VirtualBox uninstall problem

[Kedric]

So um I can no longer like for the day lmao. i also made maximum number of edits

[Kedric]

can't edit anything, ouh nevermind I can edit, I just made maximum edits for one particular post I think?

[FrenchPress]

@Kedric

can't edit anything

You should learn how to consolidate your postings into one. It is not a Twitter and longer meaningful postings are more appreciated than short meaningless ones.

[Rory]

@Aravisian

Please allow us to help you resolve the issue instead of insisting you don't want the fix.

Happy to receive anyone's help and appreciate it too. Not happy to turn off UEFI Secure Boot on a dual boot system with Win 10.

Neither Win 10 nor UEFI Secure Boot have cause the issue, it's the update to VirtualBox from what I can tell and I just need to remove it.

I can promise you I'm not trying to annoy anyone, it would be counterproductive especially as I intend to be a committed Zorin user and will likely be asking for further guidance in the coming months. You especially Aravisian helped me a couple of weeks ago with the Dell problem.

[Kedric]

Thats what I do, I keep editing the post to add information. @Aravisian told me about it.

[Rory]

@Kedric

Try this? sudo apt-get --fix-broken install

Kedric, I'll try that but is it OK for me to kill off the Terminal which still has the process running from before? It's waiting for me to say OK to this:

[FrenchPress]

@Kedric

Thats what I do, I keep editing the post to add information. @Aravisian told me about it.

Lucky you.
Now you got 2 mentors on this forum

[Kedric]

Should be ok, you're not installing or deleting anything.

[Aravisian]

@Rory

Happy to receive anyone's help and appreciate it too. Not happy to turn off UEFI Secure Boot on a dual boot system with Win 10.

I understand your point of view. However, the trouble is that you also refuse to configure it. Do you see the issue here? You won't turn it off, but refuse to configure it, creating your own quandary.

@Rory

Neither Win 10 nor UEFI Secure Boot have cause the issue, it's the update to VirtualBox from what I can tell and I just need to remove it.

This is what we are trying to explain: The virtualbox issue is a symptom not a cause.

[Rory]

@tomscharbach

I want to be very careful, because (1) UEFI/SecureBoot is complicated, and (2) I am speculating and might well be in over my head.

I've read (with respect to other Linux builds over the years) that it is possible for a user to create/enroll a "personal" MOK and load Linux builds that otherwise require that Secure Boot be disabled with Secure Boot enabled. I've never tried this, it is far over my head, might well brick your computer, and I personally wouldn't touch it with a ten-foot pole. For me, and with all due respect, almost certainly for you, this falls under the "Don't try this at home!" category.

Reading it, I think that the message is offering to generate a private MOK and enroll that MOK in the computer's firmware. Why anyone would do this to uninstall software is beyond my ken.

I took a few minutes and read through is entire thread. I suspect that (a) the VirtualBox installation is corrupted or (b) Virtual Box has made a major change in configuration in more recent builds that tangle it up somehow with Secure Boot. Those are the only thing that makes sense to me, and I have no idea how to proceed at this point.

I'm going to do some research while I watch the University of Wisconsin football team pound Penn State into the ground and see if I can come up with something.

Mate, thank you, I'm definitely on the same page about being careful, hence my reason for posting and asking for help. The enrolling an MOK worried me because I don't know the implications and it's also a third party driver and all a bit above my head.

Anyway, I appreciate your post and good luck Wisconsin

[Aravisian]

In which case, you can just close the window as Tom suggested. This will bring us back to the original problem.
First, you need to be able to successfully run dpkg --configure .

[Rory]

@Kedric

Should be ok, you're not installing or deleting anything.

Well I ran sudo dpkg --configure -a and that message is where it is now sat. OK, I'll kill the terminal and try that command you gave.

[Rory]

@tomscharbach

Say "No" and kill the process. The last thing you want to do is to create a private MOK at this point. Then try Kedric's suggestion. If Virtual Box is corrupted, Kedric's suggest might resolve that issue.

Did that, killed the terminal, tried the command Kedric gave sudo apt-get --fix-broken install and am now back at this again:

It's a bit of a loop and there is no way to say 'Not OK' and I certainly don't want to create a private MOK, especially for something which I'm actually trying to uninstall.

[Kedric]

Forbidden word, so I think you have to disable it, man. I don't think there is another way. My small brain doesn't really understand what secure boot do. Just give it a try and see any new problems come up.

[Aravisian]

Or, disable Secure boot temporarily.

[Rory]

@Aravisian

n which case, you can just close the window as Tom suggested. This will bring us back to the original problem.
First, you need to be able to successfully run dpkg --configure .

The problem is that I can't successfully do this because it wants me to create a private MOK and it's not something I feel I should be messing with. Especially as I'm trying to uninstall the very thing that is asking me to create it....

[Aravisian]

Rory, can we take a couple steps back here?

First question: Did you install (Or try to install) VirtualBox?

[Kedric]

Can you try sudo apt reinstall virtualbox? Then sudo apt remove virtualbox?

[Rory]

@Aravisian

Rory, can we take a couple steps back here?

First question: Did you install (Or try to install) VirtualBox?

Sure, no problem.

I didn't install VirtualBox, it came preloaded with Zorin 16 Pro. I've no need for it, no use case at the moment.....maybe later when I get rid of Win 10 and get a bit more Linux savvy and want to try other distro's etc.

It's just been sat there. I'm healthily paranoid about security so all my systems are always fully patched with the latest updates and I it's the first thing I do when log in is to check for software updates. Same on my Win 10 system with Kaspersky and PatchMyPC, Windows updates etc.

[Aravisian]

@Rory

I didn't install VirtualBox, it came preloaded with Zorin 16 Pro.

This makes a lot more sense now.

So, when you went to remove it, it must be configured prior to removal. And thus: You began running into problems.

I understand your statement about healthily paranoid but in this case, you have reached a bump in the road.
The only thing I can do is ask that you trust me.

• I have no desire to sit here all day long trying to fix your system after I broke it. Because if I did anything to break it, I would not leave until I helped you fix it.
• I have no desire to put you at risk from hackers or from wayward software, malicious or not.

The best thing you can do right now is Accept the Configuration for Secure Boot (MOK). I understand that it is something new; but that is a guided prompt that will not put you at any risk. Because once done, you will be Removing VirtualBox right after, anway.