Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (How-To Guide)

VirtualBox is open-source hypervisor, creating a VM (virtual machine) in which the user can run another OS (operating system). This article will serve as an informative guide and give you a clear understanding of how to perform a silent installation of VirtualBox 6.1 from the command line using both EXE & MSI installers.

How to Install VirtualBox Silently

VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (EXE)

  1. Navigate to: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  2. Select the Windows Hosts under VirtualBox Platform Packages
  3. Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  6. Enter the following command: VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --silent --ignore-reboot
  7. Press Enter

After a minute or so you should see the Oracle VM VirtualBox Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1
Vendor:Oracle Corporation
Version:6.1
Architecture:x86_x64
Installer Type:EXE
Silent Install Switch:VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --silent --ignore-reboot
Silent Uninstall Switch:See Uninstall Strings Below
Download Link:https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/oracle-vm-virtualbox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/

VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (MSI)

  1. Navigate to https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  2. Select the Windows Hosts under VirtualBox Platform Packages
  3. Download the file to a folder created at (C:\Downloads)
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  6. Enter the following command: VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --extract -path C:\VBox
  7. Press Enter
  8. Navigate to the C:\VBox folder
  9. Enter the following command: MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi /qn
  10. Press Enter

After a minute or so you should see the Oracle VM VirtualBox Desktop Shortcut appear. You will also find entries in the Start Menu, Installation Directory, and Programs and Features in the Control Panel.

Software Title:Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1
Vendor:Oracle Corporation
Version:6.1
Architecture:x86_x64
Installer Type:MSI
Silent Install Switch:MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi /qn
Silent Uninstall Switch:MsiExec.exe /x VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi /qn
Repair Command:MsiExec.exe /fa VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi /qn
Download Link:https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
PowerShell Script:https://silentinstallhq.com/oracle-vm-virtualbox-install-and-uninstall-powershell/

The information above provides a quick overview of the software title, vendor, silent install, and silent uninstall switches. The download links provided take you directly to the vendors website. Continue reading if you are interested in additional details and configurations.


Additional Configurations

Disable VirtualBox Update Checks

You can disable VirtualBox update checks by running the following command:

Note: These settings are per User and NOT per System so they will need to be run once for every user who logs on.

"%ProgramFiles%\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" setextradata global GUI/UpdateDate "never"

Install VirtualBox Extension Pack Silently

You can install the VirtualBox Extension Pack silently after installing the main VirtualBox installer by following these steps:

  1. Navigate to: https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads
  2. Select All supported platforms under VirtualBox Oracle VM VirtualBox Extension Pack
  3. Copy the Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-x.y.z.vbox-extpack to “C:\Downloads\”
  4. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  5. Navigate to the C:\Downloads folder
  6. Enter the following command:
echo y | "%ProgramFiles%\Oracle\VirtualBox\VBoxManage.exe" extpack install --replace "C:\Downloads\Oracle_VM_VirtualBox_Extension_Pack-x.y.z.vbox-extpack"

Change Default Installation Directory

You can change the default installation directory by using the following command line parameters. In this example, I’m installing VirtualBox to “C:\VirtualBox”

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 (EXE)

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --msiparams INSTALLDIR=C:\VirtualBox --silent --ignore-reboot

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 (MSI)

MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi INSTALLDIR=C:\VirtualBox /qn

Create an Installation Log File

The VirtualBox installer offers the option to generate a log file during installation to assist with troubleshooting should any problems arise. You can use the following commands to create a log file with details about the installation.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (EXE) with Logging

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --silent --ignore-reboot --logging

The log file will be located in the following Temp directory of the user account from which the installer was run:

C:\Users\<User Name>\AppData\Local\Temp\VirtualBox


Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (MSI) with Logging

MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi /qn /L*v "%WINDIR%\Temp\VirtualBox-Install.log"

VirtualBox Install With No Desktop Shortcut

You can specify whether or not an Oracle VM VirtualBox desktop icon will be created on the desktop. The default installation behavior is to include a desktop shortcut, however in the example below a desktop shortcut will not be created during the install.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (EXE) with NO Desktop Shortcut

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --msiparams VBOX_INSTALLDESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 --silent --ignore-reboot

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (MSI) with NO Desktop Shortcut

MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi VBOX_INSTALLDESKTOPSHORTCUT=0 /qn

Exclude VirtualBox QuickLaunch Shortcut

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (EXE) NO QuickLaunch Shortcut

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --msiparams VBOX_INSTALLQUICKLAUNCHSHORTCUT=0 --silent --ignore-reboot

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (MSI) NO QuickLaunch Shortcut

MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi VBOX_INSTALLQUICKLAUNCHSHORTCUT=0 /qn

Do Not Register File Extensions

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 (EXE)

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --msiparams VBOX_REGISTERFILEEXTENSIONS=0 --silent --ignore-reboot

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 (MSI)

MsiExec.exe /i VirtualBox-6.1.x-y.msi VBOX_REGISTERFILEEXTENSIONS=0 /qn

Do Not Install VirtualBox Certificate Automatically

You can specify not to install the VirtualBox certificate automatically when silently installing the application. The default behavior is to install the certificate automatically, however the command line below will exclude it.

Oracle VM VirtualBox 6.1 Silent Install (EXE) Excluding Certificate

VirtualBox-6.1.x-y-Win.exe --no-silent-cert --silent --ignore-reboot

How to Uninstall VirtualBox Silently

  1. Open an Elevated Command Prompt by Right-Clicking on Command Prompt and select Run as Administrator
  2. Enter one the following commands:
VersionVirtualBox 6.1 Silent Uninstall Strings
6.1.36MsiExec.exe /x {8B78A2AB-34B5-4546-8CCF-B78C916BBD98} /qn
6.1.34MsiExec.exe /x {25617419-CAFD-48B3-8FDF-016EDAD8B925} /qn
6.1.32MsiExec.exe /x {4A51F890-19E4-4E7C-A118-4B8ACEB5AEC5} /qn
6.1.30MsiExec.exe /x {9F1FFDC2-9B49-41F3-B6F1-18DC368D6CA2} /qn
6.1.28MsiExec.exe /x {73A88925-78D8-43C3-9F9F-24D4E5DFCD75} /qn
6.1.26MsiExec.exe /x {71822DCA-AF02-40D5-9BB8-2C1F75356115} /qn
6.1.24MsiExec.exe /x {14BF4E6B-457E-4687-BE54-A71AC488233B} /qn
6.1.22MsiExec.exe /x {573CC601-ED8D-450F-BE6F-A313DD77A4A0} /qn
6.1.20MsiExec.exe /x {B4A28DF2-D2C0-4956-A34A-4D77BA2932CC} /qn
6.1.18MsiExec.exe /x {A8F42E56-8D1F-4080-BD79-8375D3AD18BE} /qn
6.1.16MsiExec.exe /x {8979282D-1F43-4810-B819-AA1B06F2C085} /qn
6.1.14MsiExec.exe /x {1B1CFE9F-D421-4193-ACB8-FDE4D565C715} /qn
6.1.12MsiExec.exe /x {BD4C2875-9059-4C94-A7B5-493A538AC180} /qn
6.1.10MsiExec.exe /x {0359AF05-E674-4ED4-B9FB-B77918617667} /qn
6.1.8MsiExec.exe /x {8EC316C6-82C4-431F-A4DE-4082717C96D5} /qn
6.1.6MsiExec.exe /x {AD08C64C-9815-4E90-9C78-8B7DC20E5001} /qn
6.1.4MsiExec.exe /x {E07820B4-EDC1-44FC-B1AE-D1D0F347F16B} /qn
6.1.2MsiExec.exe /x {216BFD11-B076-4E88-8526-65CC9F94483C} /qn
6.1.0MsiExec.exe /x {B9B53CFE-C4E3-47FB-9BC0-8022F0AB6814} /qn

Always make sure to test everything in a development environment prior to implementing anything into production. The information in this article is provided “As Is” without warranty of any kind.

Jason Bergner

I am an accomplished Software Engineer at Patch My PC, leveraging more than 18 years of hands-on experience in Configuration Manager administration and application packaging. I am driven by a genuine passion for solving complex problems and consistently strive to discover innovative and effective solutions. Sharing my extensive knowledge of application deployments is a true joy for me, and I am honored to contribute to the community here at Silent Install HQ.

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