VB icons gone from all desktops and effort to start via terminal don't work??

[arjay]

I am running VirtualBox on PCLos 2010 with a win xp guest. I only use it now and again to update my TomTom and for a Golf Handicap program I use for my club.  It has been fine for a year or more.  Now, suddenly, the icons for it on all my desktops have all disappeared as has the entry in the Menu.  I am a bit of a newbie in the sense that I am just a user and this has me floored.  I have tried to start it from a terminal using a command I got off the Internet but not sure if this is right:

Code:

[richard@Galaxy ~]$ VboxManage startvm "newhd"
bash: VboxManage: command not found
[richard@Galaxy ~]$

Also tried it as root but no joy, and attempts to "Find" variations on VboxManage* come back as not found.

I still have the .VirtualBox folder in my home directory and my virtual disk "newhd.vdi" is in the HardDisks folder.  The other folders seem to have the content I remember in them.

Could someone help me sort this out?

Many thanks for any help.

RJ

[beta1]

Not sure if this will help but at one point my VB installation vanished unexpectedly after an update/kernel change........ or something, however under  More Applications, Emulators, there was the option to "Get Oracle Virtual Box" which I duly clicked, it downloaded and all was well.

[menotu]

Not sure if this will help but at one point my VB installation vanished unexpectedly after an update/kernel change........ or something, however under  More Applications, Emulators, there was the option to "Get Oracle Virtual Box" which I duly clicked, it downloaded and all was well.

Yup - that's normal.  

After a major update (or when a new version of Virtualbox comes out) the Virtualbox app needs to be reinstalled using Getvirtualbox BUT it doesn't affect any of the VM's or VDI's - they stay in place and can be used as normal.

The reason this is done is to have the version of Virtualbox which has access to USB, therefore the Tex and some community members created the Getvirtualbox script which downloads and installs it.

Edit: I believe when Oracle took over Virtualbox they no longer created a PCLinuxOS Virtualbox rpm whereas when Sun had control they used to provide one (which is why this route is now taken.

[arjay]

Brilliant - thanks to you guys for your help.  It has occurred to me that the only thing I have done is an update/upgrade.  I'll get onto the re-install and see what happens.  Sure, now, that it will be OK.

Thanks again.

Richard

BTW - I notice that other icons have also disappeared with yesterday's upgrade - for example Dolphin - disappeared from desktop and panel.  Is it not possible to avoid this with every upgrade? Even the dreaded windoze doesn't do that (too often  )

[menotu]

BTW - I notice that other icons have also disappeared with yesterday's upgrade - for example Dolphin - disappeared from desktop and panel.  Is it not possible to avoid this with every upgrade? Even the dreaded windoze doesn't do that (too often    )

I think on large KDE  updates it may reset the desktop, 'specially if its say 4.5 to 4.5.1 or 4.5.2 etc as they have big change/additions under the hood.

I don't use desktop icons so never notice that type of change - I did notice my Dolphin panel icon being removed but that only happened once......and hasn't happened in any of the recent updates.

[Texstar]

Seems to hold them better if you have widgets locked.

[arjay]

OK - the pesky things will get locked.  I don't have a prob with lost icons but the WAF certainly goes down.  When she who must be obeyed comes in of a morning and Dolphin has "disappeared" you'd think the world had come to an end.  I risk losing my conjugal rights - no mean worry