Solved Virtual Machine Questions; Privacy, Isolation of Apps,

[Sherri is a Cat]

I have decided to install a virtual machine. I have some questions.
***If you recognize anything it's because some things are pasted from I different, related thread I began yesterday.)


I have 3 reasons for deciding to use a VM

• I want to keep Zoom from hogging my resources when I have it open. Some people have said they don't have the same problems I'm having. There could be many reasons for that, including a different distro.
  • Even after upgrading to LM 22.1 Zoom continues to dominate my resources. It takes forever to open up and close. It constantly freezes up. I frequently get knocked out of meetings. Sometimes I have issues using other apps after using Zoom. It tends to be audio.
    • A couple of days ago I was watching videos on YouTube. There were no problems.
    • I stopped to open Zoom for a meeting. I didn't have any audio. I went back to the YouTube video I was watching. Even though I was just watching a video, didn't have audio there either.
    • I messed with it for a while before rebooting my system.
    • After rebooting, I first checked the audio by watching a video. I still didn't have any audio.
    • I opened Zoom. No audio
    • Suddenly the audio began working. I could hear both the video and the people in the Zoom meeting.
    • I only seem to have these kind of weird issues after installing Zoom on my computer. The issues are especially bad AFTER opening Zoom.

Putting a leash on Zoom is my number 1 reason for deciding on a VM. I'm sick of dealing with the issues, the effects on other apps.

• The second reason for a VM is that I want to install it on one of those other OS's people use who are not experiencing issues.
  • I do not want to change from LM right now. I'm still new to Linux. I have a lot of stressful things going on in my personal life. This is not the time to commit to another new OS.

• My third reason is that if something goes wrong in the VM, I still have my LM desktop unaffected.

I'm pretty sure my system can handle a VM. I put my PC specs in a second post following this one

QUESTIONS​

• I believe I can limit the amount of resources that a VM can use.
  • If a VM has X amount of resources available, does that mean that my primary desktop loses use of those resources? Would it be like this even if the VM is closed?
• With Zoom installed on a VM, can it still interfere with things on the primary desktop?
• Zoom collects user information.
  • Will a VM limit that information to the VM?

• I'm currently considering Virtual Box
  • I've only found 2 references to installing it on Linux MINT
    • How to Install VirtualBox on Linux Mint 22 Step-by-Step
    • How To Install VirtualBox on Linux Mint 22
    • The Virtual Box Website does not provide installation files for MINT
      • https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Linux_Downloads
      • 
      • @bob466 helped with this problem
        • (The installation files for the system that LM was built on are the ones needed to install Virtual Box on LM)
          • 
      • • I need the same Ubuntu 22.04 installation files
          • 

This is far as I got on the other thread before I decided to begin this as a new thread.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ inxi -Fxxxzr
System:
  Kernel: 6.8.0-57-generic arch: x86_64 bits: 64 compiler: gcc v: 13.3.0
    clocksource: tsc
  Desktop: Cinnamon v: 6.4.8 tk: GTK v: 3.24.41 wm: Muffin v: 6.4.1 vt: 7
    dm: LightDM v: 1.30.0 Distro: Linux Mint 22.1 Xia base: Ubuntu 24.04 noble
Machine:
  Type: Desktop System: ASUSTeK product: K30AD_M31AD_M51AD v: N/A
    serial: <superuser required>
  Mobo: ASUSTeK model: K30AD_M31AD_M51AD_M32AD v: Rev X.0x
    serial: <superuser required> part-nu: All uuid: <superuser required>
    UEFI: American Megatrends v: 0507 date: 04/02/2014
Battery:
  Device-1: hidpp_battery_0 model: Logitech M510 serial: <filter>
    charge: 55% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
  Device-2: hidpp_battery_1 model: Logitech K350 serial: <filter>
    charge: 70% (should be ignored) rechargeable: yes status: discharging
CPU:
  Info: quad core model: Intel Core i7-4790S bits: 64 type: MT MCP
    smt: enabled arch: Haswell rev: 3 cache: L1: 256 KiB L2: 1024 KiB L3: 8 MiB
  Speed (MHz): avg: 3423 high: 3670 min/max: 800/4000 cores: 1: 3670 2: 3193
    3: 3497 4: 3593 5: 3457 6: 3592 7: 3193 8: 3195 bogomips: 51086
  Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3
Graphics:
  Device-1: AMD Baffin [Radeon RX 460/560D / Pro
    450/455/460/555/555X/560/560X] vendor: XFX Pine Polaris 21 XL
    driver: amdgpu v: kernel arch: GCN-4 pcie: speed: 5 GT/s lanes: 8 ports:
    active: HDMI-A-1 empty: DP-1,DVI-D-1 bus-ID: 01:00.0 chip-ID: 1002:67ef
    class-ID: 0300 temp: 54.0 C
  Device-2: Sunplus Innovation WebCamera driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
    type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-5.3:42
    chip-ID: 1bcf:28c4 class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  Display: x11 server: X.Org v: 21.1.11 with: Xwayland v: 23.2.6 driver: X:
    loaded: amdgpu unloaded: fbdev,modesetting,vesa dri: radeonsi gpu: amdgpu
    display-ID: :0 screens: 1
  Screen-1: 0 s-res: 2560x1440 s-dpi: 96 s-size: 677x381mm (26.65x15.00")
    s-diag: 777mm (30.58")
  Monitor-1: HDMI-A-1 mapped: HDMI-A-0 model: H27T27 res: 2560x1440 dpi: 122
    size: 531x298mm (20.91x11.73") diag: 685mm (27") modes: max: 2560x1440
    min: 640x350
  API: EGL v: 1.5 hw: drv: amd radeonsi platforms: device: 0 drv: radeonsi
    device: 1 drv: swrast gbm: drv: kms_swrast surfaceless: drv: radeonsi x11:
    drv: radeonsi inactive: wayland
  API: OpenGL v: 4.6 compat-v: 4.5 vendor: amd mesa
    v: 24.2.8-1ubuntu1~24.04.1 glx-v: 1.4 direct-render: yes renderer: AMD
    Radeon RX 460 Graphics (radeonsi polaris11 LLVM 19.1.1 DRM 3.57
    6.8.0-57-generic) device-ID: 1002:67ef
Audio:
  Device-1: Intel 8 Series/C220 Series High Definition Audio vendor: ASUSTeK 8
    driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel bus-ID: 00:1b.0 chip-ID: 8086:8c20
    class-ID: 0403
  Device-2: AMD Baffin HDMI/DP Audio [Radeon RX 550 640SP / 560/560X]
    vendor: XFX Pine driver: snd_hda_intel v: kernel pcie: speed: 5 GT/s
    lanes: 8 bus-ID: 01:00.1 chip-ID: 1002:aae0 class-ID: 0403
  Device-3: Sunplus Innovation WebCamera driver: snd-usb-audio,uvcvideo
    type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-5.3:42
    chip-ID: 1bcf:28c4 class-ID: 0102 serial: <filter>
  Device-4: JMTek LLC. TKGOU PnP USB Microphone
    driver: hid-generic,snd-usb-audio,usbhid type: USB rev: 1.1 speed: 12 Mb/s
    lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-5.4:41 chip-ID: 0c76:1467 class-ID: 0300
    serial: <filter>
  API: ALSA v: k6.8.0-57-generic status: kernel-api
  Server-1: PipeWire v: 1.0.5 status: active with: 1: pipewire-pulse
    status: active 2: wireplumber status: active 3: pipewire-alsa type: plugin
Network:
  Device-1: Intel Ethernet I217-V vendor: ASUSTeK driver: e1000e v: kernel
    port: f040 bus-ID: 00:19.0 chip-ID: 8086:153b class-ID: 0200
  IF: eno1 state: down mac: <filter>
  Device-2: Realtek RTL8821AE 802.11ac PCIe Wireless Network Adapter
    vendor: AzureWave driver: rtl8821ae v: kernel pcie: speed: 2.5 GT/s lanes: 1
    port: d000 bus-ID: 03:00.0 chip-ID: 10ec:8821 class-ID: 0280
  IF: wlp3s0 state: down mac: <filter>
  IF-ID-1: enx26ca2fcbc20f state: unknown speed: -1 duplex: half
    mac: <filter>
Bluetooth:
  Device-1: IMC Networks Bluetooth Radio driver: btusb v: 0.8 type: USB
    rev: 2.1 speed: 12 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-10:6 chip-ID: 13d3:3414
    class-ID: e001 serial: <filter>
  Report: hciconfig ID: hci0 rfk-id: 0 state: up address: <filter> bt-v: 4.0
    lmp-v: 6 sub-v: a041 hci-v: 6 rev: e2f class-ID: 7c0104
  Device-2: Motorola PCS moto g power 5G - 2024 driver: rndis_host v: kernel
    type: USB rev: 2.0 speed: 480 Mb/s lanes: 1 bus-ID: 3-2:40
    chip-ID: 22b8:2e24 class-ID: 0a00 serial: <filter>
Drives:
  Local Storage: total: 1.82 TiB used: 32.88 GiB (1.8%)
  ID-1: /dev/sda vendor: Toshiba model: DT01ACA200 size: 1.82 TiB
    speed: 6.0 Gb/s tech: HDD rpm: 7200 serial: <filter> fw-rev: ABS0
    scheme: GPT
Partition:
  ID-1: / size: 1.79 TiB used: 32.88 GiB (1.8%) fs: ext4 dev: /dev/sda3
  ID-2: /boot/efi size: 512.1 MiB used: 6.1 MiB (1.2%) fs: vfat
    dev: /dev/sda2
Swap:
  ID-1: swap-1 type: file size: 2 GiB used: 385.5 MiB (18.8%) priority: -2
    file: /swapfile
Sensors:
  System Temperatures: cpu: 39.0 C mobo: N/A gpu: amdgpu temp: 54.0 C
  Fan Speeds (rpm): N/A gpu: amdgpu fan: 1034
Repos:
  Packages: 2051 pm: dpkg pkgs: 2042 pm: flatpak pkgs: 9
  No active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list
  Active apt repos in: /etc/apt/sources.list.d/official-package-repositories.list
    1: deb http://packages.linuxmint.com xia main upstream import backport
    2: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble main restricted universe multiverse
    3: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-updates main restricted universe multiverse
    4: deb http://archive.ubuntu.com/ubuntu noble-backports main restricted universe multiverse
    5: deb http://security.ubuntu.com/ubuntu/ noble-security main restricted universe multiverse
Info:
  Memory: total: 12 GiB available: 11.62 GiB used: 5.06 GiB (43.6%)
  Processes: 300 Power: uptime: 1d 18h 52m states: freeze,mem,disk
    suspend: deep wakeups: 0 hibernate: platform Init: systemd v: 255
    target: graphical (5) default: graphical
  Compilers: gcc: 13.3.0 Shell: Bash v: 5.2.21 running-in: gnome-terminal
    inxi: 3.3.34
sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I'm reading through directions How to Install VirtualBox on Linux Mint 22 Step-by-Step

The author strongly suggests installing all available updates. The software manager indicates that my system is fully updated, even after refreshing it.

Checking for updates in the terminal gives different results. From the directions in the I entered
'$ sudo apt update'.

The results show that 1 package can be upgraded.

	I don't know what a 'switch' is. I'm not finding a clear answer on the internet. I'm going to keep reading, but I won't go any further without help.

 

[osprey]

@Sherri is a Cat

In the inxi output in post #2, the flag for virtualisation in the intel cpu is not showing. The output on your machine shows:

Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3

The output of a machine with the virtualisation flag looks thus:

Flags: avx avx2 ht lm nx pae sse sse2 sse3 sse4_1 sse4_2 ssse3 vmx

Notice the vmx in that line, which is the "virtualization machine extension" for intel chips which enhances virtualisation and is intel's main virtualisation facility designed for the most efficient virtualisation.

To see whether your cpu is capable of using that facility you can run:

grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo

Since the flag appears not to be turned on at the moment according to the inxi output, it may be possible to enter the BIOS/UEFI and turn it on. Without this flag turned on, virtualisation would be run as "paravirtualisation" which has much reduced performance and isn't the first choice for intel processors.

In relation to the "switch" which is "-a", all that means is that the "-a" is an option to a command just like any other option which is preceded by the dash, for example with the ls command, the following shows some switches:

ls
ls -a
ls -al

The -a, and -al are switches, also referred to as options, or flags. It's a terminological thing which varies in the literature.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

To see whether your cpu is capable of using that facility you can run:
grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo

I think I'm might missing some information, entering this wrong???
Should something be entered before 'grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo'?

I'm going to do some guessing, because it's fun. Then come back.

 

[osprey]

I think I'm might missing some information, entering this wrong???
Should something be entered before 'grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo'?

I'm going to do some guessing, because it's fun. Then come back.

The command is correct. The output might be quite large on screen, but the only thing that matters is that the term "vmx" is present in the output. It may or may not be highlighted in color. Usually the grep command will highlight the searched-for term, in this case "vmx", but in case the grep on your machine doesn't highlight, you can try and make it use color by running:

grep --color=auto /proc/cpuinfo

In any case, if vmx is present in the output, color or not, the machine is set to go.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo

From what I've found on the internet, it looks like no result means my CPU does not support virtualization. I found a few commands on the internet in addition to the one you gave me.

I hit enter after each of these commands

 

[osprey]

From what I've found on the internet, it looks like no result means my CPU does not support virtualization. I found a few commands on the internet in addition to the one you gave me.

I hit enter after each of these commands


View attachment 25191

Okay. That capability appears to be absent. Perhaps now check the BIOS/UEFI to see if there is a menu item that turns virtualisation on. You may need to reboot to access the BIOS/UEFI.

The BIOS/UEFI is from 2014 which is 11 years old so the machine itself is possibly between about 8 and 11 years old, so that may be a factor.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I'm really surprised that my CPU doesn't support virtualization. It's a gaming computer.
I'll enter grep --color=auto /proc/cpuinfo next.

I found this information on this website towards the bottom of the page.

*** I'm perfectly comfortable making changes in UEFI. Done it lot's of times and I also know how to get into Legacy BIOS if need be.

Enabling Virtualization in BIOS/UEFI​

If you find that your CPU does support virtualization, but the Task Manager or other checks indicate it’s "Disabled," the next step is enabling it through your BIOS or UEFI settings. Here’s how you can access and enable virtualization features:

1. Restart your Computer: Begin by restarting your computer.
2. Access BIOS/UEFI Settings: Depending on your computer manufacturer, you typically need to press a specific key as the computer boots up. Common keys are F2, Delete, F10, or Esc.
3. Locate Virtualization Settings: Once in the BIOS/UEFI menu, navigate to the "Advanced," "CPU Configuration," or "Chipset" settings. The terminology may vary based on your motherboard manufacturer.
4. Enable Virtualization Technology: Look for options named "Intel VT-x," "Intel Virtualization Technology," "AMD-V," or similar. Set this to "Enabled."
5. Save Changes and Exit: After enabling the setting, save the changes and exit the BIOS/UEFI setup. Your computer will reboot.
6. Verify Settings: After rebooting, you can verify again through Task Manager or System Information to confirm that virtualization is now enabled.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Okay. That capability appears to be absent. Perhaps now check the BIOS/UEFI to see if there is a menu item that turns virtualisation on. You may need to reboot to access the BIOS/UEFI.

LOL

I literally just posted about this! Your post popped up right after I hit 'Post Reply".

One question before I do, maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't.

Before installing Linux I wiped my HDD and reformatted it using the EXT4 extension. Does it matter?

 

[osprey]

LOL

I literally just posted about this! Your post popped up right after I hit 'Post Reply".

One question before I do, maybe it matters, maybe it doesn't.

Before installing Linux I wiped my HDD and reformatted it using the EXT4 extension. Does it matter?

The issue is really about getting optimal performance in the virtual environment. Machines with vmx on intel have greater efficiency which means in practical terms that the virtual machine will work faster and smoother likely without pauses and other little annoyances. That's what I used to get until I upgraded machines.

The answer is that you can still run virtual machines using KVM or virtual box. They support "paravirtualisation" which is the method used without vmx on intel machines.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

@osprey

I looked up my CPU on the Intel website.
Intel Core i7-4790S

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

Machines with vmx on intel have greater efficiency

Maybe what I have is a prior release of virtualization technology??

 

[osprey]

Maybe what I have is a prior release of virtualization technology??

If the cpu supports virtualisation as shown in post #12, it looks like there ought to be a menu item in the BIOS/UEFI to turn it on. Perhaps have a look there. I can't say where in the menus the item would be exactly.

Edit: looks like the menu item is under "Advanced" or "CPU Configuration" in the American Megatrends BIOS/UEFI.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

It must be turned off. Using $ lscpu

sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ grep vtx /proc/cpuinfo
sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ grep VT-x /proc/cpuinfo
sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ $ lscpu
$: command not found
sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ lscpu
Architecture:             x86_64
  CPU op-mode(s):         32-bit, 64-bit
  Address sizes:          39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
  Byte Order:             Little Endian
CPU(s):                   8
  On-line CPU(s) list:    0-7
Vendor ID:                GenuineIntel
  Model name:             Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790S CPU @ 3.20GHz
    CPU family:           6
    Model:                60
    Thread(s) per core:   2
    Core(s) per socket:   4
    Socket(s):            1
    Stepping:             3
    CPU(s) scaling MHz:   89%
    CPU max MHz:          4000.0000
    CPU min MHz:          800.0000
    BogoMIPS:             6385.75
    Flags:                fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge m
                          ca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 s
                          s ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc
                          arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_
                          tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_c
                          pl smx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid sse4
                          _1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer aes x
                          save avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm cpuid_fault epb pti s
                          sbd ibrs ibpb stibp fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep
                           bmi2 erms invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts md
                          _clear flush_l1d
Caches (sum of all):     
  L1d:                    128 KiB (4 instances)
  L1i:                    128 KiB (4 instances)
  L2:                     1 MiB (4 instances)
  L3:                     8 MiB (1 instance)
NUMA:                     
  NUMA node(s):           1
  NUMA node0 CPU(s):      0-7
Vulnerabilities:         
  Gather data sampling:   Not affected
  Itlb multihit:          KVM: Mitigation: VMX unsupported
  L1tf:                   Mitigation; PTE Inversion
  Mds:                    Mitigation; Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Meltdown:               Mitigation; PTI
  Mmio stale data:        Unknown: No mitigations
  Reg file data sampling: Not affected
  Retbleed:               Not affected
  Spec rstack overflow:   Not affected
  Spec store bypass:      Mitigation; Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prct
                          l
  Spectre v1:             Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointe
                          r sanitization
  Spectre v2:             Mitigation; Retpolines; IBPB conditional; IBRS_FW; STI
                          BP conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS Not affected;
                           BHI Not affected
  Srbds:                  Mitigation; Microcode
  Tsx async abort:        Not affected
sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

I can't say where in the menus the item would be exactly.

I'll find it.
Also, I don't have generic MOBO. I have a manual!

I'll be back in a bit!

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

It appears to be enabled

The command you gave me (grep vmx /proc/cpuinfo)
doesn't show anything. I guess because vmx is a newer technology with a different name?

The only command I could find to verify it was lscpu

sherri@sherri-K30AD-M31AD-M51AD:~$ lscpu
Architecture:             x86_64
  CPU op-mode(s):         32-bit, 64-bit
  Address sizes:          39 bits physical, 48 bits virtual
  Byte Order:             Little Endian
CPU(s):                   8
  On-line CPU(s) list:    0-7
Vendor ID:                GenuineIntel
  Model name:             Intel(R) Core(TM) i7-4790S CPU @ 3.20GHz
    CPU family:           6
    Model:                60
    Thread(s) per core:   2
    Core(s) per socket:   4
    Socket(s):            1
    Stepping:             3
    CPU(s) scaling MHz:   44%
    CPU max MHz:          4000.0000
    CPU min MHz:          800.0000
    BogoMIPS:             6384.87
    Flags:                fpu vme de pse tsc msr pae mce cx8 apic sep mtrr pge m
                          ca cmov pat pse36 clflush dts acpi mmx fxsr sse sse2 s
                          s ht tm pbe syscall nx pdpe1gb rdtscp lm constant_tsc
                          arch_perfmon pebs bts rep_good nopl xtopology nonstop_
                          tsc cpuid aperfmperf pni pclmulqdq dtes64 monitor ds_c
                          pl vmx smx est tm2 ssse3 sdbg fma cx16 xtpr pdcm pcid
                          sse4_1 sse4_2 x2apic movbe popcnt tsc_deadline_timer a
                          es xsave avx f16c rdrand lahf_lm abm cpuid_fault epb p
                          ti ssbd ibrs ibpb stibp tpr_shadow flexpriority ept vp
                          id ept_ad fsgsbase tsc_adjust bmi1 avx2 smep bmi2 erms
                           invpcid xsaveopt dtherm ida arat pln pts vnmi md_clea
                          r flush_l1d
Virtualization features:
  Virtualization:         VT-x
Caches (sum of all):    
  L1d:                    128 KiB (4 instances)
  L1i:                    128 KiB (4 instances)
  L2:                     1 MiB (4 instances)
  L3:                     8 MiB (1 instance)
NUMA:                    
  NUMA node(s):           1
  NUMA node0 CPU(s):      0-7
Vulnerabilities:        
  Gather data sampling:   Not affected
  Itlb multihit:          KVM: Mitigation: VMX disabled
  L1tf:                   Mitigation; PTE Inversion; VMX conditional cache flush
                          es, SMT vulnerable
  Mds:                    Mitigation; Clear CPU buffers; SMT vulnerable
  Meltdown:               Mitigation; PTI
  Mmio stale data:        Unknown: No mitigations
  Reg file data sampling: Not affected
  Retbleed:               Not affected
  Spec rstack overflow:   Not affected
  Spec store bypass:      Mitigation; Speculative Store Bypass disabled via prct
                          l
  Spectre v1:             Mitigation; usercopy/swapgs barriers and __user pointe
                          r sanitization
  Spectre v2:             Mitigation; Retpolines; IBPB conditional; IBRS_FW; STI
                          BP conditional; RSB filling; PBRSB-eIBRS Not affected;
                           BHI Not affected
  Srbds:                  Mitigation; Microcode
  Tsx async abort:        Not affected

 

[bob466]

Installing Virtualbox in Mint is very easy
What should I download...

This one.

Downloaded files...

How to install...double click the green one and you'll see this...

I've already installed it but you'll see Install Package...click it...easy.
Here's my win 7 VM in Virtualbox on Mint 22.1.

With Virtualbox installed and open...double click the Extension Pack and click...Install...done.

Install Guest Additions from the dropdown menu in the VM...you also must add yourself to the vbox user group...after you have installed your VM but that's later.

 

[Sherri is a Cat]

@bob466

My only concern now is that update I mentioned in post 3