VirtualBox 4.1 update improves stability

While users are awaiting the imminent publication of version 4.2 of the desktop virtualisation system, the VirtualBox developers have released version 4.1.20 with fixes that improve its overall stability and rectify various regressions. In total, the tenth update to the 4.1.x branch of Oracle's desktop virtualisation application addresses more than twenty bugs; some of these could cause it to crash when, for example, running virtual machines (VMs) without hardware virtualisation or restoring an old snapshot.

For Mac OS X hosts, VirtualBox 4.1.20 includes adaptations for the recent 10.8 Mountain Lion release. The Linux Installer has been updated to better work with Gentoo Linux, while the Guest Additions for Linux include compile fixes for the 3.5-rc1 and 3.6-rc1 Linux kernels, and versions 6.3 of Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) and CentOS. Other changes include fixes for Solaris hosts and the Solaris installer. The developers also note that, for new VMs, the clipboard has been disabled by default.

Earlier this month the project published a release candidate for the next major update to VirtualBox, version 4.2. The new branch introduces various improvements and new features such as a new "expert mode" in wizards, better support for Microsoft's upcoming Windows 8 operating system and the option to modify some settings while a VM is running.

Further information about the update, including a full list of fixes, can be found in the change log. VirtualBox 4.1.20 can be downloaded for Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and Solaris. Source code and binaries for VirtualBox are distributed under the terms of the GPLv2; the Extension Pack, which adds support for USB 2.0 and remote boot, can be downloaded under a Personal Use and Evaluation (PUEL) licence.

See also:

• VirtualBox 4.1 supports cloning of VMs, a report from The H.

(crve)