VirtualBox 7.1.6 Released: What’s New!

Oracle has officially released VirtualBox 7.1.6 on January 21, 2025, bringing a host of bug fixes, performance improvements, and added support for newer operating systems.

This release is part of the ongoing 7.1 branch and focuses on refining the VirtualBox experience across various platforms. Here’s a look at the highlights of this maintenance update.

VirtualBox 7.1.6 introduces critical updates and enhancements to improve performance, reliability, and compatibility across various platforms.

A major fix addresses a critical issue affecting Windows 11 24H2 virtual machines where certain rare conditions could lead to a Blue Screen of Death (BSOD). This ensures smoother performance for Windows 11 users.

Several user interface (GUI) upgrades enhance the user experience. Visual representation of disabled preferences has been improved for Linux themes, and the Advanced Properties and Settings dialog has been polished.

The update restores the ability to change the bridged adapter for a virtual machine at startup if the current adapter is unavailable.

Various glitches have been fixed, including issues with toggling Seamless Mode based on Guest Additions’ status, application exit crashes on macOS, missing Help buttons in certain macOS windows, and a regression that disabled the 3D Acceleration checkbox for some graphical setups.

Additionally, misleading error messages when starting a VM in fullscreen mode have been resolved, making VirtualBox more reliable and user-friendly, especially for macOS and Linux users.

In the networking domain, VirtualBox now utilizes libslirp as the NAT engine, replacing the older implementation. This change brings significant performance and compatibility improvements for NAT-based networking.

Compatibility with new operating systems and kernels has also been expanded. The release adds official support for Windows Server 2025 as a guest OS and enhances compatibility with RHEL 9.6 on Linux hosts.

Support for modern Linux kernels continues, including initial support for Linux kernel 6.13 and fixes for kernel 6.4 and 6.12 in Linux Guest Additions.

Graphics stability has been enhanced for Linux guests using the VMSVGA graphics adapter, resolving issues such as screen flickering. Freezing issues with the VBoxVGA adapter on newer kernels have also been addressed.

Updates to the VBoxManage command-line tool include the ability to export and import virtual machines that use NVMe storage controllers, as well as a fix for setting QemuRamFB as a graphics controller using the modifyvm command.

Lastly, Solaris and proxy settings have received attention in this update. Oracle has removed outdated GTK2-based shared objects from Solaris installation packages as part of its modernization efforts.

Additionally, a bug where custom proxy server settings had no effect has been fixed, further improving the platform’s usability.

What This Means for VirtualBox Users

VirtualBox 7.1.6 demonstrates Oracle’s ongoing commitment to refining its virtualization platform.

With enhanced support for newer operating systems like Windows Server 2025, compatibility for the latest Linux kernels, and numerous bug fixes, the update ensures that users can operate virtual environments with greater reliability and efficiency.

This release is a must-have for those seeking improved stability, especially on macOS and Linux hosts, or for those looking to run the latest Windows and Linux guest OSes. To download VirtualBox 7.1.6, visit the official VirtualBox website.

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