Running madagascar on a virtual machine

Introduction

Using a virtual machine is a good way to sample Madagascar, especially if you do not want to install Linux on your Window computer. On one test the elapse time was 15% longer. You can easily move from Linux window to windows on the Window system. When you are completed with Madagascar you can delete the virtual machine and all data associated. Installation is on the wiki page running_madagascar_on_a_virtual_machine.

This virtual system is a 32 bit Ubuntu 16.04 desktop. The desktop is Xfce, much faster then the standard desktop which has 3D effects. You may be able to get the 3D effects to work with adequate performance by installing a proprietary graphics card driver.

Step by Step Installation Instructions

Download VirtualBox, the Madagascar Virtual system, and importing the system

Download and install VirtualBox using the links at [this site].

Download the virtual system with Madagascar and Seismic unix installed from [this link]. The file name ub2gb_tex means this is a "ubuntu 2 gigabyte system with LaTeX installed". Double click the downloaded system and Virtual_box will import it. This will run less than 10 minutes. When I tried to start they system on a Mac the run window disappeared and an error announced. Clicking "details" produced a message "Implementation of the USB 2.0 controller not found!". This virtual box was created on Windows 10 and it may run on a windows computer. If you get the USB error follow the instruction in the next section to install guest additions.

Installing guest additions

I will describe the steps I followed for a successful install. You may find a better or more efficient approach.

If you encounter the "USB error" follow these instructions to install "guest additions".

In the virtualBox window click on the system "ub2bg", then click the yellow cog. Click ports, and usb. Make sure the "enable USB Controller" is NOT checked. Click OK, then double click the "ub2gb" system to start it. It will take a few minutes to start.
Either the password (seismic) to complete the login.

On the top click Devices then insert guest addition CD. This will make a virtual CD available. On a windows host system autorun.sh will automatically run. On Linux or Mac you must manually start the script:
Double click the new CD icon on the desktop, which will pop up a file manager window, which you can close. The CD will now be mounted. You can verify this with:
df
On my system /media/seismic/VBOXADDITIONS_5.1.18_114002 is mounted. Change to that directory, list the directory, and run outrun.sh:
cd /media/seismic/VBOXADDITIONS_5.1.18_114002
ls
sudo ./autorun.sh
Enter the password (seismic) when prompted.
A window will pop up and you need to wait until installation is compete. Press Return to close the window...
Change to your home directory, and search history for an apt-get that will install another part of guest additions:
cd
history | grep apt-get
Copy and paste the next line into the terminal:
sudo apt-get install virtualbox-guest-dkms -y
Sometimes I received an error saying unable to obtain lock, but repeating the commend ran just fine.
When the terminal says DKMS: install complete, close the whole virtual system window using the 'X" in the window frame. You do not want to save the machine start, or just power off the system (that is like pulling the plug or pushing the power button on a real system. You want to reboot the system, so make sure the "Send the shutdown signal" is selected and click the "OK" button. Restart the system by double clicking the "ub2bg" system in the "VirtualBox manager" window.

Test your system

Start the virtual system and log in with password seismic. Open a terminal window and run this sequence of commands: cd RSFSRC/book/rsf/school2009
time sftour scons lock
scons
evince paper.pdf
This should change to a Madagascar paper directory, run some scripts that create figures, assemble the figures into a paper, and display the paper in a pdf reader.