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Starting with VirtualBox version 6.0.4 (July 2019), Virtualbox Guest Additions enables support for Shared Folders for Cassini Virtual Workstations (ArcaOS, eCS, and OS/2). Shared folders allows a directory in the host OS to be shared directly with the guest OS, dramatically simplifying the transfer of .GZP to and from Guru. For example, the user's "Downloads" folder in the host OS can be permanently mapped to the"Z:\" drive.



Requirements:
  • Host must be running Virtual Box version 6.0.4 or greater
  • Guest OS must have VirtualBox Guest Additions version 6.0.4 or greater. Cassini Virtual Workstation appliances (.ova) distributed before Jan-2020 will likely need to be upgraded.
  • Guest c:/config.sys file must have the "IFS=C:\OS2Additions\vboxsf.ifs" line.
    Note: VirtualBox Extension Pack is NOT REQUIRED, not to be confused with the Guest Additions which is installed in the Guest OS.

Enable Shared Folders as Z:\ Drive:
  1. Confirm requirements are met, confirm that the version of VirtualBox on the Host from the Help > About menu is greater than 6.0.4 (released July 2019). If not, download and install the latest from Virtualbox.ORG's download page.
  2. Then check the guest OS VirtualBox Guest Additions version by typing "cd os2additions [enter] vboxservice --version" in a command window. If using version <6, then follow the Upgrade VirtualBox Guest Additions procedure below.
  3. Choose Device > Shared Folders > Shared Folder Settings... to open the Machine settings window.
  4. Choose Add new shared folder. icon. Enter the folder path by selecting Other from the pull down menu and select an appropriate folder (like Downloads). Enable Auto-mount and Make Permanent options and enter "Z:\" as the Mount point. (See Figure 1)
  5. It will immediately become available to the guest OS.
  6. View by opening a command window and typing "Z:" then "dir".
    IMPORTANT: Because the host OS doesn't properly support extended attributes, the Drives Icon (Presentation Manager or PM) will show "[empty]" but the command line and Java based programs like Guru Browser will display the drive's contents properly.
    TIP! Guru Browser sometimes has issues writing to remote drives. If the .GZP is a "0 byte" file, save it to "D:\Shared" then copy with "cp d:\Shared\*.gzp z:\" command to copy all .GZP to the Z: drive.

Figure 1: VirtualBox Shared Folders | Edit Share dialog
1.
Upgrade VirtualBox Guest Additions:
  1. Confirm VirtualBox version 6.0.4 or greater is installed on the Host OS from the Help > About menu.
  2. From the running Cassini Virtual Workstation machine, choose Devices > Insert Guest Additions CD image... to mount drive "F:\" CD drive. (Drive letter may be different depending on the generation of guest OS.)
  3. Stop VirtualBoxServices process by opening a command window and type "top". Identify the PID of VBOXSERVICE.EXE and type K, Enter (normal kill), enter the PID identified (i.e. "29") and press Enter, then press any key to return to TOP. Hit ESC key to exit.
  4. From a command window and type "cp f:\os2\*.* c:\os2additions" to copy over the new files. If files fail to copy, then you may have to copy the files off the CD to a new temporary folder (continue on to step 6).
  5. Edit OS configuration with "e c:\config.sys" command, then append "IFS=C:\OS2Additions\vboxsf.ifs" below the other IFS entries near the top (line 5), File > Save then File > Exit.
  6. Finally, type "cp c:/os2additions/*.dll c:/os2/dll" to copy the updated libraries.
    (note: gengradd.dll may not copy successfully, depending on version this will likely not affect anything. To copy these files, the guest OS must be booted in safe mode and .dll files copied without a GUI running. You have to restart the guest OS in safe mode (ALT+F1 during boot), and then copy the files from the command prompt.)
  7. Shut down the OS and restart from the VirtualBox Manager window (or desktop icon). Look for the highlighted line during boot (See Figure 2), and then proceed to "Enable Shared Folders..." instructions above.
    Figure 2: Guest Boot Log Showing "IFS"

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