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How to fix mouse pointer integration in Ubuntu 9.04 installed on VirtualBox

Written by axel

Ubuntu 9.04 codenamed Jaunty Jackalope is released. The servers all over the world are trying really hard to overcome the traffic generated by users who either download the new version of Ubuntu or are upgrading their Ubuntu 8.04 Intrepid Ibex. As I was curious to see the new features of this version I downloaded an ISO image and installed it on my computer. However I used VirtualBox 2.2.0 for this installation since I didn't want to make a new partition on my hard disk drive. I have published a guide in the past on How to install Ubuntu Linux on Windows using VirtualBox . The installation was fast and it used 2.3GB of hard disk space. However I faced a problem when the installation finished. There was no mouse pointer integration. Pressing the ctrl button didn't capture the mouse. As I made a little google search I read that other users had the same problem both on Windows and Linux hosts. Here is what I did to enable the mouse integration.

My first thought was that installing the VirtualBox Guest Additions would solve the problem. But it didn't. Anyway you should no matter install VirtualBox Guest Additions so here is how to do it, without using the mouse.

After you login Ubuntu in the VirtualBox window press Devices -> Install Guest Additions. The Guest Additions ISO image should be automatically mounted. Next move your cursor inside the Ubuntu desktop and press Alt+F2. The Run Application window should appear. Write gnome-terminal and press Enter.

In the terminal window write:

32bit users:

sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-x86.run
64bit users:

sudo /media/cdrom/VBoxLinuxAdditions-amd64.run
and press Enter. Type your password and when you are prompted to reboot the system just type:

sudo reboot

When you reboot if mouse integration is still not working press again Alt+F2 and run gnome-terminal just like before.

Now type:

sudo gedit /etc/X11/xorg.conf
and type in the following lines:

Section "InputDevice"
        Identifier     "vboxmouse"
        Driver          "vboxmouse"
        Option          "CorePointer"
        Option          "Device"        "/dev/input/mice"
EndSection
Press Ctrl+S to save and Alt+F4 to close gedit.

Finally type:
sudo rebootNow you should have automatic mouse pointer integration which means that the cursor changes automatically from the Host to the Guest OS e.g. Ubuntu 9.04 as you move it. Now you can enjoy your Ubuntu installation!

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AngryTechnician said:

	This probably saved me an hour of futzing about trying to fix this myself. Thanks!
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April 24, 2009
Votes: +0

Piotr said:

	It just works. Thanks
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April 25, 2009
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axel said:

	I am glad to hear it worked for you!
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April 25, 2009
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Justin Cook said:

	Thanks for sharing this. I'm sure it's saving a lot of people some time and making the Jaunty transition more acceptable for folks!
	report abuse vote down vote up

April 25, 2009
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Gene said:

	It works! Thank you
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April 25, 2009
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Dia said:

	thanks a lot!
	report abuse vote down vote up

April 26, 2009
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cryptocore said:

	Thanks a lot. Clear and concise, saved much time!
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April 26, 2009
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piskie said:

	thanks for this
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April 26, 2009
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WIlliam S. said:

	Worked flawlessly on my guest Ubuntu 9.04 (32-bits) over my Fedora 10 (64-bits) host. Many thanks !
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April 26, 2009
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Ali said:

	Thanks. That worked very well. I didn't have to edit xorg.conf in Ubuntu 8.04 and 8.10. Maybe this is some incompatibility between VirtualBox 2.2.0 and Ubuntu 9.04.
	report abuse vote down vote up

April 28, 2009
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axel said:

	Thanks everyone for your comments! Ali I also didn't have to edit xorg.conf in Ubuntu 8.10 but I remember I had the same problem on Fedora 10 for a previous version of VirtualBox. Anyway since this problem is easily solved everything is ok.
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April 28, 2009
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Ali said:

	Apparently, it was a problem with VirtualBox 2.2.0. I just reinstalled Ubuntu 9.04 in VirtualBox 2.2.2. And after installing guest addition and a restart everything worked fine.
	report abuse vote down vote up

April 30, 2009
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axel said:

	I saw the changelog of VirtualBox 2.2.0 and read about the guest additions mouse pointer integration fix, but I didn't have any time to make a new installation. Thanks for the heads up Ali!
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April 30, 2009
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codywohlers said:

	I just ran sudo apt-get install xserver-xorg-input-vmmouse after a fresh install of 9.04-desktop (amd64) and vmware-tools (from vm-workstation 6.5.2) after reading the comments at http://curiouscreature.net/blo...omment-659
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May 22, 2009
Votes: +1

axel said:

	Thank you for the info codywohlers.
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May 23, 2009
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Stuart Kibbe said:

	How would I manipulate the terminal code for Hyper-V? Id be really keen to get the mouse and rdp working there too! Best, Stuart
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June 22, 2009
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gsalem said:

	Thanks for the tip about xorg.conf. I had to do it with a RHEL 5.1 (x86), as a guest under Jaunty (x64). Otherwise mouse integration would not work. rgds
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June 22, 2009
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axel said:

	Sorry Stuart, but I have no idea about Hyper-V. gsalem, I am glad it worked for RHEL also.
	report abuse vote down vote up

June 22, 2009
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Last Updated ( Friday, 24 April 2009 )

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