migrate VMs to a newer Virtualbox version

A few days ago I tried to install a newer Virtualbox version on my machine. The Virtualbox installation worked flawlessly, but my VMs returned the error message “Kernel driver not installed” on start. Maybe you have the same problem. To solve it is rather simple.

Tested with:

OS/Software	Version
Ubuntu	18.04 LTS
Virtualbox (old)	5.1
Virtualbox (new)	6.1.2

Leave the installed Virtualbox (old version) untouched!

Download Virtualbox 6.1.2 from:

https://download.virtualbox.org/virtualbox/6.1.2/virtualbox-6.1_6.1.2-135662~Ubuntu~bionic_amd64.deb

To install Virtualbox just doubleclick the .deb package.

Run the new Virtualbox version. Your old VMs should be listed.

Remove the VM entries (ONLY delete!!!) from the list.

Run following command in a terminal to reinstall the kernel module:

$ sudo /sbin/vboxconfig

Create new VM entries with the old VM images (select the appropriate VM folders).

Now everything should work!