from Oracle's site (explainded in the eula) but is a custom build with newer libraries.
VBox OSE can also use the extension pack for usb 2.0 support.


So I got curious to test a version built with Visual Studio 2010 (there are some newer dll versions + newer qt interface libraries used)
There is another icon used (vm):

instead of the cubic (box):


and also another about window (known in vbox ose):




Good VBox OSE builds can be found here: (don't install yet)
vbox-ose - Build the VirtualBox OSE source code and release the binary packages/installers (32-bit & 64-bit Windows version) - Google Project Hosting

BUT
There are no signed drivers available so running in Windows x64 is not possible
without signed drivers , unless we enable test mode.
Personally I don't recommend using test mode, so I will do this in normal mode or bust.

There is a way to get the signed drivers but we need all the files from an OSE installation from the link above to proceed.

We need signed drivers:
No problem, we first install Oracle Virtualbox from here: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads

- note the version number: we need the same version from the OSE link above.

We need to download a .zip but since there are only .msi files available for the latest versions we need to extract them with the -extract parameter.
We can also extarct with 7-Zip but this way all the files begin with "file_" and that has to be removed from the name.

The best way: is to install the .msi in a 64bit VM and copy all the files in a map on your host.

The Oracle VirtualBox installs signed drivers in system32 and in Program Files (keep in mind that we are on 64bit).

After the installation of Oracle VirtualBox, we go to Program Files\Oracle\VirtualBox and delete all the files except the ones ending in .gc and .r0, keep all the folders and keep the VboxAdditions.iso and the .chm help user manual.

The .gc and .r0 are very important so don't delete them! Those are the one that need to be signed.
A screenshot to clarify the things:

Delete all the files that are not marked in color.

- Red and Yellow: original files are kept.
- Green: required but not included are the VS 2010 x64 redist runtime: download from MS site: Download: Microsoft Visual C++ 2010 SP1 Redistributable Package (x64) - Microsoft Download Center - Download Details
- in Light Blue: these are batch files for manual installation that are not needed here (can be found in zip of 4.1.0 beta on OSE site in link)

Copy the files from VBox OSE folder (from msi installation or zip) without the .r0 and .gc (these are not signed!)

Run VirtualBox.exe and all should go well if you followed correctly and/or copied the right files in place.
You should get the ose icon in the upper left corner of the window:


And there is no BIOS logo:

a proof you're running a OSE build in VS 2010 on x64 Windows.
The signed drivers from the regular Windows installler of Oracle VirtualBox do their job.

It works well on Win7 x64 / 8 RP x64 (tested the files from VirtualBox-4.1.16_OSE-r78094-amd64.msi with the drivers from VirtualBox-4.1.16-78094-Win.exe)

Something you dont usually do every day I know, but i'm impressed it works because there are no other ways better than this (unless you enable test mode and use unsigned drivers, but no thanks)

Keep your drivers signed and always use the latest and stable versions.


Cheers
Hopachi
 
Last edited by a moderator:

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Copy the files from VBox OSE folder (from msi installation or zip) without the .r0 and .gc (these are not signed!)

Copy the files but don't copy the folders (just keep the ones from Oracle which include signed drivers)
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
Somehow the images in the 2nd post don't work anymore.

Anyway here is a review:

ose vm icon:
virtualbox-ose.png

box icon:
virtualbox.png

The "About" window:
vbox-about.png

Overview of the needed files:
VboxFiles.png

Running the new VBox (no difference at first glance):
vbox-man.png

BIOS has no logo:
bios.png

That's it.
 

My Computer

System One

  • OS
    Windows 10 x64
    Computer type
    Laptop
    System Manufacturer/Model
    HP Envy DV6 7250
    CPU
    Intel i7-3630QM
    Motherboard
    HP, Intel HM77 Express Chipset
    Memory
    16GB
    Graphics Card(s)
    Intel HD4000 + Nvidia Geforce 630M
    Sound Card
    IDT HD Audio
    Monitor(s) Displays
    15.6' built-in + Samsung S22D300 + 17.3' LG Phillips
    Screen Resolution
    multiple resolutions
    Hard Drives
    Samsung SSD 250GB + Hitachi HDD 750GB
    PSU
    120W adapter
    Case
    small
    Cooling
    laptop cooling pad
    Keyboard
    Backlit built-in + big one in USB
    Mouse
    SteelSeries Sensei
    Internet Speed
    slow and steady
    Browser
    Chromium, Pale Moon, Firefox Developer Edition
    Antivirus
    Windows Defender
    Other Info
    That's basically it.
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